John Brian Albert (born October 13, 1986) is a retired 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 ...

. A professional from 2007 until 2013, he 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 ...

, and was a competitor on Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller.

Background

Albert was born in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

but was raised in

Puyallup, Washington Puyallup ( or ) is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States, located about 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Tacoma and 35 miles (56 km) south of Seattle. It had a population of 42,973 at the 2020 census. The city's name comes from th ...

. His brother, uncle, and grandfather have all served in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

and are some of Albert's heroes. He moved out of his mother's house before he graduated

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. He attended Gov. John R. Rogers High School, graduating in 2005. After graduation Albert began working as an

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

, earning enough to buy himself a new

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

, and helping to afford his living expenses easily. He worked full-time up until the day he left for

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

Mixed martial arts

Early career

Growing up Albert idolized martial arts legends

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

and

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years o ...

, claiming he wanted to be a "

karate master is a Japanese manga drawn by Jirō Tsunoda and Jōya Kagemaru, with the story written by Ikki Kajiwara. The story was inspired by the life of the real-life karate martial artist Mas Oyama. The manga was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazi ...

" just like them. He began taking

Tae Kwon Do ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean martial arts, Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast k ...

classes, and received his third level belt before giving it up due to not being able to afford it. In junior high Albert was a part of his school's

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

team, but did not pursue it during

like his brother who was a two-time state placer. Albert began looking into training MMA after a friend asked him to help sharpen up his wrestling skills. After only two weeks of training, his friend invited him to come train with

veteran

Dennis Hallman Dennis Lloyd Hallman (born December 2, 1975) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed from 1996 to 2015. A veteran of 75 fights, he competed in various promotions including the UFC, Strikeforce, IFL, the World Seri ...

. Albert obliged and started training with Hallman and his team. Albert claims he fell in love with the sport after being "''explicit'' rocked". Only three months into training Albert began fighting as an amateur. He spent two years on the amateur circuit, obtaining a 12-1 record while collecting 4 championships. In 2007 he made his professional debut winning via TKO in only 48 seconds into round one. His next bout also ended via first-round TKO, taking Albert's record to 2-0. After his second bout Albert took nearly a two-year hiatus before returning to competition. He returned with four wins, (three submissions and one knockout), all in a five-month span. He took another hiatus from the sport, returning one year later from his sixth fight, taking a highly controversial loss to journeymen, Roy Bradshaw. During the fight Albert dislocated his rib and while on the ground in pain, Bradshaw put Albert in a guillotine, but since his rib was causing so much pain, he tapped. The commission deemed it submission by guillotine, and since Albert was at the hospital he could not dispute it.

The Ultimate Fighter

In 2011, Albert had signed with the

to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. In the first episode, Albert fought Orville Smith, winning via first round submission (rear-naked choke). The win gained Albert entry into the ''Ultimate Fighter'' house. He was selected as a part of Team Bisping. Albert next fought against Team Mayhem's top bantamweight pick, John Dodson. Albert lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Though he did not win the ''Ultimate Fighter'', Albert was signed to an exclusive contract with the

. Albert officially made his UFC debut on December 3, 2011 at

The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller'' is the fourteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The UFC and Spike held open tryouts on March 21, 2011, ...

, defeating Dustin Pague via TKO in the first round. Albert dropped Pague with a combination in the opening moments, put him in the giftwrap position and unloaded on him with heavy ground and pound causing the referee to intervene. Albert next faced

Ivan Menjivar Ivan Menjivar (born May 30, 1982) is a Salvadorian-Canadian mixed martial artist who formerly fought in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Menjivar was born in La Paz, El Salvador, in 1982. Fleeing t ...

UFC on Fuel TV 1 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

on February 15, 2012. After a back-and-forth first round, Albert lost the fight via submission. Albert was expected to face Byron Bloodworth on June 1, 2012 at

The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Live'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 15'') was the fifteenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. This season marked the show's debut ...

. However, Bloodworth was forced out of the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer

Érik Pérez Érik Gregorio Pérez Ruvalcaba (born November 19, 1989) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Bellator MMA promotion. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Shark Fights, BAMMA, U ...

. Albert lost the fight via controversial armbar submission as he did not appear to verbally submit or tap out but the fight was stopped by referee Kim Winslow. Despite the loss, according to a tweet from

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 ...

, both fighters would receive a win bonus. Albert faced

Scott Jorgensen Scott Roger Jorgensen (born September 17, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Jorgensen has formerly competed for the UFC, WEC, and ShoXC. Backgroun ...

on December 8, 2012 at

UFC on Fox 5 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 ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. The fight was awarded ''Fight of the Night'' honors. Albert faced Yaotzin Meza on July 27, 2013 at

UFC on Fox 8 ''UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 8'') was a mixed martial arts event held on July 27, 2013, at the Key Arena in Seattle, Washington. The event was broadcast live on FX and Fox. Background The main event was a UFC ...

. He lost the back-and-forth fight via submission in the second round and was released from the promotion shortly after.

Championships and accomplishments

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) vs.

Mixed martial arts record

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Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

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Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on Fuel TV: Sanchez vs. Ellenberger , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:45 ,

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

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Shelton, Washington Shelton is a city in, and the county seat of, Mason County, Washington, United States. Shelton is the westernmost city on Puget Sound. The population was 10,371 at the 2020 census. Shelton has a council–manager form of government and was the ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Bobby Corpuz , Submission (triangle choke) , CageSport 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:26 ,

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Drew Brokenshire , Submission (armbar) , Genesis Fights 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Shoreline, Washington Shoreline is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is located between the city limits of Seattle and the Snohomish County border, approximately north of Downtown Seattle. As of the 2020 census, the population of Shoreline was 58 ...

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Redmond, Oregon Redmond is a city in Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. Incorporated on July 6, 1910, the city is on the eastern side of Oregon's Cascade Range, in the High Desert in Central Oregon. From Redmond there is access to recreational opportuni ...

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Chehalis, Washington Chehalis ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lewis County, Washington. The population was 7,439 at the time of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1883, Chehalis was primarily a logging and railroad town, with a shift towards farming in the m ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert, John 1986 births Living people A Sportspeople from Reno, Nevada Sportspeople from Puyallup, Washington Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing taekwondo American male taekwondo practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters