Joey Beltran

Joey Beltran (born December 9, 1981) is an American bare-knuckle fighter and mixed martial artist.

A professional mixed martial artist since 2007, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Strikeforce, and King of the Cage.

He also competed in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship where he was the former BKFC Heavyweight Champion.

Beltran was born in Oceanside, California, and raised in Carlsbad, California, by a single mother.

He has an older sister.

Beltran began boxing when he was 10 years old, and also was involved in street fighting from a young age.

Beltran also began wrestling in middle school and was talented, but was initially not allowed to compete outside of practice because of poor grades and was eventually kicked out from the junior high.

Beltran continued wrestling at Carlsbad High School during his sophomore year and picked up his grades, going on to compete on the varsity team as a Heavyweight for all three years and also became involved in Greco-Roman Wrestling.

Beltran originally attended Palomar College, and after two years he academically transferred to the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

During the first semester, Beltran was introduced to mixed martial arts at a local gym, Bulls Pen.

After the semester, Beltran moved back to California, attending MiraCosta College for a spell before dropping out in pursuit of a career in mixed martial arts.

When he began training, Beltran weighed 300 lbs.

Beltran made his professional debut on February 10, 2007, at Strikeforce: Young Guns and lost via unanimous decision.

He went on to compile a record of 6–2 before being signed by Bellator.

Beltran made his Bellator debut at Bellator 5 on May 1, 2009, against former UFC fighter Sherman Pendergarst.

Beltran won the fight in the first round via TKO.

In his next appearance, under the King of the Cage banner, Beltran defeated Wes Combs via TKO only 25 seconds into the fight.

Beltran would go 1–1 before picking up another TKO win over another UFC veteran, Houston Alexander, and was subsequently signed by the UFC.

Beltran made his UFC debut at UFC 109 against Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Rolles Gracie.

Beltran was stepping in as a last minute replacement for Gracie's original opponent, Mostapha al-Turk.

Beltran upset the fatigued Gracie and was victorious via a second round TKO.

Beltran returned to action on May 8, 2010, at UFC 113.

He was originally set to fight Chad Corvin, but after Corvin's paperwork was not approved by the Quebec Athletic Commission he was pulled from the card and replaced by Tim Hague.

Beltran defeated Hague after three rounds, taking the unanimous decision.

Beltran next faced Matt Mitrione on September 25, 2010, at UFC 119.

Beltran fought and lost to Mitrione via unanimous decision.

Even though he lost, he still earned Fight of the Night honors.

Beltran then fought highly regarded kickboxer Pat Barry at UFC Fight for the Troops 2 on January 22, 2011, in Fort Hood, Texas.

He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

During the fight, Beltran received a high volume of leg kicks from Barry, a former K-1 kickboxing competitor, yet only collapsed at the end of the final round.

Barry has since expressed his bewilderment at the level of punishment that Beltran was able to absorb.

Beltran was expected to face promotional newcomer Dave Herman on June 11, 2011, at UFC 131.

However, after Herman was shuffled to the main card, Beltran instead faced another UFC newcomer in Aaron Rosa.

After a back-and-forth first two rounds, Beltran defeated Rosa via TKO in the third round.

Beltran fought Stipe Miocic on October 8, 2011, at UFC 136, losing via unanimous decision.

Beltran faced former Strikeforce heavyweight Lavar Johnson on January 28, 2012, at UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis, where he was knocked out for the first time in his career in the first round.

Following the loss, Beltran was released from the promotion.

After being released, Beltran announced that he would be dropping down to compete in the Light heavyweight division.

He officially made his Light heavyweight debut on April 28, 2012, at C3 Fights in Oklahoma, where he defeated Anton Talamantes via unanimous decision.

Beltran made his return to the UFC replacing Brandon Vera against Australian James Te Huna on July 11, 2012, at UFC on Fuel TV 4.