Justin Ray Lawrence (born May 15, 1990) is an American former professional

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

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of

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 ...

. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Lawrence 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 ...

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 *' ...

, the

RFA RFA may refer to: Groups, organizations * Radio Free Asia, a private news broadcaster and publisher in East Asia, funded in part by the U.S. government * Renewable Fuels Agency, a former UK renewable fuel regulatory agency * Renewable Fuels A ...

, and was a competitor on FX's The Ultimate Fighter: Live.

Background

Originally from

Pacific, Missouri Pacific (formerly Franklin) is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri in eastern Franklin County and extending to the east into southwest St. Louis County. The population was 7,414 at the 2020 census. History Early history (1820–1864) T ...

, Lawrence began training at the age of six under his step-father, Benny Voyles, a former professional boxer and kickboxer who owns his own gym in St. Louis, Missouri. Lawrence would go on to become a two-time St. Louis' Golden Gloves Boxing Tournament Champion, and compile over 150 amateur kickboxing wins. In kickboxing, Lawrence also was a six-time IKF International Kickboxing Federation National Kickboxing Champion, and a two-time Pan-American Kickboxing Champion. Lawrence 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 ...

in the third grade, and was talented, placing in the state tournament multiple times as well as in football as a running back at Pacific High School.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2007 Lawrence began his MMA career, taking his first amateur fight, winning in the first round via submission (rear-naked choke). He picked up four more amateur wins, accumulating a record of 5-0 before turning professional. Lawrence's professional debut came on December 4, 2010 at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II in St. Louis, Missouri. His opponent was highly touted Russian fighter, Max Martyniouk, who was also making his professional debut. Lawrence dominated throughout the bout but after Lawrence delivered a soccer kick to the head of the downed Martyniouk the fight was forced to go to a technical decision. Despite the illegal kick, Lawrence was awarded the win via a unanimous technical decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). After the exposure from Strikeforce, Lawrence received a call from Ohio promotion, Bobish's Ultimate Cage Battles, to fight on their April 9, 2011 card. Lawrence fought Pete Martin winning the fight via unanimous decision. Lawrence then fought Jason Webb on November 11, 2011 at Fight Me MMA 3. Lawrence won the fight via submission (armbar) in the first round.

The Ultimate Fighter

In February 2012, it was revealed that Lawrence was selected to be a participant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Live''. Lawrence defeated two-time WEC veteran James Krause via TKO to move into the ''Ultimate Fighter'' house, and become an official cast member. Lawrence was selected as the first overall pick by

Dominick Cruz Dominick Rogelio Cruz (born March 9, 1985) is an American former professional mixed martial artist, sports analyst and color commentator. He competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the first ...

to take part on Team Cruz. In the first round of the tournament, Lawrence was selected to fight

PRIDE Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

veteran,

Cristiano Marcello Cristiano Marcello da Silva (born December 3, 1977) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist and former Chute Boxe BJJ head coach who formerly fought for the UFC. Cristiano competed in the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 1998, 1 ...

. Lawrence was able to defeat Marcello by knockout at 3:15 of the second round, earning a place in the quarter-finals. Lawrence's quarter-final fight was against Team Faber's

Michael Chiesa Michael Keith Chiesa (; born December 7, 1987) is an American professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and sports analyst who currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship ( ...

. After a hard fought two rounds the judges declared a draw and the fight went to a third, "sudden-death" round. Lawrence was mounted early in the third round and lost via TKO, eliminating him from the competition.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Though Lawrence did not win the show,

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 ...

decided to sign all 16 cast members to exclusive UFC contracts. Lawrence made his UFC debut at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale on June 1, 2012 against fellow TUF cast member, John Cofer. Lawrence won via KO due to a head kick in the opening seconds of the third round. The performance earned both participants ''Fight of the Night'' honors, with Lawrence also earning a ''Knockout of the Night'' bonus. Lawrence made his Featherweight debut, dropping down to face

Max Holloway Jerome Max Keli'i Holloway (born December 4, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Fea ...

on August 11, 2012 at

UFC 150 ''UFC 150: Henderson vs. Edgar II'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 11, 2012, at the Ball Arena, Pepsi Center now known as Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Background A fight between Dennis Hal ...

. After two close rounds Lawrence lost the fight via TKO (body punches) at 4:49 of the second round. Lawrence next faced Daniel Pineda on April 13, 2013 at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale. He lost the fight via submission in the first round and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Resurrection Fighting Alliance

Following his release from the UFC, Lawrence signed with the

Resurrection Fighting Alliance The Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Houston, Texas. It was created as a result of the Legacy Fighting Championship and Resurrection Fighting Alliance merger in 2016. History Resu ...

. Lawrence faced

Luis Saldaña Luis Saldaña (born January 27, 1991) is an American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Having his first boxing match at eight ...

at RFA 10 on October 25, 2013. Lawrence won the fight via unanimous decision.

Bellator MMA

In April 2015, Lawrence signed a multi-fight contract with

. He made his debut against Sean Wilson on June 19, 2015 at Bellator 138. Lawrence won the fight via TKO in the first round. In his second fight for the promotion, Lawrence was expected to face Pat Curran on November 6, 2015 at Bellator 145. Lawrence instead faced

Emmanuel Sanchez Emmanuel Sanchez (born August 11, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Sanchez has formerly competed for Bellator MMA, where he was a contender for the Featherwei ...

after Curran pulled out of the bout due to a knee injury. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Lawrence next faced Isao Kobayashi at Bellator 157: Dynamite 2 on June 24, 2016. He won the fight via knockout in the second round. Lawrence faced

John Teixeira John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

at Bellator 167 on December 3, 2016. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Lawrence faced Treston Thomison at Bellator 181 on July 14, 2017. He won the fight via TKO due to doctor stoppage in the first round. Lawrence faced Andrew Natividad at Bellator 193 on January 26, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Lawrence faced A. J. McKee at Bellator 197 on April 13, 2018. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

*International Kickboxing Federation **National Champion (Six Times) **Pan-American Kickboxing Champion (Two times)

Boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

*St. Louis Golden Gloves **Golden Gloves Champion (Two times) **Diamond Gloves Champion (Two times)

Mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

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 ( ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) ** Knockout of the Night (One time) *Resurrection Fighting Alliance **RFA Featherweight Champion (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 70,493 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making St. Charles the List of cities in ...

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Temecula, California Temecula (; , ; Luiseño language, Luiseño: ''Temeekunga'') is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The city had a population of 110,003 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and was Municipal corpora ...

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Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located near the Texas state border. The population was 400 at the 2020 census. Geography Thackerville is situated near the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and State High ...

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John Macapá John Teixeira da Conceição (; born November 18, 1986), commonly known as John Macapá, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight (MMA), featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, Teixeira h ...

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St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Justin 1990 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Missouri Mixed martial artists utilizing American Kenpo Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling American male karateka American male kickboxers Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters 21st-century American sportsmen