Jonathan Madsen (born February 12, 1980) is an American retired

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 most recently competed in the

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 ...

division of Titan FC. A professional competitor since 2008, Madsen 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 TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

and was a cast member of

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights'' fighting for Team Rashad.

Background

Born in

Orange County, California Orange County (officially the County of Orange; often initialized O.C.) is a county (United States), county located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population ...

and raised in Doland, South Dakota, Madsen attended Doland High School where he was a decorated high school and college wrestler. Madsen has won many awards and even had a high school wrestling match with former UFC heavyweight champion

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...

. Besides wrestling, Madsen was a track and football star. Madsen enrolled in

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University (SDSU or SD State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota, United States. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest university and is the sec ...

and won an NCAA Division II national title in wrestling his freshman year.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After college he still had the passion to compete and decided to pursue mixed martial arts full-time. Wanting to train with one of the best mixed martial arts gyms, Madsen packed his stuff and moved out of his home in South Dakota to train with The H.I.T. Squad (Hughes Intensive Training) in

Granite City, Illinois Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and S ...

where he was known for not being able to score with the ladies and ridiculed by teammates. Madsen decided to skip competing as an amateur and went straight to professional, with a previous record of 3–0 Madsen was picked to compete on ''

The Ultimate Fighter 10 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights'' is the tenth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)-produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. In a press conference following ''UFC 98'', Dana White announced that filmin ...

''.

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Madsen was on the tenth season of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''. In the first episode, Madsen advanced to the quarterfinals after he defeated Team Rampage's second pick Abe Wagner via unanimous decision. In the quarterfinals, Madsen fought teammate

Brendan Schaub Brendan Peter Schaub (born March 18, 1983) is an American podcast host, former professional mixed martial artist, and stand-up comedian. He is the host of '' The Fighter and the Kid'' podcast, the ''Below the Belt with Brendan Schaub'' podcast ...

and was knocked out in the second round via two straight right punches.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Madsen made his official

debut at the Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. He fought castmate and teammate

Justin Wren Justin Christopher Wren (born April 27, 1987) is an American humanitarian worker and former professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the Heavyweight (MMA), heavyweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Wre ...

to a decision of 30–27, 28–29 and 29–28 winning by split decision. Madsen next fought Mostapha Al-turk at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. After 3 rounds, Madsen was declared the winner via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). At

UFC 116 ''UFC 116: Lesnar vs. Carwin'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 3, 2010, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show was voted as the Best Major Show in the 2010 List of Wrestling ...

, Madsen defeated Karlos Vemola via unanimous decision. Madsen was expected to face Todd Duffee on October 23, 2010 at UFC 121. However, Duffee was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by

Gilbert Yvel Gilbert Yvel (born 30 June 1976) is a Dutch professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1997, Yvel competed in the Pride Fighting Championships, PRIDE Fighting Championships, Affliction Entertainment, A ...

. Both men circled early on in the fight before Madsen gained a double leg takedown. Madsen then hit Yvel multiple times forcing the referee to stop the fight. Madsen next faced his DeathClutch teammate

Mike Russow Michael Earl Russow (born November 9, 1976) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. Having made his professional debut in 1998, Russow has formerly competed for the UFC, Adrenaline MMA, ...

at UFC Fight Night 24. He lost the fight via doctor stoppage at the end of round two in the first loss of his professional career. Despite compiling a 4-1 UFC record, Madsen was subsequently released from the UFC after the loss.

Post-UFC career

Madsen faced Matt Foster at PCFN 7 on March 8, 2014. He won by KO in the first round.

Titan Fighting Championship

Madsen was expected to face Dave Herman for the vacant Titan FC heavyweight championship at Titan FC 32 on November 20, 2014. On November 4, 2014 it was announced that Titan FC 32 would be postponed to December 19, 2014 and will be moved from Augusta, Georgia to Lowell, Massachusetts Subsequent to the show's move, Herman pulled out of the bout and was replaced by Jack May. The bout was ultimately pulled from this show with no reason given. On March 20, 2015, he faced

Chase Gormley Chase Gormley (born August 11, 1983) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxing, bare-knuckle boxer, currently competing in the Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight division of the Bare Knuckle Fightin ...

for the inaugural Titan FC Heavyweight Championship at Titan FC 33. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Titan FC 33 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Matt Foster , KO (punch) , PCFN 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:48 ,

Redfield, South Dakota Redfield is a city in and the county seat of Spink County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The city was named for J. B. Redfield, a railroad official. Geography According to th ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–1 ,

, TKO (doctor stoppage) , UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFC 121 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:48 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Karlos Vémola , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas 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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Mostapha al-Turk , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 112 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

, United Arab Emirates , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 ,

, Decision (split) , The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, 3–0 , Ryan Kotzea , Decision (unanimous) , The Cage Inc.: Shock Wave , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Waylon Goldsmith , TKO (punches) , The Cage Inc.: Summer Slam 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:02 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Cody Griffin , KO (punches) , Crossroads Combat Challenge 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Effingham, Illinois Effingham is a city in Effingham County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. It is in South Central Illinois. Its population was 12,252 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Effingham micropolitan statistical area. The ...

, United States ,

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

References

External links

* *
Jon Madsen profile at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madsen, Jon American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from South Dakota Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Living people 1980 births American male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Orange County, California Mixed martial artists from California People from Doland, South Dakota South Dakota State University alumni Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters