Daniel Spohn (born October 12, 1984) is an 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 ...

currently competing in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruiserweight (boxing), cruiserweight. The light heavyweight class has ...

division. A professional competitor since 2006, he has 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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

, and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn.

Background

Spohn was born in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor County, Texas, Taylor and Jones County, Texas, Jones counties, Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan ar ...

on October 12, 1984, to Frank and Joan Spohn. Dan has one brother, Jonathan Spohn, two half brothers, Frank Spohn Jr. and Jason Hammonds, and two half sisters, Kelly and Christie. In 1996 Joan and her three sons, Jason, Dan, and Jonathan moved to

Cambridge, Ohio Cambridge ( ) is a city in Guernsey County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,089 at the 2020 census. It lies in the Appalachian Plateau of the Appalachian Mountains in southeastern Ohio. It is the principal city o ...

where three years later Dan attended classes at Cambridge Mixed Martial Arts where he studied under Tim McConahay. Spohn attended John Glenn High School in

New Concord, Ohio New Concord () is a village in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,361 as of the 2020 census. It is part of the Zanesville micropolitan area. New Concord is the home of Muskingum University and is served by a branch of t ...

and graduated in 2003. Spohn began training in Kung Fu at the age of 12 and at age 14 began training in Aiki Jitsu. Dan has studied traditional Kachido Aikijitsu for the past 17 years under Sensei Tim McConahay. He holds the rank of 3rd degree black belt in the art, and serves as a part-time co-instructor at Cambridge Martial Arts dojo when he is back in his hometown. Spohn currently trains Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Vitor Oliveira at Ronin training center and holds the rank of Purple belt.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Spohn made his amateur MMA debut in 2006. Over the next three and a half years, he amassed a record of 9–4. In November 2009, Spohn made his professional MMA debut. He was undefeated for the first two years of his career, with a record of 6 wins. Daniel Spohn holds one of the fastest knockouts in Bellator history with a flying knee 9 second KO. He suffered his first professional defeat against

Kelvin Tiller Kelvin Tiller (born June 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Tiller has also formerly competed for Bellator, World Series of Fighting and Sha ...

at Bellator 56 via split decision. His next loss in Bellator also came by split decision against Slovak fighter Atilla Vegh.

The Ultimate Fighter

In March 2014, the UFC officially announced the list of fighters competing on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn'' season with Spohn listed as one entrant. Spohn made it onto the show by winning his preliminary match against Tyler King via spectacular 10 second knockout. UFC President

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

called it the "probably the nastiest fucking knockout" of the entire show's history. In the elimination round, Spohn faced Todd Monaghan and won by unanimous decision. In the semifinals, he faced Matt Van Buren and lost via TKO in the second round after an exciting war which won "fight of the season".

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Despite not making it to the finals, Spohn was one of only two competitors from the series brought back to be featured on the finale. He faced Team Edgar semifinalist Patrick Walsh on July 6, 2014. He lost the bout via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion. Spohn is undefeated in 5 of his last 6 fights since being released from UFC and currently holds two regional titles. He is the current Gladiators of the Cage Light Heavyweight champion and also the CFFC Heavyweight Champion. Spohn declared that he is working his way back to the UFC.But, he is also took a career in PFL.

Professional Fighters League

Spohn faced Marthin Nielsen on April 29, 2021, at PFL 2 as the start of the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight tournament. He lost the bout via technical submission to an arm-triangle choke in the second round. Spohn faced

Emiliano Sordi Emiliano Sordi (born 15 February 1991) is an Argentine professional mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division. He has also formerly competed for Jungle Fight, Bellator, Dana White's Contender Series (DWCS) and the Profe ...

at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. After Sordi was deducted a point in the first round due to strikes to the back of the head, the bout ended in a unanimous draw.

Post PFL

Spohn was scheduled to face

Satoshi Ishii is a Japanese-Croatian retired Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional boxer and judoka who has held Croatian citizenship since 2019. Ishii won the gold medal in Judo at the Summer Olympics, Olympic Judo at the Beijing ...

at HEAT 50 on May 7, 2022. However, the bout was scrapped after Spohn tested positive for coronavirus. Spohn faced

Dequan Townsend Dequan Townsend (born May 11, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight division. He has previously fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Townsend originally began training c ...

on October 8, 2022, at Ohio Combat League 22. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Spohn, replacing a suspended Rob Wilkinson, faced Ty Flores on June 8, 2023, at PFL 4. At weigh-ins, Ty Flores weighed in at 211.2 pounds, 5.2 pounds over the Light Heavyweight limit. He was fined 20% of his purse which went to Spohn and he was given a one-point penalty in the standings. Spohn lost the fight by unanimous decision. Spohn is set to fight for the Superior Challenge Light Heavyweight title against Bellator veteran

Karl Albrektsson Karl Albrektsson (born September 27, 1993) is a Swedish mixed martial arts fighter, competing in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division. He has been performing at a professional level since 2012, and he is also known for his part ...

on May 25, 2024 at Superior Challenge 27.

Championships and accomplishments

* North American Allied Fight Series **NAAFS Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)NAAFS: Spohn vs Hawk 2 official results
Mixedmartialarts.com *

Cage Fury Fighting Championships Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion primarily operating in the Northeastern United States, founded by Felix and Amy Martinez. They promoted their first shows in Atlantic City, New Jersey, laun ...

** CFFC Heavyweight Championship (One time) *AllianceMMA Heavyweight Champion (ITFightSeries) (Current) *Gladiators of the Cage LHW Champion (Current)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, , Ty Flores , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 4 (2023) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–7 , Bazigit Atajev , KO (punches) ,

PFL 3 (2019) The ''PFL 3'' mixed martial arts event for the 2019 season of the Professional Fighters League was held on June 6, 2019, at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. This was the third regular season event of 2019 and included fights in the lig ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–6 , Sean O'Connell , Decision (majority) , PFL 9 (2018) , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 , Artur Alibulatov , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 5 (2018) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 17–5 , Bazigit Ataev , TKO (punches) , PFL 2 (2018) , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:31 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–5 , Angel DeAnda , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Dana White's Contender Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

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 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Flavio Rogerio Magon , Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 53 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Jeff Hughes , TKO (punches) , Alpha One Sports: IT Fight Series 48 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , Rob Morrow , TKO (punches) , GOTC MMA 21 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:04 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 , Rodney Wallace , Decision (unanimous) , Hard Knocks 48 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Azunna Anyanwu , TKO (punches) , CFFC 53 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:24 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Lewis Rumsey , Decision (unanimous) , Gladiators of the Cage 17 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Butler, Pennsylvania Butler is a city in Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is north of Pittsburgh and part of the Greater Pittsburgh region. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,502. Butler is named after Major General ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Marcus Finch , TKO (punches) , Absolute Cage Fighting , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:15 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , Michael Cockerham , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Alpha One Sports: IT Fight Series 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:42 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 , Patrick Walsh , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Edgar vs. Team Penn Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Aaron Mays , Submission (armbar) , UVC 23: Invasion , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Robert Morrow , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UVC 22: Mayhem , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:03 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 ,

Josh Stansbury Josh Stansbury (born November 19, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist. He was the light heavyweight North American Allied Fight Series (NAAFS) champions in 2013 and formally fought for Bellator. Stansbury competed in Light Heavyweight div ...

, Submission (guillotine choke) , Bellator 71 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:30 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Attila Vegh , Decision (split) , Bellator 66 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City (commonly known as KCK) is the third-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Dane Bonnigson , KO (knee) , Bellator 51 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:09 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , John Hawk , Decision (unanimous) , NAAFS: Spohn vs. Hawk 2 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 , Streetsboro, Ohio, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Josh Hendricks , TKO (doctor stoppage) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:57 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , John Hawk , Decision (unanimous) , NAAFS: Rock N Rumble 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Christopher Thad Schlichter , Decision (unanimous) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 11 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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Mixed martial arts amateur record

, - , Loss , align=center, 5–2 ,

Jason Butcher Jason Butcher (born October 23, 1984) is an American Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Light Heavyweight (MMA), Light Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2008 ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Lewis Rumsey , TKO (punches) , NAAFS: Rock N Rumble 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:53 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 , Chuck Ellison , KO (punch) , NAAFS: North Coast Showdown 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Lou Ludwig , TKO (punches) , NAAFS: Thursday Night Fights , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:36 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Dave Osborne , Submission (rear-naked choke) , NAAFS: Fight Night in the Flats 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Anthony Pray , KO (punches) , NAAFS: Caged Fury 1 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

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References

External links

*
Dan Spohn
at

PFL PFL may refer to: Sport * Professional Fighters League, an American mixed martial arts league * Peel Football League, an Australian rules football league * Pioneer Football League, an NCAA Division I FCS football conference * Professional Futsa ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spohn, Dan 1984 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wushu Mixed martial artists utilizing jujutsu Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American wushu practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American jujutsuka Sportspeople from Dublin, Ohio People from Cambridge, Ohio Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio