Bradley Imes "Brad" Smith (born on March 13, 1977), better known as Brad Imes, is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. He appeared on The Ultimate Fighter 2, and has competed as a

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

in the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC),

World Extreme Cagefighting World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion founded in 2001. It was purchased by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), in 2006. In its final incarnation, it was mad ...

(WEC), International Fight League (IFL),

Palace Fighting Championship Palace Fighting Championship (PFC) was a mixed martial arts (MMA) organization based in the United States that was created in 2007 by Christian Printup. It ceased operations in 2009. In 2001, Printup helped promotional newcomers Reed Harris and ...

(PFC),

Titan Fighting Championships Titan Fighting Championship (Titan FC) is an American mixed martial arts promotion based out of Pompano Beach, Florida. Their shows were originally run in and near Kansas City and have since expanded to include venues all over North America and e ...

(Titan FC), and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

(KOTC).

Background

Imes was born and raised in Maryville, Missouri. He began

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

when he was five years old. He also played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

, but did not start at a position on the team. Imes was 5'9" and weighed 165 lbs when he graduated before attending the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. Within the next two years, Imes stood at 6'7", weighed 290 lbs, and walked on to the school's football team as a sophomore before earning a scholarship as an offensive tackle and lettering in his senior season. After college, Imes played for the Iowa Barnstormers of the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

for two seasons and was a strength coach for

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. Imes later moved to

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, where he worked as the general manager of a landscaping supply store before being laid off, and then began pursuing mixed martial arts.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Imes made his professional debut in 2004 for the WEC and won his first three fights before being invited to compete on The Ultimate Fighter 2.

The Ultimate Fighter 2

Imes was the last pick for his division, and was coached by his training partner and then- UFC Middleweight Champion,

Rich Franklin Richard Jay Franklin II (born October 5, 1974) is an American businessman and retired mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame and a former UFC Midd ...

. In his first fight in the house, Imes defeated Rob MacDonald via triangle choke submission in the first round. In the semi-finals, Imes faced

Seth Petruzelli Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979), nicknamed "The Silverback", is an American retired mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisi ...

and won via split decision. At

The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter 2'' was the second season of the mixed martial arts reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The season featured a heavyweight and a welterweight division, with 9 fighters initially in each division. The UFC co ...

on November 5, 2005, Imes faced future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Rashad Evans Rashad Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. Evans started his professional MMA career in 2003, and was the Heavyw ...

, and lost via split decision, the first loss of his career.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

At UFC Ultimate Fight Night 4 on April 6, 2006, Imes faced Dan Christison and lost via

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armpit lock is very useful; it will immobilize an opponent and pin them on the ground. An armlock t ...

submission in the third round, but won '' Fight of the Night'' honors. He then won two fights for independent promotions before returning to the UFC at

UFC 69 ''UFC 69: Shootout'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 7, 2007, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. In the main event, Matt Serra shocked the UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pie ...

on April 7, 2007, and lost via unanimous decision.

Post-UFC

After his last appearance in the UFC, Imes went 7–1, fighting in promotions such as the Palace Fighting Championship and King of the Cage before being signed by the International Fight League.

International Fight League

Imes made his IFL debut on May 16, 2008 at IFL: Connecticut, facing then-champion Roy Nelson for the IFL Heavyweight Championship. He was knocked out with a punch in the first round.

Post-IFL

Imes went 1–2 in his last three professional fights before retiring. According to Imes, he retired from the sport due to concerns over his brain health after accumulating trauma from football and mixed martial arts.

Post-retirement

Imes works as a project manager for a construction company in San Antonio, TX. Imes worked as a full-time firefighter in

Jefferson City, Missouri Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

. Imes was featured in a small role in the 2007 action film '' Missionary Man''.

Personal life

Imes and his wife had their first child together in March 2011.

Championships and accomplishments

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

** UFC Encyclopedia Awards *** Fight of the Night (One time) **UFC.com Awards ***2005: Ranked #4 Fight of the Year ***2006: Ranked #9 Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

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Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

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Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , Chris Guillen , Submission (punches) , EC 109: Extreme Challenge 109 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:14 ,

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...

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Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is a village in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is located in southeastern Montville, at the mouth of the Oxoboxo River where it flows into the Thames River. The name is now applied more generally to all of the ...

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Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

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Anthony Ruiz Anthony Ruiz (born November 3, 1977) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight and Middleweight divisions of MMA. A professional since 2003, he has competed for Bellator MMA, Strikeforce (mixed m ...

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Lemoore, California Lemoore (formerly La Tache and Lee Moore's) is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Lemoore is located west-southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 252 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Chris Blaire , TKO (punches) , PFC 5: Beatdown at 4 Bears , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:13 , New Town, North Dakota, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Bo Cantrell , Submission (gogoplata) , KOTC: Arch Rivals , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 , Zak Jensen , Submission (gogoplata) , WFC: Downtown Throwdown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Tony Mendoza , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ring Wars 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:50 ,

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Vince Lucero , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Tuff N-Uff 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:26 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

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Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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References

External links

* *
Brad Imes' MySpace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imes, Brad 1977 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Missouri Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling People from Maryville, Missouri Sportspeople from Bettendorf, Iowa Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters