Josh Stansbury (born November 19, 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 ...
. He was the light heavyweight
North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS) champions in 2013
and formally fought for
Bellator. Stansbury competes in
Light Heavyweight
Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports.
Boxing Professional
In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...
division of the
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 ...
(UFC).
Background
Stansbury was born in
East Liverpool, Ohio
East Liverpool is a city in southeastern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,958 at the 2020 census. It lies along the Ohio River within the Upper Ohio Valley and borders Pennsylvania to the east and West Virginia to t ...
, Ohio, United States.
His mother's family owned a business that travels to put on carnivals in the summer where Stansbury spent most of his summers at the carnival selling soft drink and helped work the rides and games.
Stansbury started trained wrestling when he was six years old and he placed 4th Division 1 in the Ohio State Wrestling Tournament in 2002. His hopes of wrestling in college was not able to be realized and went to work full-time when his girlfriend was pregnant and had a child not long after his high school graduation. However, he still went to do some open mat wrestling session during his spare time. One of the guy at the wrestling gym who was also a MMA fighter, Nick Spencer, invited him to do some MMA session with him and he was instantly hooked. He started his first fight two months later at the age of 21 in 2005 and won his first fight, feeling a surge of emotion from cheering crowd, and never looked back.
As an amateur, he won and successfully defended the heavyweight title of Next Level Fighting four times. As a professional, he won NAAFS and Fight to Win light heavyweight titles.
Stansbury was a
Bellator veteran and held notable victories over Dane Bonnigson, John Hawk, and Dan Spohn.
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
He started his amateur career in 2005 and made his debut on November 23 against Aaron Caw at NLF 2 and won his first win via KO on round one. He amassed a record of 9-2 prior moved to fight professionally. He fought most of his fights for
North American Allied Fight Series and
Bellator prior signed by UFC with a record of 7–2.
The Ultimate Fighter
The Ultimate Fighter 19
Stansbury was one of the participants in
The Ultimate Fighter 19
''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 19'') is the nineteenth U.S.-based installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''.
The ...
, a UFC's reality TV series, where the show debuted on April 16, 2014. He fought Irishman Chris Fields in his fight to enter the TUF house. Stansbury dominated the most of the round one but injured his left knee when he went for a takedown at the end of the round one. He lost the fight and failed to enter house as one of the contestants.
The Ultimate Fighter 23
After his knee injury rehabilitation, Stansbury tried out
The Ultimate Fighter 23. This time he managed to advance into the house, where Stansbury defeated Trever Carlson via Americana on round one.
On elimination round, Stansbury faced Abdel Medjedoub for Team
Joanna Jędrzejczyk. He defeated Medjedoub via majority decision after two round with the score board of (20-18, 19-19, 20-18). Stansbury advanced to semi-finals round facing Cory Hendricks. Hendricks withdrew from the fight due to neck injury even though he was cleared by the doctor to continue on in the competition and was advised that he had a pinched nerve. Hendricks was replaced by
Khalil Rountree
Khalil Ibn Rountree Jr. (born February 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Rountree was born in Los Angeles, California. ...
, who was given the second chance by 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 ...
. Rountree defeated Stansbury via TKO on round one and ended his advancement to the final of TUF 23.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Stansbury made his promotional debut on July 8, 2016 at
UFC: The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale against Cory Hendricks. He picked up a win via majority decision with the score board f (29-27, 29–27, 28-28).
He was expected to face
Jake Collier
Jake Collier (born October 23, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
With no background in sports, Collier started Brazilian jiu-jitsu to lose weight ...
on December 3, 2016 at
The Ultimate Fighter 24 Finale. However, Collier pulled out of the fight in late October citing injury and was replaced by
Devin Clark. After the three rounds, the judges handed down the win to Clark via unanimous decision.
On June 25, 2017, Stansbury faced
Jeremy Kimball
Jeremy Kimball, (born March 1, 1991) is an American mixed martial arts fighter who formerly competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Kimball has also formerly compete ...
at
UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee. He lost the fight via TKO on round one.
On October 25, 2018, it was reported that Stansbury was released from UFC.
Superior Challenger
Stanbury faced upcoming light-heavyweight Swedish prospect
Karl Albrektsson
Karl Albrektsson ( sv , Karl Albrektsson, (born September 27, 1993), is a Swedish mixed martial arts fighter, competing in the Light Heavyweight division of Bellator MMA. He has been performing at a professional level since 2012, and he is als ...
at Superior Challenger 18 losing via knockout.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
*North American Allied Fight Series
**
North American Allied Fight Series Light Heavyweight Champion (One time)
vs. John Hawk
*Fight to Win
** Fight to Win: Prize Fighting Championship Light Heavyweight Champion (One time)
vs. Jeremy Osheim
Mixed martial arts record
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 8-5
,
Karl Albrektsson
Karl Albrektsson ( sv , Karl Albrektsson, (born September 27, 1993), is a Swedish mixed martial arts fighter, competing in the Light Heavyweight division of Bellator MMA. He has been performing at a professional level since 2012, and he is als ...
, KO (punches)
, Superior Challenge 18
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 4:56
,
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden
,
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 8–4
,
Jeremy Kimball
Jeremy Kimball, (born March 1, 1991) is an American mixed martial arts fighter who formerly competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2010, Kimball has also formerly compete ...
, TKO (punches)
,
UFC Fight Night: Chiesa vs. Lee
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 1:21
,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
, United States
,
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 8–3
,
Devin Clark
, Decision (unanimous)
,
The Ultimate Fighter: Tournament of Champions Finale
,
, align=center, 3
, align=center, 5:00
,
Las Vegas, Nevada
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 ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 8–2
, Cory Hendricks
, Decision (unanimous)
,
UFC: The Ultimate Fighter 23 Finale
,
, align=center, 3
, align=center, 5:00
,
Las Vegas, Nevada
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 ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 7–2
, Victor Jones
, Submission (rear-naked choke)
, GOTC MMA: Gladiators of the Cage 19
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 4:06
,
Cheswick, Pennsylvania
Cheswick is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The population was 1,672 as of the 2020 census.https://data.census.gov/all?q=Cheswick+borough,+Allegheny+County,+Pennsylvania
History
Cheswick, named for a town in England, is a small tow ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 6–2
, Jeremy Osheim
, Submission (guillotine choke)
, Fight to Win: Prize Fighting Championship 7
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 3:42
,
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 5–2
, John Hawk
, Decision (unanimous)
, NAAFS: Rock N Rumble 7
,
, align=center, 5
, align=center, 5:00
,
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 4–2
,
Dan Spohn
Daniel Brian Spohn (born October 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, and was a competitor on The Ulti ...
, Submission (guillotine choke)
,
Bellator 71
2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so ...
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 2:30
,
Chester, West Virginia
Chester is a city in northern Hancock County, West Virginia, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. Sharing a border with Ohio and lying about west of Pennsylvania, Chester is the northernmost cit ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 3–2
, John Opfar
, Submission (guillotine choke)
, NAAFS: Caged Fury 16
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 1:55
,
Morgantown, West Virginia
Morgantown is a city in and the county seat of Monongalia County, West Virginia, Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, situated along the Monongahela River. The largest city in North-Central West Virginia, Morgantown is best known as th ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 2–2
, Christopher Thad Schlichter
, TKO (punches)
, NAAFS: Caged Vengeance 8
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 2:22
,
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
, United States
,
, -
, Win
, align=center, 1–2
, Dane Bonnigson
, Submission (guillotine choke)
, NNAAFS: Fight Night in the Flats 6
,
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 2:06
,
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, United States
,
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 0–2
,
Dan Spohn
Daniel Brian Spohn (born October 12, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, and was a competitor on The Ulti ...
, Submission (guillotine choke)
, NAAFS: Caged Fury 8
,
, align=center, 2
, align=center, 1:01
,
East Liverpool, Ohio
East Liverpool is a city in southeastern Columbiana County, Ohio, United States. The population was 9,958 at the 2020 census. It lies along the Ohio River within the Upper Ohio Valley and borders Pennsylvania to the east and West Virginia to t ...
, United States
,
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 0–1
, John Hawk
, Submission (rear-naked choke)
, NAAFS: Fight Night in the Flats 5
,
, align=center, 2
, align=center, 3:38
,
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, United States
,
, -
See also
*
List of current UFC fighters
*
List of male mixed martial artists
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stansbury, Josh
1984 births
Living people
People from East Liverpool, Ohio
American male mixed martial artists
Light heavyweight mixed martial artists
Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling
Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing
Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu
Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters
American male sport wrestlers
Amateur wrestlers
American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu