Josh Grispi
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Name | Josh Grispi |
| Nickname | The Fluke | |
| Association | South Shore Sport Fighting | |
| Weight Class | Featherweight (145 lbs.) | |
| Height | 5' 11" (180 cm) | |
| Style | Mixed Martial Arts | |
| Birth Date | October 14, 1988 | |
| Fighting Out Of | Plymton, Massachusetts | |
| Country | USA | |
| Josh Grispi Pictures | Grispi's Official Site |
Josh Richard "The Fluke" Grispi is an American mixed martial artist who competes as a Featherweight. He currently competes for World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He trains out of South Shore Sport Fighting, though he also spends some time at Lauzon MMA, training with UFC veterans Joe Lauzon and his brother Dan Lauzon.
He earned the nickname "The Fluke," after ending many of his fights early in the first round, and many people online would say he was lucky or that it was a "fluke." So, out of sarcasm, his coach gave it to him as a nickname, and it stuck.
Contents |
Professional Record
| Record | 14 - 5 - 0 (Win – Loss – Draw) |
| Wins | 6 (T)KOs 7 Submissions 1 Decisions |
| Losses | 1 (T)KOs 2 Submissions 2 Decisions |
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event Title | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | Andy Ogle | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC on FUEL TV 7: Barao vs. McDonald | 2/16/2013 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Loss | Rani Yahya | Submission (North-South Choke) | UFC on FOX 4: Shogun vs. Vera | 8/4/2012 | 1 | 3:15 | |
| Loss | George Roop | KO (Punch to the Body) | UFC: The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale | 6/04/2011 | 3 | 3:14 | |
| Loss | Dustin Poirier | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 125: Resolution | 1/01/2011 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | L.C. Davis | Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus | 6/20/2010 | 1 | 2:33 | Won Submission of the Night Honors |
| Win | Jens Pulver | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2 | 6/07/2009 | 1 | 0:33 | |
| Win | Micah Miller | TKO (Punches) | WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura | 8/03/2008 | 1 | 0:50 | Though an undercard bout, was shown on Versus |
| Win | Mark Hominick | Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | WEC 32: Condit vs. Prater | 2/13/2008 | 1 | 2:55 | WEC debut |
| Win | Spencer Paige | KO (Kick) | FFP: Untamed 18 | 12/15/2007 | 1 | 0:11 | Grispi won Full Force Production Featherweight Championship |
| Win | Paul Gorman | Submission (Triangle Choke) | FFP: Untamed 14 | 6/16/2007 | 1 | 2:29 | |
| Win | Glen Medeiras | TKO | RF: Domination | 4/28/2007 | 1 | 0:40 | |
| Win | Charlie Murphy | Submission (Armbar) | WFL 16: Moment of Truth 2 | 3/31/2007 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Fernando Bernandino | Decision | FFP: Untamed 10 | 3/10/2007 | 3 | N/A | |
| Win | Edward Odquina | Submission (Armbar) | WFL 15: Winter Brawl 2007 | 2/03/2007 | 1 | 1:11 | |
| Loss | Henrique Bilcalho | Submission (Heel Hook) | CZ 19: Above and Beyond | 12/02/2006 | 1 | 1:32 | |
| Win | Eddie Felix | TKO | FFP: Untamed 8 | 11/18/2006 | 1 | 0:49 | |
| Win | Clyde Ganthier | TKO (Punches) | WFL 12: Calloway Cup 3 | 10/28/2006 | 1 | N/A | |
| Win | Dan Bonnell | Submission | CZ 18: Combat Zone 18 | 10/14/2006 | N/A | N/A | |
| Win | Nick Zimmerman | TKO | RF: Invasion | 9/23/2006 | 1 | 0:18 | |
Martial Arts Background
Unlike most mixed martial artists who begin training in one martial art, such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or Boxing, Grispi began training in mixed martial arts as a whole, when he was 13. His father found an MMA gym in Whitman, Massachusetts, which happened to be right next to the place where his brother went paint-balling.
Mixed Martial Arts Career
Grispi began competing in mixed martial arts in September of 2006, fighting a total of five times in only four months. He won his first four of those bouts, finishing each one by either (T)KO or Submission, two of which didn't even make it past the first minute mark, including his debut that lasted only 0:18 of the first round. In his last fight of 2006, Grispi faced Henrique Bilcalho, who handed Grispi his first professional career loss, catching him with a Heel Hook at 1:32 of the first round.
2007 was just as busy a year for Grispi, as he fought a total of six times. Grispi submitted three of his opponents (two Armbars and one Triangle Choke), all before the first round bell had rung. One of the bouts went to the judges, which Grispi walked away with the Decision (Split), and his last fight of 2007 took place on December 15, 2007 against Spencer Paige, which ended in a KO (Kick) at a devastating 11 seconds of the first round. The quick victory earned Grispi the Full Force Production Featherweight Championship.
With a 10-1 record, Grispi was signed to Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC).
WEC Career
Signing with the WEC, Grispi made his debut at WEC 32: Condit vs. Prater on February 13, 2008 against highly regarded Mark Hominick, a UFC, WEC and TKO Major League MMA veteran. Grispi looked lost early in the bout, but seized on a loose kick by Hominick to gain his opponent's back and submit with a Rear Naked Choke in just 2:55 of the first round.
When asked what bout was his most challenging professional fight, Grispi responded:
- "I guess the first time I got the better of my dad doesn't count so that would have to be Mark Hominick. He is awesome and I was already a big fan of his. The first time he hit me he let out this yell and it pretty much scared the living s**t out of me. Then he hit me clean again and I literally felt it go through my whole body down into my legs. I came back at him harder though, took his leg off a failed shot and climbed up his back for the RNC. Everybody said it was just another fluke but we had been working that in training. We had even been going over it 10 minutes before the fight in the locker room."
Grispi made it two impressive wins in a row at WEC 35: Condit vs. Miura when he became the first person to stop American Top Team prospect, Micah Miller. He flattened Miller with punches just 50 seconds into the bout.
Just under a year later, Grispi faced the highest profile bout of his career when he faced former UFC Lightweight Champion, Jens Pulver on the main card of WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2. Though a high-profile fight for Grispi, it should be noted that Pulver was on a three fight slide, as well as only winning one of his last six bouts. Though Grispi spends most of his time training out of South Shore Sport Fighting, he trained with Joe Lauzon and Dan Lauzon for the Pulver fight at Lauzon MMA.
- "Joe Lauzon knows better than anyone how to beat Pulver so he's been giving me some good tips," Grispi had to say about his time training with the MMA veteran. "The night he beat Pulver was actually the same night of my first fight when I was 17."
Grispi wasted no time however, as he tapped Pulver with a tight Guillotine Choke in just 0:33 of the first round.
- "Fighting Jens Pulver was an honor win or lose. Jens is a class act and is a pioneer for the Lightweight division, and im just glad I got to share the same cage as him," Grispi stated in an exclusive interview with MMAlinker.com.
Ankle Injury and Surgery
Grispi’s ankle had been bothering him since the second fight of his career, but he ignored it initially. The pain got continually worse, yet Grispi continued to tough it out without visiting a doctor.
However, two days before the biggest fight of his career, the bout in June of 2009 at WEC 41: Brown vs. Faber 2, against mixed martial arts legend Jens Pulver, Grispi was in training and threw a routine kick that was blocked by a sparring partner. He fell to the ground in debilitating pain and decided it was time to get the ankle checked out. Grispi ended up delaying the doctor’s visit until he finished Pulver with a Guillotine Choke just 33 seconds into their fight, cementing himself in the WEC's Featherweight division, going 3-0 in all his fights with the promotion.
- “I couldn’t even walk before I fought Jens,” Grispi said. “I was like, ’I can’t be fighting these guys with a bum ankle.’ There’s no point. You have to get to 100 percent. I’ve never fought any of my fights 100 percent. I don’t think anyone really does, but I’ve been pretty bad with my ankle.”
When the ankle was finally examined, the damage was worse than Grispi ever imagined --a torn tendon, ligament damage, calcium deposits and a bone chip. All of that required surgery and then three months in a hard cast.
The recovery process was difficult as Grispi wasn't used to long stretches of inactivity.
- “I’ve never been sitting around not doing anything,” Grispi said. “I have ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and I can’t relax more than five minutes without doing something.”
No fighting meant no athletic income, so while he rehabilitated the injury, Grispi was forced back to roofing work, with his father in Boston, Massachusetts.
Return from Surgery
There had been no official announcement of when Grispi will return to action, until April 13, 2010, but Grispi had not fallen out of the picture, still having the attention of WEC general manager Reed Harris.
- “Josh is definitely someone that has the potential to be the future of the featherweight division,” Harris said. “Based on his performances in the WEC, Josh has the pedigree to one day be a world champion. We’re confident that he can work his way into title contention as soon as he returns.”
On April 13, 2010, Grispi was announced to be returning to action again L.C. Davis on the main card of WEC 49: Varner vs. Shalorus. It was speculated that whoever won the fight could likely get a shot at current-WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo. Grispi showed no lingering effects of his injury that kept him out of action since June 2009, and he instead flashed kicks at all angles as he kept the shorter Davis at bay. When Davis tried to switch up his attack and bring Grispi to the floor, "The Fluke" calmly latched on to a Guillotine Choke and squeezed until Davis went to sleep. The submission earned Grispi the Submission of the Night Honors as well.
Before the fight, Manvel Gamburyan had been promoted as Aldo's next opponent for the title, so Grispi's title contention could likely place him as that match-ups next opponent.
Championships and Accomplishments
- Several first place trophies in teenage grappling divisions - a couple of them were NAGA tournaments
- Full Force Productions Featherweight Championship
- Won first 4 MMA fights in under one minute
- Was youngest fighter in New Hampshire history at age 17
- Was youngest fighter in Massachusetts history on 18th birthday
Josh Grispi Interview
MMAlinker conducted an interview with Grispi. Below is a link to see the full interview:
