MMA Tim “The Terror” Goodwin: From the MMA Cage to Building Confidence at TNT

Tim “The Terror” Goodwin’s martial arts career has taken him from college wrestling to the Bellator cage and championship fights on the regional MMA circuit. Today, his work also centers on the students walking into TNT Martial Arts & Fitness in Cayce, South Carolina.

A former professional fighter, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, and head instructor, Goodwin brings experience from several disciplines to his coaching. His career offers a perspective shaped by both winning and losing—and by the challenge of teaching others what competition taught him.

A Foundation Built Across Disciplines

According to his TNT biography, Goodwin began training in martial arts as a child, earning a black belt in taekwondo before pursuing wrestling in high school and at Appalachian State University. After college, he added Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai to his training.

His background eventually extended into coaching wrestling as well. TNT lists him as the University of South Carolina’s head wrestling coach from 2011 through 2017. Those experiences gave him opportunities to understand competition from both sides: preparing himself to perform and helping other athletes develop.

Testing Himself in Professional MMA

Tapology lists Goodwin’s professional MMA record at 10 victories and nine defeats, with five wins by knockout or technical knockout, one by submission, and four by decision.

His career included an appearance at Bellator 89 in February 2013, where he faced Mike Maldonado and lost a unanimous decision. The following year brought a significant championship achievement.

At New England Fights 14 in September 2014, Goodwin defeated Paul Gorman by unanimous decision over five rounds to capture the promotion’s bantamweight championship. It was a victory earned over the full championship distance.

He later demonstrated his finishing ability against Craig Yerkey in October 2016, winning by strikes just 43 seconds into the opening round of a featherweight title bout. In 2017, he challenged Jesse Stirn for the Shogun Fights bantamweight championship, losing by unanimous decision.

Together, those results tell the story of a regional competitor whose career included quick finishes, extended battles, championship victories, and difficult setbacks.

A New Focus, With Competition Still in His Life

Goodwin’s TNT biography states that he shifted his focus toward coaching and growing the academy in 2018. That change did not end his own development as a competitor.

He continued entering Brazilian jiu-jitsu events, with his biography listing a 2021 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship victory in a brown-belt featherweight division and a silver medal in a black-belt division at the 2024 No-Gi Pan Championships. TNT now identifies him as a first-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt.

The Partnership Behind TNT

TNT’s story also includes co-owner Tamayah Goodwin. In a September 2026 profile published by the academy, TNT describes the school as a partnership combining Tim’s competitive and technical background with Tamayah’s martial arts and child-development experience.

The academy credits Tamayah with 20 years of martial arts experience and 15 years of hands-on work in child development. It describes both owners as active influences on class structure, curriculum, and coaching.

That approach gives Goodwin’s experience an audience well beyond aspiring professional fighters. TNT’s stated focus includes young children learning basic movements and adults beginning martial arts for the first time. The goal is to make instruction accessible while maintaining technical standards.

Goodwin’s fight record captures one part of his career. His work at TNT adds another: taking lessons learned through years of training and competition and making them useful to someone just starting out.

For “The Terror,” the next meaningful achievement can happen far from a championship cage—on the mats, alongside a student learning to believe in their own ability.