Justin Ray Lawrence (born May 15, 1990) is an American former professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight 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,

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 RFA may refer to: Government and private organizations * Radio Free Asia, a private news broadcaster and publisher in East Asia, funded in part by the U.S. government * Renewable Fuels Agency, a former UK renewable fuel regulatory agency * Ren ...

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

Background

Originally from Pacific, Missouri, 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 National Kickboxing Champion, and a two-time Pan-American Kickboxing Champion. Lawrence began wrestling 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.

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 to take part on Team Cruz. In the first round of the tournament, Lawrence was selected to fight PRIDE veteran, Cristiano Marcello. 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. 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, UFC President Dana White decided to sign all 16 cast members to exclusive UFC contracts. Lawrence made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale 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 on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150. 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 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen'' (also known as ''The Ultimate Fighter 17'') is the seventeenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The series ...

. 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. Lawrence faced Luis Saldaña 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. 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 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 instead faced Emmanuel Sanchez 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 * Seco ...

at Bellator 167 on December 3, 2016. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Lawrence faced

Treston Thomison Treston Thomison is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2009, he has also competed for King of the Cage. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , ...

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 A. J. McKee (born April 7, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator's Featherweight and Lightweight division, where he is the former Bellator Featherweight Champion. As of February 28, 2023, he is #4 in the Bell ...

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

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

Mixed martial arts

* Ultimate Fighting Championship ** 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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, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 197 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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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, TKO (doctor stoppage) , Bellator 181 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:34 , Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 ,

John Macapá John Teixeira da Conceição (born November 18, 1986), commonly known as John Macapá, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Teixeira has formerly competed fo ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 167 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Isao Kobayashi , KO (punches) , Bellator 157: Dynamite 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:11 , St. Louis, Missouri, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Emmanuel Sanchez , Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , St. Louis, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Sean Wilson , TKO (elbows and punches) , Bellator 138 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:56 , St. Louis, Missouri, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Sam Toomer , TKO (knees to the body and punches) , RFA 25: Lawrence vs. Toomer , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 , Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 , Mark Dickman , Decision (unanimous) , RFA 17: Cochrane vs. Giagos , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Luis Saldaña , Decision (unanimous) , RFA 10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Des Moines, Iowa, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Daniel Pineda , Submission (kimura) , The Ultimate Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:35 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Max Holloway , TKO (punches) , UFC 150 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:49 , Denver, Colorado, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , John Cofer , KO (head kick) , The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:19 , Las Vegas, Nevada, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jason Webb , Submission (armbar) , Fight Me MMA 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Pete Martin , Decision (unanimous) , Bobish's Ultimate Cage Battles 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Parma, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Max Martyniouk , Technical Decision (unanimous) , Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A , St. Louis, Missouri, United States ,

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 21st-century American sportsmen