Josh Bryant
 |
Name | Josh Bryant |
| Nickname | The Beast | |
| Association | Tulsa Combat Fitness | |
| Weight Class | Light Heavyweight (205 lbs.) / Middleweight (185 lbs.) | |
| Height | 5' 10" (1.73 m) | |
| Reach | 73.0 in (185 cm) | |
| Style | Wrestling | |
| Birth Date | April 23, 1980 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Tulsa, Oklahoma | |
| Country | USA | |
| Josh Bryant Pictures | Official Website |
Josh Bryant is an American mixed martial artist who has competed almost entirely at Light Heavyweight, until he began competing as a Middleweight.
Bryant was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter 11: Team Liddell vs. Team Ortiz. Bryant won his elimination round fight to make it into the house, and won his first and second round bouts against Kris McCray and Jamie Yager respectively before dropping a three round decision in a rematch against Kris McCray in the semifinals.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 10 - 1 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 2 (T)KOs 4 Submissions 4 Decisions |
| Losses | 1 (T)KOs 0 Submissions 0 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Kyle Noke | TKO (Punches) | The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale | 6/19/2010 | 2 | 3:12 | Middleweight debut |
| Win | Danny Valimaki | KO (Punches) | Heat XC 4: Hysteria | 11/06/2009 | 2 | 2:19 | |
| Win | John Ott | Decision (Unanimous) | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 8/08/2009 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Keith Richards | Decision (Unanimous) | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 11/29/2008 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Dusty Miller | Decision (Unanimous) | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 6/14/2008 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Marcus Sursa | Decision (Unanimous) | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 4/19/2008 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| Win | Keenan Curry | Submission (Armbar) | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 1/19/2008 | 1 | 2:03 | |
| Win | Aaron Pendleton | Submission | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 9/08/2007 | 1 | 2:10 | |
| Win | Mike Thomas | Submission | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 8/18/2007 | 1 | 2:35 | |
| Win | David Knight | Submission (Neck Crank) | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 5/23/2007 | 1 | 0:59 | |
| Win | Ryan Lopez | TKO | FCF: Freestyle Cage Fighting | 4/07/2007 | 1 | 0:45 | |
Biography
Bryant was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he attended Coweta High School just outside of Tulsa. While there, Bryant was on the football and wrestling team, but since he was not offered scholarship so, Bryant did not attend college and instead chose to just get a job. While training MMA, Bryant was working as a restaurant manager in his hometown.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Bryant was a somewhat successful wrestler, who watched UFC fights, but did not expect to be a mixed martial artist himself.
- "I was a wrestler lifting weights in gyms, and some guys were like, 'Hey, man, you wrestle; you should go work out with these guys,'" Bryant told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I just fell into the sport."
Bryant first started training with were the crew at UFC veteran Mikey Burnett's gym, which eventually branched off into Tulsa Combat Fitness. Bryant took his first pro fight in April 2007 and won in just 45 seconds.
- "I was a wrestler, and I could get you on the ground and punch hard," Bryant said. "So I started working with (UFC veteran) David Heath, and I started developing my standup game. I think I'm pretty good at it now. I'll punch you, and if I see an opening, I'll take you down. "
The Ultimate Fighter
Bryant tried out for The Ultimate Fighter 11 as a Light Heavyweight. Unfortunately, in the end the UFC decided to cut the Light Heavyweight division, and focus entirely on the Middleweights.
- "We get in there, and they're like, 'Hey, we're cutting 205.' I was the first mother[expletive] to say, 'Hey, I can make 185. I'm a little pudgy, I'm a little short. I'll make 185.' They said they'd give me a shot."
Bryant took advantage of that shot with a majority decision win over Greg Rebello in the season's preliminary round to earn his way into the house. The fight didn't get much Spike TV airtime on Wednesday March 31, 2010 because of several highlight-reel finishes in the 13 other first-round fights. He was then chosen by Chuck Liddell to be on his team.
In his first fight in the house, Bryant faced off against Kris McCray, where Bryant won the Decision (Unanimous) after three rounds. His quarter-finals match-up was scheduled against Jamie Yager. Bryant defeated Yager via TKO (Failure to Answer Bell) at the end of round 2. After two rounds, the judges declared the fight a draw and the fight was to go to a third round. However, Yager complained about not being able to see and left the octagon with a neck brace in an ambulance.
In the semi-finals, Bryant faced off against Kris McCray, who had won the wild-card fight, and this time it was McCray who walked away the winner by way of Decision (Unanimous).
UFC
Bryant was still given a spot on The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale, which took place on June 19, 2010, where he faced off against Australian Kyle Noke. Noke used effective and relentless striking to jump out to an early lead – one from which Bryant never recovered. Already quicker to the punch, the Australian further gave himself an edge by slowing Bryant with stinging low kicks. The quickly mounting damage finally proved too much in the second round, when a final barrage sent Bryant to the mat. Noke followed with a quick onslaught of additional strikes until the referee halted the action at the 3:12 mark of the second round, handing Noke the win by TKO (Punches), and ending Bryant's undefeated career.
