Anthony Taylor’s (ring name Pretty Boy) tenure in the MMA may not be the longest, but before this American fighter changed his career path to professional boxing, he had his own rollercoaster of a stay in the arena.
Coming at 192.5 lbs at his last weigh in, Taylor was classified as a lightweight fighter. His foundation style was described as free styler, and Taylor referred to himself the same way.
His professional career as an MMA fighter had a bit of a rough start, with more losses than wins, but Anthony Taylor changed these statistics in his favour as he progressed.
Anthony Taylor: Biography
Anthony Taylor was born on 23 June 1989 in Berkeley, California and is currently 36 years old. Before his first professional bout as an MMA fighter, Taylor had a record of amateur fights. Though he wasn’t particularly successful, having won five and lost eight bouts, Taylor made his professional debut as an MMA fighter in December 2015.
The 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) mixed martial artist and now boxer is commonly known in the ring as Pretty Boy. He performed until January 2020 when he gave up his MMA career to get later engaged in professional boxing.
Professional MMA Career
Anthony Taylor debuted as a professional MMA fighter on 4 December 2015 at Bellator. He fought against Adin Duenas and lost in the first round via submission to a rear naked choke. While he did win his second fight, he lost the next two fights again and was subsequently dropped by Bellator in April 2017.
Later that year Taylor joined Cage Fighting Championships (CFC). Having won the first but losing the next two fights, he then moved on to join British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA) where he stayed until 2020 when Bellator signed him up again.
On 26 January 2020 Anthony Taylor faced his most prominent opponent until then, Chris Avila. The bout that took place at Bellator 238 ended in Taylor’s win via a majority decision. After that fight Taylor finally decided to drop MMA and switch to professional boxing.
Anthony Taylor – Fight Record Summary
| Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Round | Event |
| 26 January 2020 | Chris Avila | Win | Decision – Majority | 3 | Bellator 238: Budd vs. Cyborg |
| 10 August 2019 | Brandon Faumui | Win | Decision – Split | 3 | URCC: Rumble by the Bay |
| 10 May 2019 | Ryan Reneau | Win | Decision · Unanimous | 3 | Combate 37: Sanchez vs. Velasco |
| 28 June 2018 | Mike Hales | Win | Decision – Unanimous | 3 | BAMMA 36: McKee vs. Brazier |
| 12 May 2018 | Dean Barry | Win | Submission | 2 | BAMMA 35: Lohore vs. Pascu |
| 14 April 2018 | Adrian Guzman | Loss | Submission | 2 | CFC 2: Champions Will Be Crowned |
| 8 December 2017 | Brian Del Rosario | Loss | KO/TKO | 1 | CG 17: Celtic Gladiator 17 |
| 18 November 2017 | Trey Branch | Win | Decision – Unanimous | 3 | CFC 1: King of the Mountain |
| 14 April 2017 | Adam Borics | Loss | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 | Bellator 177: Dantas vs. Higo |
| 16 December 2016 | James Gallagher | Loss | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 3 | Bellator 169: Lawal vs. Ishii |
| 14 May 2016 | Victor Jones | Win | KO/TKO | 1 | Bellator 154: Davis vs. Lawal |
| 4 December 2015 | Adin Duenas | Loss | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | 1 | Bellator 147: Thomson vs. Villaseca |
In his four years as an MMA fighter, Anthony Taylor had 12 professional bouts, winning 7 and losing 5 out of them.
The breakdown of his wins is as follows:
- By KO/TKO: 1 win
- By decision: 5 wins
- By submission: 1 win
The breakdown of his losses is as follows:
- By KO/TKO: 1 loss
- By decision: 0 losses
- By submission: 4 losses
Future Prospects
As Anthony Taylor has dropped out of MMA fighting, all his upcoming and scheduled fights will be in professional boxing. Until now he has taken on some interesting opponents, Tommy Fury, Chris Avila, and Darren Till just to name a few.
Since 2024, Taylor has been exclusively boxing for Misfits Boxing. His latest bout took place on 18 January 2025 against Darren Till. Even though Taylor lost the fight via a technical knockout, he seems to have placed himself on the map of professional boxing. Anthony Taylor’s next fight hasn’t been announced yet.
Anthony Taylor’s Fighting Style and Strengths
During his time in MMA, Anthony Taylor was described as a free styler, but there have been no detailed reports on his strengths and weaknesses or known techniques and strategies.
After Taylor switched to professional boxing, his first sparring partner Jake Paul was recorded saying that Taylor was “sloppy” and not sparing any compliments over his skills. But seven wins and the champion title in the light heavyweight Misfits Boxing that Taylor now has under his belt seem to indicate that he is working on his style and strives for improvement.
Training and Team
While fighting at the MMA, Anthony Taylor didn’t belong to any training camp or have any known affiliations. His first breakthrough in boxing happened when he was offered a position of a sparring partner to influencer turned boxer Jake Paul.
Taylor’s first fight with Tommy Fury also took place at a promotion where Paul vs Woodley was the headline bout. However, he is currently not associated with Paul’s camp, though he claims to have maintained a great relationship. Taylor has expressed his wish to fight Jake Paul in the ring.
Titles and Achievements
During his career as an MMA fighter, Anthony Taylor hadn’t won any titles or awards. His boxing career seems to be more successful so far, with 7 wins against 5 losses.
On 14 October 2023, Taylor was awarded the Misfits Boxing champion title among the male light heavyweight boxers after defeating King Kenny. He retained this title through two more fights in 2024 against Samuel Ericsson and Gabriel Silva.
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