Joe Williams (born July 22, 1985) 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 ...

who competes in

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) ** ...

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division.

Background

Williams has an extensive background in

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 ...

. He started to train when he was eight years old and during his juvenility he earned many state and national titles along with many other honors.Fighter case files: who is Joe Williams?
Themmacorner.com (September 14, 2012)

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Williams started his professional career in 2011. He fought mainly for California-based promotion ''Respect in the Cage''. With a record of 7–0 and victories over

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

veteran Eddie Mendez and WEC veteran Fernando Gonzalez, he signed with

Bellator MMA

Williams made his debut on August 24, 2012 at Bellator 73 against fellow newcomer

Andy Uhrich Andy Uhrich is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Welterweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2007, he also competed for Strikeforce, Titan FC, and was a contestant on Fight Master: Bel ...

. Williams had his first defeat via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28). Williams faced Rod Montoya on October 5, 2012 at Bellator 75. He won via submission in the very first round. Williams faced

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 ...

veteran Jamie Yager on January 17, 2013 at

Bellator 85 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

. He won via TKO in the first round.

Fight Master: Bellator MMA

On May 6, 2013, it was announced that Williams would be featured as a participant on

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

reality TV show Fight Master. In the second episode, Joe lost in the entry round via unanimous decision against Cole Williams. Williams received another chance after the medical suspension of

due to a cut over his eye during his fight against Dom O'Grady in the entry round.

Frank Shamrock Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) ...

picked Williams to fill the last spot of the team. In the fifth episode, Williams is shown facing Ismael Gonzalez in the round of 16 of the tournament. He completely dominated Gonzalez on the ground in round one and finished the fight via submission due to an arm-triangle choke in round two. In the quarterfinals, Williams faced Eric Bradley and lost via majority decision after two rounds.

Post Fight Master

Williams faced

Jesse Juarez Jesse Juarez (born May 8, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut. A professional competitor since 2006, Juarez has also formerly competed for Strik ...

on November 2, 2013 at

Bellator 106 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

. He lost via submission due to a guillotine choke early in the first round.Eddie Alvarez edges Michael Chandler, regains lightweight title at Bellator 106
by Brian Knapp (Sherdog.com) on November 2, 2013

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed Martial Arts

*Respect in the Cage **RITC middleweight title (one time) **Three successful title defenses

Adult Citrus Industry

* Recipient of "Golden Grapefruit" award

Mixed martial arts record

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Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

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Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, planned city in central Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was named in 1888 for the landowner James Irvine. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the ...

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Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...

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Tunica Resorts, Mississippi Tunica Resorts,Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

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Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...

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San Bernardino, California San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Joe 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Orange, California American male sport wrestlers American male Muay Thai practitioners American male mixed martial artists Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists from California