About Tom Duquesnoy

Tom Phillipe Duquesnoy (born June 21, 1993, in Lens, Pas-de-Calais, France) is a retired French mixed martial artist. He is the former undisputed BAMMA Featherweight Champion and undisputed BAMMA Bantamweight Champion, and fought in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

He is known for his quick striking and dynamic style. In 2015, Duquesnoy was named the #1 featherweight prospect in the world and "one of the very best talents in all of MMA", and was ranked the #1 prospect worldwide in all of MMA for both 2016 and 2017.

Early martial arts career
Tom Duquesnoy was born in Lens, France, and grew up there until he moved to Paris when he was 18. His grandparents had moved to Lens from Poland after World War II, hoping to find work in the city's coal mines. After the mines closed in the 1960s, the residents moved on to other pursuits. Duquesnoy's father encouraged him to learn martial arts to protect himself, and he began training in sambo at the age of 12. He eventually became interested in other forms of martial arts, including boxing, wrestling, and muay Thai. When he turned 18, his father offered to pay for a year of living and training in Paris, on the condition that Duquesnoy could prove he could make a career from fighting. Duquesnoy went on to have a successful amateur career, with a record of 7–1, and made his professional debut in February 2012. Despite suffering his only loss in February 2013, Duquesnoy has continued to fight and win in various combat sports.