JP Buys (9-2) isn’t the only one in his family fighting Saturday, 3/20, at UFC Vegas 22. Alongside wife Cheyanne, he makes up half of the husband-and-wife couple making history this week. They are the second-ever couple combo following Mark and Montana De La Rosa to fight on the same night in the UFC.
JP was born in 1996 and grew up in Brakpan, South Africa. It’s a mining town suburb outside of Johannesburg, located in The Province Gauteng in the Northeast part of the country. Buys took to wrestling early in his childhood and became a decorated champ quickly. He captured multiple national titles before venturing to the US to train at their elite Olympic wrestling training center.
Although Buy’s Olympic hopes didn’t pan out, he returned home and found MMA at Coach Quan University in Johannesburg. Along his MMA path, Buys met his future wife, Cheyanne “The Warrior Princess” (5-1), who began her amateur career one year prior to JP. They’ve been attached at the hip ever since, JP bringing her to South Africa to train at Quan’s and Cheyanne introducing him to Fortis MMA in Dallas, Texas.
The 24-year-old has competed and won regional belts in two divisions, Flyweight and Bantamweight. JP dropped back down to 125 lbs. in late 2020 for his second chance on Dana White’s Contender Series. He wrapped up a first-round guillotine choke and now returns to the same octagon at the Apex Center in Las Vegas four months later.
JP and Cheyanne Buys are set to become the second-ever married couple to compete on the same UFC fight night. JP takes on Bruno “Bulldog” Silva (10-5-2) on the prelims at 7 PM ET. Cheyanne fights fellow newcomer Monserrat Ruiz (9-1) on the main card of UFC Vegas 22 starting at 9 PM ET.
JP “Young Savage” Buys | 9-2 | 5’5 125 lbs. | Age 24 | Reach 67” | Switch Stance | Fighting Out of Dallas, Texas
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Follow JP Buys on Twitter > @Wrestling_JP