Josh Bryant (fighter)
Encyclopedia
Josh Bryant is an American
professional mixed martial artist
. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
.
, where he attended Coweta High School just outside of Tulsa. While there, Bryant was on the football and wrestling team, but since he was not offered scholarship so, Bryant did not attend college and instead chose to just get a job. While training MMA, Bryant was working as a restaurant manager for Mazzio's Pizza in his hometown.
Bryant obtained a perfect record of 10-0 before being selected as a cast member for the Ultimate Fighter 11.
In his next fight, Josh defeated Kris McCray
via unanimous decision after three rounds. The win moved him into the quarter-final round against Jamie Yager
.
After a slow start for Bryant against Jamie Yager
, he started to find his range in the second round and let his hands go, even dropping Yager a few times. After two rounds, the fight was declared a draw and set to go into a third and final round. But Yager could not answer the bell for the third round, declaring Bryant the winner by TKO. With the win, Bryant advanced to the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, Bryant had a rematch against Kris McCray
. After three rounds, McCray was awarded the unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) and moved him in the finals to fight on The Ultimate Finale 11.
against fellow Ultimate Fighter competitor and teammate, Kyle Noke
. After a dominant first round put in by Noke, Bryant was defeated via second round TKO, his first loss of his MMA career. After the loss he was released from his UFC contract.
On March 12, 2011, Bryant was set to fight on the Fight Festival 30 card in Finland
against Bellator Season Three
middleweight winner, Alexander Shlemenko
. However, for unknown reasons, Bryant was pulled from the card.
|Win
|align=center|12-1
|
Brandon McDowell
|TKO (punches)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 48
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:57
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|11-1
| Jason Norwood
|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 45
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|10-1
|
Kyle Noke
|TKO (punches)
|The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|3:12
|Las Vegas, Nevada
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|10-0
|
Danny Valimaki
|KO (punches)
|Heat XC 4: Hysteria
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:19
|Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|9-0
| John Ott
|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 35
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Tulsa, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|8-0
| Keith Richards
|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 26
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|3:00
|Claremore, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|7-0
| Dusty Miller
|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 20
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|3:00
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|6-0
| Marcus Sursa
|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 18
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|3:00
|Tulsa, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|5-0
| Keenan Curry
|Submission (armbar)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 16
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:03
|Tulsa, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|4-0
| Aaron Pendleton
|Submission (punches)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 12
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:10
|Claremore, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|3-0
| Mike Thomas
|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 11
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:35
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2-0
| David Knight
|Submission (neck crank)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 10
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:59
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
, United States
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1-0
| Ryan Lopez
|TKO (punches)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 9
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:45
|Stillwater, Oklahoma
, United States
|
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional mixed martial artist
Mixed martial arts
Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...
. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz was the eleventh installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship -produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. The show began taping in early 2010 and premiered on Spike on March 31, 2010...
.
Early life
Bryant was born and raised in Tulsa, OklahomaTulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, where he attended Coweta High School just outside of Tulsa. While there, Bryant was on the football and wrestling team, but since he was not offered scholarship so, Bryant did not attend college and instead chose to just get a job. While training MMA, Bryant was working as a restaurant manager for Mazzio's Pizza in his hometown.
Mixed martial arts career
After high school, Bryant maintained a tight gym schedule, however, as he continued to train in wrestling, a friend suggested that he start to train in MMA. He went out and joined Mikey Burnett's gym, Tulsa Combat Fitness.Bryant obtained a perfect record of 10-0 before being selected as a cast member for the Ultimate Fighter 11.
The Ultimate Fighter
Josh appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 11, he defeated Greg Rebello to move into the house and make the final 14 for the show. Bryant was selected as Liddell's fourth pick and was the eighth overall pick.In his next fight, Josh defeated Kris McCray
Kris McCray
Kris Eric Johannes McCray is an American mixed martial artist. He was the runner-up of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz.-Early life:...
via unanimous decision after three rounds. The win moved him into the quarter-final round against Jamie Yager
Jamie Yager
Jamie Yager is an American professional mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz. Besides appearing on The Ultimate Fighter, Yager was also on BET's Iron Ring in 2008.-Early life:Yager left home at age 14 due to differences with his...
.
After a slow start for Bryant against Jamie Yager
Jamie Yager
Jamie Yager is an American professional mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz. Besides appearing on The Ultimate Fighter, Yager was also on BET's Iron Ring in 2008.-Early life:Yager left home at age 14 due to differences with his...
, he started to find his range in the second round and let his hands go, even dropping Yager a few times. After two rounds, the fight was declared a draw and set to go into a third and final round. But Yager could not answer the bell for the third round, declaring Bryant the winner by TKO. With the win, Bryant advanced to the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, Bryant had a rematch against Kris McCray
Kris McCray
Kris Eric Johannes McCray is an American mixed martial artist. He was the runner-up of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz.-Early life:...
. After three rounds, McCray was awarded the unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) and moved him in the finals to fight on The Ultimate Finale 11.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Bryant made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz FinaleThe Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz Finale, also referred to as The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale was a mixed martial arts event that was held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States on June 19, 2010. Featured were the...
against fellow Ultimate Fighter competitor and teammate, Kyle Noke
Kyle Noke
Kyle Noke is an Australian professional mixed martial artist who currently fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Noke has also fought for EliteXC and the Australian fighting promotion Spartan Reality Fight...
. After a dominant first round put in by Noke, Bryant was defeated via second round TKO, his first loss of his MMA career. After the loss he was released from his UFC contract.
Post UFC
Six months after his UFC release, Bryant fought Captain Jason Norwood of the Army, at Freestyle Cage Fighting 45. The fight was for the Freestyle Cage Fighting middleweight title. Bryant won the fight via unanimous decision, and was crowned the new middleweight champion.On March 12, 2011, Bryant was set to fight on the Fight Festival 30 card in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
against Bellator Season Three
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Three
Bellator Fighting Championships: Season Three was the third installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which started on August 12, 2010. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including the bantamweight division, heavyweight division and women's division at...
middleweight winner, Alexander Shlemenko
Alexander Shlemenko
Alexander Pavlovich Shlemenko is a Russian mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Middleweight division for Bellator Fighting Championships.-Early career:...
. However, for unknown reasons, Bryant was pulled from the card.
Mixed martial arts record
|-|Win
|align=center|12-1
|
Brandon McDowell|TKO (punches)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 48
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|1:57
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|11-1
|
Jason Norwood|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 45
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Loss
|align=center|10-1
|
Kyle NokeKyle Noke
Kyle Noke is an Australian professional mixed martial artist who currently fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Noke has also fought for EliteXC and the Australian fighting promotion Spartan Reality Fight...
|TKO (punches)
|The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|3:12
|Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|10-0
|
Danny Valimaki |KO (punches)
|Heat XC 4: Hysteria
|
|align=center|2
|align=center|2:19
|Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|9-0
|
John OttJohn Ott
Dr. John Nash Ott was a photographer and cinematographer who developed many modern photographic practices, including time-lapse photography and full-spectrum lighting.-Photography:...
|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 35
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|5:00
|Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|8-0
|
Keith Richards|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 26
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|3:00
|Claremore, Oklahoma
Claremore, Oklahoma
Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,581 at the 2010 census, a 17.1 percent increase from 15,873 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and home to Rogers State University...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|7-0
|
Dusty Miller|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 20
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|3:00
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|6-0
|
Marcus Sursa|Decision (unanimous)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 18
|
|align=center|3
|align=center|3:00
|Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|5-0
|
Keenan Curry|Submission (armbar)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 16
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:03
|Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|4-0
|
Aaron Pendleton|Submission (punches)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 12
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:10
|Claremore, Oklahoma
Claremore, Oklahoma
Claremore is a city and the county seat of Rogers County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 18,581 at the 2010 census, a 17.1 percent increase from 15,873 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area and home to Rogers State University...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|3-0
|
Mike Thomas|Submission (rear-naked choke)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 11
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|2:35
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|2-0
|
David Knight|Submission (neck crank)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 10
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:59
|Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee, Oklahoma
Shawnee is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Oklahoma City-Shawnee Combined Statistical Area; it is also the county seat of Pottawatomie County and the principal city of the Shawnee Micropolitan Statistical...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
|-
|Win
|align=center|1-0
|
Ryan Lopez|TKO (punches)
|Freestyle Cage Fighting 9
|
|align=center|1
|align=center|0:45
|Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|