Justin Ray Lawrence (born May 15, 1990) is an American professional

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 ...

currently competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

division of

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 ...

. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Lawrence has also formerly 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 ...

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *'' Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *'' Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *''Marvel Strike Force'', ...

, the RFA, and was a competitor on FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Live.

Background

Originally from

Pacific, Missouri Pacific (formerly Franklin) is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri in eastern Franklin County and extending to the east into southwest St. Louis County. The population was 7,002 at the 2010 census. History Early history (1820-1864) Througho ...

, Lawrence began training at the age of six under his step-father, Benny Voyles, a former professional boxer and kickboxer who owns his own gym in St. Louis, Missouri. Lawrence would go on to become a two-time St. Louis' Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament Champion, and compile over 150 amateur kickboxing wins. In kickboxing, Lawrence also was a six-time IKF

International Kickboxing Federation The International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) is a sanctioning body for kickboxing and Muay Thai based in the United States. The IKF sanctions and regulates all aspects of these sports from Semi Contact IKF Point Kickboxing (IKF/PKB)) to Full Co ...

National Kickboxing Champion, and a two-time Pan-American Kickboxing Champion. Lawrence began

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 ...

in the third grade, and was talented, placing in the state tournament multiple times as well as in football as a running back at Pacific High School. Lawrence was also a member of the school's drama team.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2007 Lawrence began his MMA career, taking his first amateur fight, winning in the first round via submission (rear-naked choke). He picked up four more amateur wins, accumulating a record of 5-0 before turning professional. Lawrence's professional debut came on December 4, 2010 at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II in St. Louis, Missouri. His opponent was highly touted Russian fighter, Max Martyniouk, who was also making his professional debut. Lawrence dominated throughout the bout but after Lawrence delivered a soccer kick to the head of the downed Martyniouk the fight was forced to go to a technical decision. Despite the illegal kick, Lawrence was awarded the win via a unanimous technical decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). After the exposure from Strikeforce, Lawrence received a call from Ohio promotion, Bobish's Ultimate Cage Battles, to fight on their April 9, 2011 card. Lawrence fought Pete Martin winning the fight via unanimous decision. Lawrence then fought Jason Webb on November 11, 2011 at Fight Me MMA 3. Lawrence won the fight via submission (armbar) in the first round.

The Ultimate Fighter

In February 2012, it was revealed that Lawrence was selected to be a participant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Live''. Lawrence defeated two-time WEC veteran James Krause via TKO to move into the ''Ultimate Fighter'' house, and become an official cast member. Lawrence was selected as the first overall pick by

Dominick Cruz Dominick Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Cruz ha ...

to take part on Team Cruz. In the first round of the tournament, Lawrence was selected to fight

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

veteran,

Cristiano Marcello Cristiano Marcello da Silva (born December 3, 1977) is a retired Brazilian 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 ...

. Lawrence was able to defeat Marcello by knockout at 3:15 of the second round, earning a place in the quarter-finals. Lawrence's quarter-final fight was against Team Faber's

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and sports analyst who currently competes in the welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional MMA competitor sin ...

. After a hard fought two rounds the judges declared a draw and the fight went to a third, "sudden-death" round. Lawrence was mounted early in the third round and lost via TKO, eliminating him from the competition.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Though Lawrence did not win the show,

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 ...

decided to sign all 16 cast members to exclusive UFC contracts. Lawrence made his UFC debut 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 ...

on June 1, 2012 against fellow TUF cast member, John Cofer. Lawrence won via KO due to a head kick in the opening seconds of the third round. The performance earned both participants ''Fight of the Night'' honors, with Lawrence also earning a ''Knockout of the Night'' bonus. Lawrence made his Featherweight debut, dropping down to face

Max Holloway Jerome Max Keli'i Holloway (born December 4, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2010, Holloway became the ...

on August 11, 2012 at

UFC 150 ''UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 11, 2012, at the Pepsi Center now known as Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Background A fight between Dennis Hallman and ...

. After two close rounds Lawrence lost the fight via TKO (body punches) at 4:49 of the second round. Lawrence next faced Daniel Pineda on April 13, 2013 at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. He lost the fight via submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Resurrection Fighting Alliance

Following his release from the UFC, Lawrence signed with the

Resurrection Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

. Lawrence faced

Luis Saldaña Luis Saldaña (born January 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Having his first boxing match at eight years old, he was introduced to the spor ...

at RFA 10 on October 25, 2013. Lawrence won the fight via unanimous decision.

Bellator MMA

In April 2015, Lawrence signed a multi-fight contract with

. He made his debut against Sean Wilson on June 19, 2015 at

Bellator 138 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

. Lawrence won the fight via TKO in the first round. In his second fight for the promotion, Lawrence was expected to face Pat Curran on November 6, 2015 at Bellator 145. Lawrence instead faced

Emmanuel Sanchez Emmanuel Sanchez (born August 11, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Sanchez has also formerly competed for the Resurrection Fighting Allianc ...

after Curran pulled out of the bout due to a knee injury. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Lawrence next faced Isao Kobayashi at Bellator 157: Dynamite 2 on June 24, 2016. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Lawrence faced

John Teixeira John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

at Bellator 167 on December 3, 2016. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Lawrence faced Treston Thomison at Bellator 181 on July 14, 2017. He won the fight via TKO due to doctor stoppage in the first round. Lawrence faced Andrew Natividad at Bellator 193 on January 26, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Lawrence faced A. J. McKee at Bellator 197 on April 13, 2018. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

*International Kickboxing Federation **National Champion (Six Times) **Pan-American Kickboxing Champion (Two times)

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

*St. Louis Golden Gloves **Golden Gloves Champion (Two times) **Diamond Gloves Champion (Two times)

Mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

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) ** Knockout of the Night (One time) *Resurrection Fighting Alliance **RFA Featherweight Champion (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

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Temecula, California Temecula (; es, Temécula, ; Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 census and was incorporated on December 1, 1989. The city is a t ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Treston Thomison , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Bellator 181 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma. It is located in South Central Oklahoma. The population was 445 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ardmore, Oklahoma Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Thackerville is located at (33. ...

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St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into Lincoln County to the south, which continues up ...

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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 ...

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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 ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Justin 1990 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Missouri Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling American male karateka American male kickboxers Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters