Kevin Casey (fighter)

Did You Know?

• Casey began studying Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1995 after befriending Rockson Gracie, son of Rickson Gracie.
• He is a supporter of CHAMP, a non-profit founded by his brother Keith Casey that works with inner city youth through mixed martial arts.
• Casey is married to Hana Ali, daughter of former heavyweight champion boxer Muhammad Ali and sister of Laila Ali.

Mixed martial arts career

He then moved to North America in 2008, defeating Andrew Flores and Jimmy Mills before taking a year off. In November 2009, he debuted for Strikeforce on a Challengers card, submitting Chad Vance. His second Strikeforce appearance came on May 21, 2010, where he lost to Matt Lindland via third-round TKO.

In January 2013, Casey was revealed as a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen. He won his preliminary bout over Eldon Sproat by rear naked choke and was selected by coach Sonnen as the eleventh overall pick. In the next round, he lost to Collin Hart by unanimous decision. Casey was then chosen as Team Sonnen's wildcard and fought Bubba McDaniel; despite controlling the first round, he lost by TKO when he could not answer the bell for the third round. Dana White and others expressed shock that Casey quit, which Casey attributed to acute kidney injury from his weight cut.

On April 9, 2013, Casey was announced to face Josh Samman at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale, losing by second-round TKO. He was released from the UFC afterward. Casey then signed with Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA), making his debut on August 16, 2013, at RFA 9 against Casey Ryan, winning by unanimous decision. On January 24, 2014, he defeated former UFC veteran Eddie Mendez by TKO (elbows) in the first round.

Casey replaced Vinny Magalhães on 30 minutes' notice at Metamoris 3 on March 29, 2014, a submission-only jiu-jitsu competition, where he was submitted by Keenan Cornelius via heel hook. He had previously pulled out of a scheduled Metamoris competition in 2012. Casey was scheduled to face Magalhães at Metamoris 5 but withdrew a week before the November 22, 2014, event due to a blood clot in his calf requiring surgery.