Josh Diekmann (born October 9, 1976) is a retired American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

. A professional competitor from 2005 until 2016, Diekmann fought in

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

, the WEC, and CES MMA. Known for being an exciting heavyweight, only one bout during his career ended in a judges' decision.

Background

Born and raised in

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a town on the southwestern shoreline of Washington County, Rhode Island, first settled by English colonists in 1661 and incorporated as a municipality in 1669. It is a beachfront community on the south shore of the state with a popula ...

, Diekmann, who is of Italian descent, graduated from Westerly High School in 1995. Diekmann began training in 2002 at the age of 26 at Whaling City Boxing in

Waterford, Connecticut Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The population was 19,571 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) and had a population of 3,07 ...

, which is owned by Kent Ward, father of current Bellator

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 the ...

Brennan Ward.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Diekmann had one amateur fight against future

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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

competitor Sean Gannon, a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

police officer best known for defeating Kimbo Slice in non-sanctioned bout. Diekmann lost via TKO in the first round. Diekmann later turned professional in 2005, he won his first six bouts by stoppage before losing to Justin Eilers via TKO at WEC 24. Diekmann would then go 6–2 in his next eight bouts.

CES MMA

Diekmann faced Josh Hendricks on February 3, 2012 at CES MMA: Extreme Measures. Diekmann would lose via submission in the first round. The following October, Diekmann was defeated by Tyler King via unanimous decision at CES MMA: Real Pain. Diekmann got his first win for the promotion when he defeated Chris Guillen via first-round TKO at CES MMA: November to Remember. Diekmann was scheduled to face Keith Bell at CES MMA 23 on April 25, 2014. The bout was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Bellator MMA

Diekmann signed a six-fight contract with

and made his Bellator debut on September 7, 2013 at

Bellator 98 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 ...

, defeating Parker Porter via TKO in the first round. Diekmann was expected to face Chris Birchler at

Bellator 110 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight, ...

on February 28, 2014. However, the fight was cancelled for unknown reasons. Diekmann was then expected to face Chad Herrick on the same card, however, this bout also did not happen due to unknown reasons. Instead, Diekmann faced Manny Lara and the fight ended in a no contest due to an accidental eye poke in round one. Diekmann faced

Mike Wessel Michael Wade Wessel (born December 2, 1977) is an American mixed martial artist who last competed in 2016. A professional competitor since 2007, Wessel formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator, and was a contestant on ' ...

at Bellator 123 on September 5, 2014. Diekmann won the fight via knockout in the first round. Diekmann faced Raphael Butler on February 27, 2015 at Bellator 134. He lost the fight by submission in the first round.

Personal life

Diekmann, who is married and has children, also currently works as a mason. Diekmann lives with his family in

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London ...

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 15–8 (1) , Tyler King , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 163 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:39 ,

Uncasville, Connecticut Uncasville is an area in the town of Montville, Connecticut, United States. It is a village 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 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–7 (1) , Ashley Gooch , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CES 32: de Freitas vs. Curtis , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Lincoln, Rhode Island Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistical a ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 (1) , Raphael Butler , Submission (standing guillotine choke) , Bellator 134 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 (1) ,

, KO (punches) , Bellator 123 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:47 ,

, United States , , - , NC , align=center, 14–5 (1) , Manny Lara , NC (accidental eye poke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:18 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Chris Guillen , TKO (punches) , CES MMA: November to Remember , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Ledyard, Connecticut Ledyard is a Town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located along the Thames River. The town is named after Colonel William Ledyard, a Revolutionary War officer who was killed at the Battle of Groton Heights. The population was ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , Parker Porter , TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 , Tyler King , Decision (unanimous) , CES MMA: Real Pain , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 , Josh Hendricks , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , CES MMA: Extreme Measures , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:21 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Randy Smith , TKO (punches) , CFX 13: Rumble in the Jungle 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:12 ,

Plymouth, Massachusetts Plymouth (; historically known as Plimouth and Plimoth) is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. Located in Greater Boston, the town holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore, and culture, and is known a ...

, United States , Won the vacant CFX Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Bobby Favors , KO (punches) , CFX 8: Rumble in the Jungle 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:42 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 , Christian Morecraft , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CFX 6: Rumble in the Jungle 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , David Woodby , TKO (punches) , USFL: War in the Woods 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2 , Chris Guillen , Submission (rear-naked choke) , IFO: Kimmons vs. Yunker , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:40 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 , Pat Schultz , KO (punches) , FFP: Untamed 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

, United States , Won the vacant FFP Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 , Daron Adams , TKO (punches) , WFL 15: Winter Brawl 2007 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:54 ,

Revere, Massachusetts Revere is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, located approximately from downtown Boston. Founded as North Chelsea in 1846, it was renamed in 1871 after the American Revolutionary War patriot Paul Revere. In 1914, the T ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Shane McClure , Submission (armbar) , CZ 19: Above and Beyond , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:08 ,

, United States , Defended the CZ Heavyweight Championship. , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Justin Eilers , TKO (punches) , WEC 24 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:29 ,

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 25 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Chris Herring , TKO (submission to punches) , CZ 13: Battle Cry , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:56 ,

, United States , Won the vacant CZ Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Kevin Jordan , TKO (injury) , FFP: Untamed 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:10 ,

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Massac ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dana Blouin , KO (punch) , WFL 5: Winter Brawl 2006 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , David Woodby , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Mass Destruction 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:35 ,

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Richard Wilson , Submission (armbar) , CZ 11: Blood Brothers , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:33 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Joe Gomes , TKO (punches) , WFL 1: Winter Brawl 2005 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

, United States ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diekmann, Josh Living people 1976 births American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing People from Westerly, Rhode Island Mixed martial artists from Rhode Island People from Groton, Connecticut