Joe Stevenson

He had a professional record of 23-6-0 and held the 155 lb. championship at King of the Cage and the 170 lb. at Gladiator Challenge going into the show.

Joseph Christopher Stevenson (born June 15, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting out of Hesperia, California.

Coached by (UFC Hall of Famer) Matt Hughes, Stevenson rose to prominence by becoming The Ultimate Fighter 2 Welterweight Tournament Winner.

Following a drop in weight class and two-year undefeated streak, he was ranked among the top UFC Lightweight competitors, culminating into a title shot for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship against B.J. Penn at UFC 80: Rapid Fire (after the title was stripped from Sean Sherk).

Stevenson fought most of his career as a Lightweight and made his Featherweight debut at UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry.

He is the former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion.

Stevenson began Wrestling at the age of 11.

then he started both Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu, at the age of 13.

He moved to Las Vegas in 2004, and began training at Marc Laimon's Cobra Kai in Las Vegas.

On November 5, 2005, Stevenson defeated Luke Cummo by unanimous decision, winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight tournament and earning a six-figure contract with the UFC, UFC president Dana White said "that was Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin, only on the ground".

On April 6, 2006, in his first fight after winning The Ultimate Fighter 2, he was upset by Josh Neer at Ultimate Fight Night 4, losing the fight by unanimous decision.

Following the loss, Stevenson announced that he would drop down to the Lightweight division for future bouts.

On July 8, 2006, at UFC 61, Stevenson won his 155-pound debut against Yves Edwards.

After opening up a deep cut on Edwards from the top position, the doctors were forced to pull Edwards from the match.

Stevenson returned to the Octagon at UFC 65, defeating Japanese fighter Dokonjonosuke Mishima by guillotine choke in the first round.

Next, Stevenson was booked for the main event at UFC Fight Night 9 against fellow Season 2 contestant Melvin Guillard.

Despite a war of words between the two fighters, particularly by Guillard leading up to the bout, Stevenson made quick work of his opponent, knocking down Guillard with a punch before securing a fight-ending guillotine choke.

At UFC 74, Stevenson defeated Kurt Pellegrino by unanimous decision.

After the fight doctors determined that during the course of the fight Stevenson's nose had been fractured.

With his string of victories at 155, Stevenson established himself as one of the top contenders in the UFC's very competitive Lightweight division.

Stevenson was set to fight B.J. Penn for the UFC Interim Lightweight Championship at UFC 80 due to ongoing litigation regarding Sean Sherk's steroid use.

On December 4, 2007, the California State Athletic Commission upheld a reduced suspension for Sherk, prompting the UFC to strip him of the lightweight championship.

UFC President Dana White then confirmed that Stevenson and Penn's match would be to fill the vacant lightweight championship, but the winner of that fight would face Sherk at the next opportunity.

Just seconds after the start of the fight, Penn knocked Stevenson down with a right uppercut.

From the top position, Penn landed a strong elbow to the head of Stevenson—causing a serious cut on Stevenson's hairline.

In the second round, Stevenson fought more aggressively but was still unable to threaten Penn. After taking Stevenson's back, Penn secured a fight-ending rear naked choke at 4:02 of the second round.

At UFC 86, Stevenson returned to the Octagon and defeated Gleison Tibau by guillotine choke submission after pulling guard.

Tibau tapped quickly at 2:57 in the second round.

In March 2008, Stevenson opened his own school in his hometown of Victorville, California.

"Joe Stevenson's Cobra Kai" teaches MMA as well as Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, and Jiu-Jitsu.

On November 8, 2008, Stevenson earned his Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Robert Drysdale.

After his loss to Diego Sanchez, Stevenson got a call from Rashad Evans for an invite to check out his camp at Jackson's Submission Fighting.

At UFC 91 on November 15, 2008, Stevenson was set to face top-contender Kenny Florian in a highly anticipated bout.

Despite stating that he was offended to be considered an underdog against Florian, Stevenson was outclassed in the bout.

After being taken down three minutes into the fight, Stevenson was mounted and eventually gave up his back to Florian.

Florian forced Stevenson, who had just attained his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, to submit to a rear naked choke just 4:03 into the first round.

Stevenson returned at UFC 95 in the main event against debuting lightweight Diego Sanchez, and lost via unanimous decision.

According to a post-fight statement, he is interested in a rematch.

After being reluctant at first, he finally joined Greg Jackson's camp in April 2009.

Stevenson was one of the more experienced fighters participating in The Ultimate Fighter 2.