Phillipe Nover

Nover (born February 3, 1984), is a retired American mixed martial artist. He is best known for making it to the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. He is a former Ring of Combat lightweight champion.

Nover was born and raised in Brooklyn. He trained with Sifu Ralph Mitchell at Universal Defense Systems which covers Filipino Arnis (similar to Filipino Kali/Eskrima), Yaw-Yan, Muay Thai, Savate, Kickboxing, Judo, Kung Fu and Jeet Kune Do. He began training in martial arts at age ten and attended The Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences.

He attended Kingsborough Community College and works in a Brooklyn hospital as a registered nurse. Phillipe completed his bachelor's degree at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Nover holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Alexander "Soca" Freitas. Nover trains at Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City, Edge Wrestling in New Jersey, and Church Street Boxing gym in Tribeca New York under his striking trainer Jason Strout.

The Ultimate Fighter

Nover normally fought as a welterweight but since The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir only had an opening for lightweights and light-heavyweights he had to cut weight to be able to participate. Dana White called him "Fainting Phillipe" because he had fainted when White was announcing the coaches. In the preliminary round, Nover defeated Joe Duarte with a rear naked choke in the second round. In episode 8, Nover defeated Dave Kaplan, again via rear naked choke then proclaimed himself as the toughest registered nurse on the planet. In the same episode Dana White mentioned that Nover reminds him of a young Georges St-Pierre. Nover defeated George Roop in the semi-finals via a kimura lock but ultimately lost in the Ultimate Fighter Finale on December 13, 2008, to Efrain Escudero via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Phillipe Nover fought Kyle Bradley at UFC 98, losing via a controversial TKO at 1:03 of the first round. After taking down Nover, Bradley landed some heavy punches on his prone opponent. Nover was pulling guard ready to defend, however Referee Yves Lavigne stopped the fight. Lavigne was booed by the crowd for the remainder of the event.

Phillipe Nover was set to fight Sam Stout at UFC Fight Night 19, replacing the injured Kyle Bradley. On September 16, 2009, the day of the fight, Nover had fainted. As a result, the match with Stout was cancelled.

Nover then faced a fellow Ultimate Fighter alumni Rob Emerson at UFC 109 on February 6, 2010. Nover lost a controversial unanimous decision. Sherdog.com scored the bout 29–28 in favor of Nover. With a UFC record of 0–3, he was released from the promotion.

Post-UFC

After being released from the UFC, Nover continued to train MMA in New York and teach at a local mixed martial arts school. Nover took a year off from competing to focus on his coaching and nursing careers. He had a few Muay Thai matches before returning to compete in MMA. He returned to the cage after an 18-month layoff to meet Jake Murphy, a Greg Jackson-trained fighter, at Hoosier Fight Club 8 on August 20, 2011. He replaced the last man to defeat him, Murphy's original opponent, Rob Emerson, who had to pull out of the fight due to injury. Nover won the fight by unanimous decision, 29–28 on all three judges' scorecards.

Bellator Fighting Championships

A few weeks after his win over Murphy, Nover was signed to fight in Bellator Fighting Championships. His debut came at Bellator 59 against Polish submission ace, Marcin Held. Nover lost the fight via a controversial split decision. During the bout, Nover was able to dominate on the stand-up and maintain top position on the ground as well as display strong submission defense. However, two of the three judges scored for Held's multiple submission attempts. Sherdog.com scored the bout 29–28 in favor of Nover.

Nover faced Derrick Kennington on September 28, 2012, at Bellator 74. He won the fight via submission in the second round. In his third fight for the promotion, Nover faced Darrell Horcher at Bellator 95 on April 4, 2013. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Return to UFC

After five years away from the organization, Nover made his return to the UFC when he faced Yui Chul Nam in a featherweight bout on May 16, 2015, at UFC Fight Night: Edgar vs. Faber. He won the fight via split decision.

Nover next faced Zubaira Tukhugov on December 10, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 80. He lost the fight via split decision.

Nover faced Renan Barão on September 24, 2016, at UFC Fight Night 95. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Nover faced Ricky Glenn on February 11, 2017, at UFC 208. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision.

On February 15, 2017, Nover announced his retirement from mixed martial arts.

Before his fight with Efrain Escudero, Phillipe was awarded a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Alexandre "Soca" Freitas on Dec. 6, 2008. The ceremony took place at the Soca Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York. Phillipe has been studying BJJ since he was 17 years old. Nover faced his Ultimate Fighter Season 8 finale opponent Escudero in a submission-only match on November 9, 2013, at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo; they fought to a draw. In his next match-up, a wrestling match at Grapple at the Garden on December 1, 2013, he was defeated by former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.

Nover announced that he became a third degree black belt in January 2020.

Instructor lineage

Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie Sr. → Helio Gracie → Carlos Gracie Jr. → Alexandre Freitas → Phillipe Nover

Nover is a cardiac nurse in Brooklyn.

• Ring of Combat
  • ROC Lightweight Championship (One time, Vacated)

Exhibition record

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists