Justin Frazier (born June 15, 1989) 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, incorp ...

who competes in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division. He most notably competed in 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 ...

and

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

Background

Frazier graduated from

Cave City High School Cave City High School is a comprehensive public high school located in the fringe town of Cave City, Arkansas, United States. The school provides secondary education for students in grades 9 through 12. It is one of three public high schools in ...

in 2008, then played football at

Arkansas Tech University Arkansas Tech University (ATU) is a public university in Russellville, Arkansas. The university offers programs at both baccalaureate and graduate levels in a range of fields. The Arkansas Tech University–Ozark Campus, a two-year satellite cam ...

. After a knee injury derailed his football career, Frazier received degrees at both

University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville (UACCB) is a public community college in Batesville, Arkansas. History The University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville (UACCB) was originally opened in September of 1975 as ...

and at

Arkansas State University Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage la ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his career in 2010, Frazier compiled a 10–2 record fighting for various regional organizations and

. At Bellator 52 on October 1, 2011, Frazier faced Liron Wilson and easily dispatched off him via GnP in the first round. In his next fight afterward, Frazier faced future

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 ...

Heavyweight title contender

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

at RFA 2 on March 30, 2012. He lost via TKO in the first round. At

Bellator 120 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

on May 17, 2014, Frazier waged a sloppy slugfest with

Mike Wessel Michael Wade Wessel (born December 2, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2016. A professional competitor since 2007, Wessel formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator, and was a contestant on ...

that ended in a Wessel TKO in the first round. After this win, Frazier would take a couple of years off to deal with the medical issues off his son.

The Ultimate Fighter

In August 2017, it was announced that Frazier was one of the fighters featured on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters'' UFC TV series. Frazier was the seventh pick by coach

Kelvin Gastelum Kelvin Gastelum (born October 24, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Middleweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gastelum has competed for the UFC since he won ''The Ultima ...

. In the quarter-finals, Frazier defeated Anderson da Silva via unanimous decision after two rounds. In the semi-finals, Frazier defeated Michel Batista via technical knockout in Round One. This win secured Frazier a spot in the finals against

Juan Espino Juan Espino (born 9 October 1980) is a Spanish retired mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Grappling Juan Espino started in Canarian wrestling where he reached the level of ''p ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters Finale on November 30, 2018, Frazier faced

. He lost the bout in quick fashion via straight armlock in the first round. In February 2019, Frazier revealed that he was released from his UFC contract.

Post UFC

After his release from the UFC, Frazier faced Kevin Sears at C3 Fights 47 on January 12, 2019. He won the bout via unanimous decision. He then faced Ben Rowland at Pyramid Fights 12 on June 22, 2019, winning the bout via first round submission.

Personal life

Frazier’s son was born with a congenital birth defect,

hypoplastic left heart syndrome Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a rare congenital heart defect in which the left side of the heart is severely underdeveloped and incapable of supporting the systemic circulation. It is estimated to account for 2-3% of all congenital hea ...

, that prevents the oxygen-rich blood from circulating the body, leading to a heart transplant just two weeks into his heart, and complications afterwards led to a battle with cancer in 2012.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Ben Rowland , Submission (choke) , Pyramid Fights 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:58 ,

Batesville, Arkansas Batesville is the county seat and largest city of Independence County, Arkansas, Independence County, Arkansas, United States, 80 miles (183 km) northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, the state capital. According to the 2010 Census, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Kevin Sears , Decision (unanimous) , C3 Fights 47 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Newkirk, Oklahoma Newkirk is a city and county seat of Kay County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,172 at the 2020 census. History Newkirk is on land known as the Cherokee Outlet (popularly called the "Cherokee Strip"), which belonged to the Chero ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, Submission (straight armlock) , The Ultimate Fighter: Heavy Hitters Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:36 ,

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, 10–2 , Reggie Cato , TKO (punches) , Pyramid Fights 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Parnell Davis , Submission (forearm choke) , Revolution Combat Championships 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 ,

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Carlton Little Sr. , TKO (punches) , Pyramid Fights 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:43 ,

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

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 ,

Southaven, Mississippi Southaven is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. It is a principal city in Greater Memphis. The 2020 census reported a population of 54,648, making Southaven the third-largest city in Mississippi and the second most populous ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Terence Landers , TKO (punches) , Off The Chain MMA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:15 ,

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Chris Miller , TKO (punches) , Mid South MMA Championships 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:09 ,

Caruthersville, Missouri Caruthersville is a city in and the county seat of Pemiscot County, Missouri, United States, located along the Mississippi River in the Bootheel region of the state's far southeast. The population was 5,562, according to the 2020 census. Histo ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 ,

, TKO (knee to the body and punches) , RFA 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:37 ,

Kearney, Nebraska Kearney is the county seat of Buffalo County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 30,787 in the 2010 census. It is home to the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The westward push of the railroad as the Civil War ended gave new birt ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Liron Wilson , TKO (punches) , Bellator 52 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:50 ,

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , James Hall , TKO (punches) , AXC 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:45 ,

Bryant, Arkansas Bryant is a city in Saline County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city was 16,688. It is part of the Central Arkansas region. History European settlers established themsel ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Terence Landers , TKO (punches) , Brickhouse MMA: Beatdown 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:31 ,

Paragould, Arkansas Paragould is the county seat of Greene County, and the 19th-largest city in Arkansas, in the United States. The city is located in northeastern Arkansas on the eastern edge of Crowley's Ridge, a geologic anomaly contained within the Arkansas delta ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ace Lewis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , AXC 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:55 ,

Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Kevin Casey , TKO (punches) , AXC 11 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:26 ,

Conway, Arkansas Conway is a city in the U.S. state of Arkansas and the county seat of Faulkner County, located in the state's most populous Metropolitan Statistical Area, Central Arkansas. Although considered a suburb of Little Rock, Conway is unusual in that ...

, United States ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frazier, Justin 1989 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists from Arkansas