Jesse Taylor

Taylor had been expected to face Guillerme Martinez on 13 January 2017 at ACB 51 but Martinez instead faced Ivan Castillo.

Nine years after his first stint on the show, Taylor fought Dhiego Lima in the finals on July 7, 2017 at The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Finale. Taylor won the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round.

Taylor was expected to face Belal Muhammad on November 19, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 121. However on September 13, it was announced that Taylor was pulled from the card after being notified by USADA of a potential doping violation. He was flagged after an out-of-competition drug test conducted August 22. On October 13, USADA officially suspended Taylor one year for testing positive for anti-estrogen agent clomiphene.

Taylor lost in the first fight in the ACB lost to Aslambek Saidov at the ACB 40: Battleground on June 3, 2016 via submission (guillotine choke) in the first round.

Taylor faced Mukhamed Berkhamov on October 22, 2016 at ACB 48. He lost the fight via submission (armbar) in the first round.

Taylor had an upcoming fight against fellow UFC veteran Maiquel Falcao for Argentinian mma promotion Arena Tour on April 18, 2015. Taylor lost the fight against Falcao by guillotine choke in the first round at 3:13.

Taylor fought Michail Tsarev on August 29, 2015 at League S-70: Russia vs. World. He won the fight via Submission (guillotine choke).

In the Middleweight tournament final, Taylor faced David Branch at World Series of Fighting 10 on June 21, 2014. He lost the fight via D'arce choke submission in the first round.

Taylor fought in the BattleGrounds MMA in a Single Night 8-Man Tournament on October 3, 2014. He lost his quarterfinal fight against Trey Houston via submission in the first round.

Just two months removed from winning the Cage Warriors middleweight title, Taylor fought The Ultimate Fighter 3 winner, Kendall Grove. The fight was for Taylor's K-OZ Entertainment middleweight title he had won back in November 2012. The contest took place on February 23, 2013 in Perth, Western Australia. Taylor controlled the fight for five consecutive rounds, winning the fight via unanimous decision, and defending his middleweight title.

Taylor had his first Cage Warriors Middleweight title defense on May 4, 2013 on the Cage Warriors 54 card. Taylor fought, and defeated, "The White Tyson" John Phillips via submission early in the first round.

Taylor faced Judo black belt Gaël Grimaud on May 24, 2012 in Isa Town, Bahrain at Cage Warriors Fight Night 6 for Grimaud's welterweight championship. Taylor dominated the first two rounds by utilizing his wrestling to take Grimaud down and control him throughout the round while also peppering Grimaud with short strikes. Early in the third round Grimaud took Taylor's back. As Taylor was attempting to escape back control, Grimaud trapped Taylor's arm and transitioned to an armbar, forcing Taylor to submit and thus retaining his welterweight title.

On December 31, 2012, Jesse Taylor defeated former champion Chris Fields in Fields's hometown of Dublin, Ireland at Cage Warriors 51 to win the CWFC middleweight title.

Taylor was scheduled to fight PRIDE FC, UFC, and DREAM veteran, Denis Kang at Battlefield Fight League 7. Kang later pulled out of the fight, and Jesse moved up to Light Heavyweight to fight Clay Davidson, defeating him in a unanimous decision. The fight with Kang was rescheduled for May 28, 2011 at Battlefield Fight League 8. Taylor won by submission in the first round, getting Kang in a rear naked choke.

Taylor fought Bellator Middleweight champion Hector Lombard on September 3, 2011, in the main event at the Australian Fighting Championships.

Taylor was signed to fight Australian knockout artist, Dylan Andrews, at the inaugural Australian Fighting Championship event. The fight took place in Melbourne on November 12, 2010. Taylor won the fight midway into round one, choking Andrews unconscious from a guillotine choke.

He later fought on January 15, where he was set to fight unbeaten Pat Minihan, instead Taylor fought Rico Altamirano, he defeated Altamirano via rear naked choke in the second round. Taylor fought on February 14, 2009 in Daytona Beach, Florida. He was set to go up against Esteban Ramos. Taylor ended up fighting and beating (1-0) fighter Gert Kocani. Taylor again won via rear naked choke in the second round.

Jesse fought on March 28, 2009 in Colorado. He took on Chris Camozzi, defeating him by decision. Jesse won the King of Champions belt held by Camozzi. On May 2, 2009, Taylor defeated MMA veteran Eric DaVila at Shark Fight 4. Taylor then won his sixth straight fight since being released from the UFC after defeating Rubén Darío at Total Combat 33. The fight was for the Total Combat middleweight title.

One day after his win over Darío, Taylor was offered a fight for Japan promotion, DREAM. He made his debut on July 20, 2009 at DREAM 10 against Korean Judoka, Dong Sik Yoon. Taylor won after Yoon injured his ankle and was not able to continue.

Taylor had his second fight for the Strikeforce promotion on November 6, 2009 on the main card of the Strikeforce Challengers: Gurgel vs. Evangelista event. He lost to Luke Rockhold (5-1) in a middleweight contest.

Jesse Taylor graduated from Poway High School in Poway, CA, where he was a wrestler. After high school Jesse attended San Francisco State university. He took Jiu-Jitsu classes but decided to stick to wrestling. When things did not work out in San Francisco he moved back down to San Diego, where he then attended Palomar College near San Diego. In junior college, Taylor became a two-time JC All-American, CCCAA State Runner-Up in 2003, and crowned California Junior College State Champion in 2004, only losing three matches. Taylor was then rewarded with a scholarship to Cal State Fullerton. After the birth of his son, it became harder for Taylor to concentrate on wrestling and school while adjusting to the family life. Taylor still managed to qualify for the Division 1 NCAA Tournament and was 3rd in the Pac-10's.

Jesse Marcus Taylor (born January 2, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) and 10th Planet Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt fighter currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7, winning his entry, preliminary, quarterfinal and semi-final matches, and then became infamous for being the only fighter to ever be removed from finals due to events that occurred after filming was completed. Taylor later won The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption Welterweight Tournament, and has also fought for top promotions such as Strikeforce, DREAM, MFC, AFC, Impact FC, Shark Fights, Cage Warriors and Absolute Championship Berkut.