Kevin Casey

Kevin Berryman Casey Jr. (born June 15, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of Bellator MMA.

He began to study Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1995 when he befriended Rockson Gracie, son of Rickson Gracie.

Casey is a supporter of CHAMP, a non-profit organization founded by his brother Keith Casey that works to build the minds and bodies of inner city youth through mixed martial arts.

A professional competitor since 2007, he was a contestant on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen and also competed for Strikeforce, K-1, the RFA, and the UFC.

Casey was born in Inglewood, California.

Casey made his professional mixed martial arts debut in September 2007 for the K-1 Hero's promotion in Japan.

He lost to Ikuhisa Minowa in the second round.

Following his unsuccessful debut, Casey made his first North American MMA appearance in 2008.

He defeated Andrew Flores and Jimmy Mills in July and October, respectively, before taking a year off from the sport.

In November 2009, Casey made his Strikeforce debut on one of their Strikeforce Challengers cards.

He defeated Chad Vance by submission.

He made his second appearance for the promotion on May 21, 2010.

He lost to Matt Lindland via TKO in the third round.

In 2012, Casey himself had to pull out of a scheduled Metamoris competition, making his 2014 appearance his first participation with the organization.

In January 2013, it was revealed that Casey was a cast member of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen.

He won his preliminary bout over Eldon Sproat via rear naked choke.

Casey was selected by coach Sonnen as his sixth pick (eleventh overall).

In the next round, Casey was pitted against coach Jones' fifth pick Collin Hart.

He lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Casey was then given a second chance when he was chosen as Team Sonnen's wildcard.

He fought against Team Jones' Bubba McDaniel.

Despite controlling the first round, Casey lost via TKO at the end of the second round when he was unable to answer the bell for the third round.

Many people, including Dana White, were shocked Kevin could just quit like that.

Casey attributed this to difficulties relating to acute kidney injury from his drastic weight cut for his bout.

On April 9, 2013, it was announced that Casey would face fellow season 17 alumni Josh Samman at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale.

He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.

Following the loss Casey was released from the promotion.

Following his release from the UFC, Casey signed with Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA).

He made his RFA debut on August 16, 2013, at RFA 9 against Casey Ryan.

He won the fight by unanimous decision.

He fought next on January 24, 2014, against former UFC veteran Eddie Mendez.

He won that fight via TKO (Elbows) in the first round.

Casey replaced Vinny Magalhães on 30 minutes notice at Metamoris 3, a submission-only jiu-jitsu competition, in Los Angeles on March 29, 2014.

Casey was submitted by Keenan Cornelius via heel hook.

Casey was scheduled to face Vinny Magalhaes at Metamoris 5, however was forced to withdraw just a week out from the November 22, 2014, competition due to a bloodclot in his calf that required surgery.

Following his championship win at Resurrection Fighting Alliance 15, Casey was re-signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He faced Bubba Bush at UFC 175 on July 5, 2014.

He won the fight via TKO early in the first round due to a punch that dropped his opponent and subsequent elbows on the ground.

However, Casey later failed a post-fight drug test for drostanolone, a form of anabolic steroid.

Later, he was suspended for a year and fined $5,600 by the Nevada Athletic Commission.