Daniel Brian Spohn (born October 12, 1984) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

, Bellator, and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn.

Background

Spohn was born in Abilene, Texas on October 12, 1984 to Frank and Joan Spohn. Dan has one brother, Jonathan Spohn, two half brothers, Frank Spohn Jr. and Jason Hammonds, and two half sisters, Kelly and Christie. In 1996 Joan and her three sons, Jason, Dan, and Jonathan moved to

Cambridge, Ohio Cambridge is a city in and the county seat of Guernsey County, Ohio, United States. It lies in southeastern Ohio, in the Appalachian Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains 74 miles east of Columbus. The population was 10,635 at the 2010 census. ...

where three years later Dan attended classes at Cambridge Mixed Martial Arts where he studied under Tim McConahay. Spohn attended John Glenn High School in

New Concord, Ohio New Concord is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population is 2,491 as of the 2010 census. New Concord is the home of Muskingum University and is served by a branch of the Muskingum County Library System. History New Co ...

and graduated in 2003. Spohn began training in Kung Fu at the age of 12 and at age 14 began training in Aiki Jitsu. Dan has studied traditional Kachido Aikijitsu for the past 17 years under Sensei Tim McConahay. He holds the rank of 3rd degree black belt in the art, and serves as a part-time co-instructor at Cambridge Martial Arts dojo when he is back in his hometown. Spohn currently trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Vitor Oliveira at Ronin training center and holds the rank of Purple belt.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Spohn made his amateur MMA debut in 2006. Over the next three and a half years, he amassed a record of 9-4. In November 2009, Spohn made his professional MMA debut. He was undefeated for the first two years of his career, with a record of 6 wins. Daniel Spohn holds one of the fastest knockouts in Bellator history with a flying knee 9 second KO. He suffered his first professional defeat against

Kelvin Tiller Kelvin Tiller (born June 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Tiller has also formerly competed for Bellator, World Series of Fighting and Sh ...

at Bellator 56 via split decision. His next loss in Bellator also came by split decision against Slovak fighter Atilla Vegh.

The Ultimate Fighter

In March 2014, the UFC officially announced the list of fighters competing on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn'' season with Spohn listed as one entrant. Spohn made it onto the show by winning his preliminary match against Tyler King via spectacular 10 second knockout. UFC President

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who serves as president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at $500 milli ...

called it the "probably the nastiest fucking knockout" of the entire show's history. In the elimination round, Spohn faced Todd Monaghan and won by unanimous decision. In the semifinals, he faced Matt Van Buren and lost via TKO in the second round after an exciting war which won "fight of the season".

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Despite not making it to the finals, Spohn was one of only two competitors from the series brought back to be featured on the finale. He faced Team Edgar semifinalist Patrick Walsh on July 6, 2014. He lost the bout via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion. Spohn is undefeated in 5 of his last 6 fights since being released from UFC and currently holds two regional titles. He is the current Gladiators of the Cage Light Heavyweight champion and also the CFFC Heavyweight Champion. Spohn declared that he is working his way back to the UFC.But, he is also took a career in PFL.

Professional Fighters League

Spohn faced Marthin Nielsen on April 29, 2021 at PFL 2 as the start of the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight tournament. He lost the bout via technical submission to an arm-triangle choke in the second round. Spohn faced Emiliano Sordi at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. After Sordi was deducted a point in the first round due to strikes to the back of the head, the bout ended in a unanimous draw.

Post PFL

Spohn was scheduled to face

Satoshi Ishii is a Japanese-born judoka, mixed martial artist, kickboxer and submission grappler who has held Croatian citizenship since 2019. Ishii won the gold medal in Olympic Judo at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, a silver medal at the ...

at HEAT 50 on May 7, 2022. However, the bout was scrapped after Spohn tested positive for coronavirus. Spohn faced Dequan Townsend on October 8, 2022 at Ohio Combat League 22. He won the bout via unanimous decision.

Personal life

Dan and his wife, Rachel, live in Hilliard with their six children.

Championships and accomplishments

* North American Allied Fight Series **NAAFS Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)NAAFS: Spohn vs Hawk 2 official results
Mixedmartialarts.com *

Cage Fury Fighting Championships Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion primarily operating in the Northeastern United States. Founded by Felix and Amy Martinez, they promoted their first shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey, l ...

** CFFC Heavyweight Championship (One time) *AllianceMMA Heavyweight Champion (ITFightSeries) (Current) *Gladiators of the Cage LHW Champion (Current)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 19–8–1 , Dequan Townsend , Decision (unanimous) , Ohio Combat League 22 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Draw , align=center, 18–8–1 , Emiliano Sordi , Draw (unanimous) , PFL 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–8 , Marthin Hamlet , Technical Submission (arm-triangle choke) , PFL 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:52 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–7 , Bazigit Atajev , KO (punches) , PFL 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:25 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–6 , Sean O'Connell , Decision (majority) , PFL 9 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

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Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 , Angel DeAnda , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Dana White's Contender Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Flavio Rogerio Magon , Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 53 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Jeff Hughes , TKO (punches) , Alpha One Sports: IT Fight Series 48 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:02 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , Rob Morrow , TKO (punches) , GOTC MMA 21 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 , Rodney Wallace , Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 48 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Azunna Anyanwu , TKO (punches) , CFFC 53 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:24 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Lewis Rumsey , Decision (unanimous) , Gladiators of the Cage 17 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Marcus Finch , TKO (punches) , Absolute Cage Fighting , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:15 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , Michael Cockerham , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Alpha One Sports: IT Fight Series 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:42 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 , Patrick Walsh , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Aaron Mays , Submission (armbar) , UVC 23: Invasion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Robert Morrow , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UVC 22: Mayhem , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:03 , Columbus, Ohio, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 ,

Josh Stansbury Josh Stansbury (born November 19, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the light heavyweight North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS) champions in 2013 and formally fought for Bellator. Stansbury competes in Light Heavyweight divi ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , Bellator 71 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Attila Vegh , Decision (split) , Bellator 66 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Cleveland, Ohio, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 ,

, Decision (split) , Bellator 56 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Dane Bonnigson , KO (knee) ,

Bellator 51 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feathe ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:09 , Canton, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , John Hawk , Decision (unanimous) , NAAFS: Spohn vs. Hawk 2 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Streetsboro, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Josh Hendricks , TKO (doctor stoppage) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 , Cleveland, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , John Hawk , Decision (unanimous) , NAAFS: Rock N Rumble 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Cleveland, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Christopher Thad Schlichter , Decision (unanimous) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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, Submission (guillotine choke) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:01 ,

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Mixed martial arts amateur record

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Jason Butcher Jason Butcher (born October 23, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2008, he has also competed for Bellator and King ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:38 , Cleveland, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Lewis Rumsey , TKO (punches) , NAAFS: Rock N Rumble 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 , Cleveland, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Joshua Moore , Decision (unanimous) , NAAFS: North Coast Showdown 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 , Sandusky, Ohio, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Chuck Ellison , KO (punch) , NAAFS: North Coast Showdown 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Dave Osborne , Submission (rear-naked choke) , NAAFS: Fight Night in the Flats 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 , Cleveland, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Anthony Pray , KO (punches) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

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