Joey Villasenor
From FightWiki
 |
Name | Joey Villasenor |
| Nickname | Smokin' Joe | |
| Association | Jackson's Submission Fighting | |
| Weight Class | Middleweight (185 lbs.) | |
| Height | 6' 0" (183cm) | |
| Style | Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing | |
| Birth Date | October 17, 1975 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| Country | USA | |
| Joey Villasenor Pictures | Official Website |
Joey Villaseñor is an Mexican-American mixed martial artist who competes as a Middleweight. He is a PRIDE Fighting Championships veteran, as well as the middleweight champion in King of the Cage. Joey has also fought in Showtime's EliteXC promotion and took part in PRIDE's welterweight grand prix. He currently trains with professional fighters such as Keith Jardine, Rashad Evans, Georges St. Pierre, and Nathan Marquardt at Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting school.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 27 - 7 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 12 (T)KOs 10 Submissions 5 Decisions |
| Losses | 4 (T)KOs 1 Submissions 2 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Ronaldo Souza | Decision (Unanimous) | Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery | 5/15/2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Catchweight (186.5 lbs.) bout |
| Win | Evangelista Santos | Decision (Split) | ShoMMA 2 | 6/19/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Phil Baroni | TKO (Punches) | EliteXC: Primetime | 5/31/2008 | 1 | 1:11 | |
| Win | Ryan Jensen | KO (Punch) | Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le | 3/29/2008 | 1 | 4:$5 | |
| Win | Riki Fukuda | Decision (Split) | EliteXC: Uprising | 9/15/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Murilo Rua | TKO (Punches) | Strikeforce-EliteXC: Shamrock vs. Baroni | 6/22/2007 | 2 | 1:05 | For first EliteXC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | David Loiseau | Decision (Unanimous) | EliteXC: Destiny | 2/10/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Robbie Lawler | KO (Flying Knee) | PRIDE 32: The Real Deal | 10/21/2006 | 1 | 0:22 | |
| Win | John Cronk | TKO | KOTC: Civial War | 7/29/2006 | 1 | 4:04 | Defended KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Loss | Ryo Chonan | Decision (Split) | PRIDE Bushido 11 | 6/04/2006 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Yuya Shirai | Decision (Unanimous) | DEEP: 24 Impact | 4/11/2006 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Kyacey Uscola | TKO | KOTC: Anarchy | 2/11/2006 | 2 | 4:14 | Defended KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Jorge Santiago | Decision (Unanimous) | KOTC: Prime Time | 8/05/2005 | 3 | 5:00 | Defended KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Damien Riccio | TKO | KOTC: Warzone | 6/24/2005 | 1 | 1:55 | Defended KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Michael Gonzalez | Submission (Choke) | KOTC: Grudge Match | 6/17/2005 | 1 | 1:05 | Defended KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Brendan Seguin | KO (Punches) | KOTC: Payback | 2/25/2005 | 1 | 2:10 | Defended KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Jorge Ortiz | Submission (Strikes) | KOTC: Hostile Takeover | 12/04/2004 | 1 | 3:19 | Defended KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Brian Foster | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | KOTC: San Jacinto | 9/24/2004 | 1 | 4:25 | Won KOTC Middleweight Championship |
| Win | Hank Weiss | KO | KOTC: New Mexico | 8/28/2004 | 1 | 0:05 | |
| Win | Danny Higgins | Submission (Strikes) | XFC 4: Australia vs. The World | 3/19/2004 | 1 | 2:42 | |
| Win | Art Santore | TKO (Cut) | KOTC 30: The Pinnacle | 11/02/2003 | 2 | 0:31 | |
| Win | James Fanshier | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | KOTC 28: More Punishment | 8/16/2003 | 2 | 2:26 | |
| Win | Joe Merit | TKO | KOTC 24: Mayhem | 6/14/2003 | 1 | 4:06 | |
| Win | Tony Galindo | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | KOTC 21: Invasion | 2/21/2003 | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Lorn Estes | Submission (Strikes) | KOTC 20: Crossroads | 12/15/2002 | 1 | 1:43 | |
| Loss | Jermaine Andre | TKO (Foot Injury) | WFA 2: Level 2 | 7/05/2002 | 1 | 0:21 | |
| Win | Todd Carney | Submission (Choke) | KOTC 14: New Mexico | 6/19/2002 | 1 | 1:47 | |
| Win | Tim Credeur | Submission (Punches) | KOTC 13: Revolution | 5/17/2002 | 2 | 3:24 | |
| Win | Eddy Rolon | TKO (Cut) | IFC WC 12: Warriors Challenge 12 | 4/11/2001 | 1 | 7:30 | |
| Win | Allan Mollring | TKO | IFC WC 11: Warriors Challenge 11 | 1/13/2001 | 1 | 3:27 | |
| Loss | David Terrell | Submission (Armbar) | IFC WC 9: Warriors Challenge 9 | 7/18/2000 | 1 | 2:24 | |
| Win | Gabriel Duran | Submission (Choke) | IFC WC 6: Warriors Challenge 6 | 3/25/2000 | 1 | 2:31 | |
| Loss | Adam Tarsey | TKO | WVF: Casper | 10/09/1999 | 2 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Shane Schartzer | Submission (Strikes) | WVF: Durango | 4/17/1999 | 1 | 1:12 | |
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Early Career and KOTC
Joey Villasenor made his professional mixed martial arts debut on April 17, 1999 for the World Vale Tudo Federation. He forced his opponent, Shane Schartzer, to submit to strikes just 1:12 into the fight.
Six months later, Villasenor suffered his first defeat when he was stopped at the end of the second round by Adam Tarsey.
Villasenor split his two fights in 2000 as he submitted Gabriel Duran with a choke in the first round and was then submitted by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, David Terrell with an Armbar.
He rebounded from the loss to score four successive victories that included future TUF 7 competitor, Tim Credeur (submission due to strikes) in his King of the Cage debut.
That win streak was broken in July of 2002 when he suffered a foot injury 21 seconds into his bout against Jermaine Andre.
Returning to King of the Cage, Villasenor scored five straight victories within the organization by the end of 2003. After opening 2004 with a stoppage win in Australia, Villasenor met Hank Weiss at a King of the Cage event in August and knocked Weiss cold just five seconds into the bout.
That win and his undefeated run in KOTC earned Villasenor a shot at the middleweight title. He met Brian Foster just under a month after the Weiss victory and thoroughly dominated Foster for four minutes before finally submitting him with a rear naked choke.
By the end of 2005, Villasenor had successfully defended his title five times, which featured stoppages of Brendan Seguin and Damien Riccio as well as a decision win over Jorge Santiago.
He began 2006, with the sixth defense of his title before moving over to Japan where he scored a unanimous decision win over Yuya Shirai in the DEEP promotion.
PRIDE
Riding a 15 fight win streak and KOTC middleweight championship, Villasenor made his debut for the PRIDE Fighting Championships in June of 2006. He faced Ryo Chonan at PRIDE: Bushido 11 as part of the opening round of PRIDE's 2006 Welterweight Tournament and saw his massive winning streak brought to an end as he found himself on the losing end of split decision after two rounds.
Villasenor bounced back from the loss just under two months later as he successfully defended his KOTC title for seventh time with a TKO victory over John Cronk.
In October, 2006, Villasenor returned to PRIDE. He faced UFC veteran, Robbie Lawler on the opening bout of PRIDE 32 and was highlight reel KO'd by Lawler with a flying knee in just 22 seconds.
EliteXC and Strikeforce
Villasenor left PRIDE after the bout and signed with upstart American promotion, EliteXC. He made his debut at EliteXC: Destiny against former UFC Middleweight contender, David Loiseau and defeated the Canadian via unanimous decision after three rounds.
The win earned Villasenor the right to contest for EliteXC's vacant middleweight belt. He faced former PRIDE star, Murilo "Ninja" Rua at the co-promoted Strikeforce and EliteXC event, " Shamrock vs. Baroni". Villasenor got his licks in in the first round but was outgunned in the second as Rua stopped him with punches 1:05 in.
At EliteXC: Uprising, Villasenor scored a split decision win over Riki Fukuda after three rounds.
He headed over to Strikeforce for his next bout where he met UFC veteran, Ryan Jensen on the main card of Strikeforce: Shamrock vs. Le. In a very impressive performance, Villasenor starched Jensen with a huge punch that put him out cold with 15 seconds left in the first.
In May of 2008, Villasenor faced UFC and PRIDE veteran, Phil Baroni on the main card of the first MMA card ever shown live on a US network, EliteXC: Primetime. Villasenor didn't let the occasion get to him as he battered Baroni en route to a stoppage win at 1:11 of round 1.
On February 28, 2009, Joey confirmed that he would be fighting for Strikeforce on June 19, 2009 against Evangelista Santos. The fight headlined Strikeforce's ShoMMA 2 event in Kent, Washington. The two battled it out for three straight rounds, ending in a split decision in favor of Villasenor.
On a four-fight win-streak since failing to win the EliteXC Middleweight title, Villasenor was announced as a participant for Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery on May 15, 2010, where he faced off against DREAM 2008 Middleweight Grand Prix finalist Ronaldo Souza. Villasenor showed ample defensive wrestling in spots, but Souza's takedowns proved too much in all three rounds of the contest. Villasenor was on his back early and often, and Souza threatened with multiple submission attempts. Nevertheless, Villasenor worked himself free from several threatening positions. Souza appeared to tire as the action progressed, but the result never seemed in question. Once again showing improved striking on the feet as well as aggression in all aspects of the game, Souza controlled the action throughout and was awarded a Decision (Unanimous) win.
Personal Life
Villaseñor is dating female boxer Holly Holm.
