Justin Lawrence (fighter)

Background

Originally from Pacific, Missouri, 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 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 to take part on Team Cruz. In the first round of the tournament, Lawrence was selected to fight PRIDE veteran, Cristiano Marcello. 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. 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, UFC President Dana White 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 on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150. 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. Lawrence faced Luis Saldaña 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 Bellator MMA. 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 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 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]]

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

[[Boxing]]

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

[[Mixed martial arts]]

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • Fight of the Night (One time)
  • Knockout of the Night (One time)
• Resurrection Fighting Alliance
  • RFA Featherweight Champion (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

|ko-wins=5 |ko-losses=1 |sub-wins=1 |sub-losses=1 |dec-wins=5

| |St. Charles, Missouri, United States | |- | Win | Andrew Natividad | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 193 | | Temecula, California, United States | |- | Win | Treston Thomison | TKO (doctor stoppage) | Bellator 181 | | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | |- | Loss | John Macapá | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 167 | | Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States | |- | Win | Isao Kobayashi | KO (punches) | Bellator 157: Dynamite 2 | | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |- | Loss | Emmanuel Sanchez | Decision (split) | Bellator 145 | | St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |- |Win |Sean Wilson |TKO (elbows and punches) |Bellator 138 | |St. Louis, Missouri, United States | |- |Win |Sam Toomer |TKO (knees to the body and punches) |RFA 25: Lawrence vs. Toomer | |Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States

| |Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States

| |Des Moines, Iowa, United States | |- |Loss |Daniel Pineda |Submission (kimura) |The Ultimate Team Jones vs. Team Sonnen Finale | |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |- |Loss |Max Holloway |TKO (punches) |UFC 150 | |Denver, Colorado, United States

| |Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

| |St. Charles, Missouri, United States | |- |Win |Pete Martin |Decision (unanimous) |Bobish's Ultimate Cage Battles 4 | |Parma, Ohio, United States | |- |Win |Max Martyniouk |Technical Decision (unanimous) |Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II | |St. Louis, Missouri, United States |The fight was stopped in round three due to an accidental soccer kick by Lawrence.

References

References

1. [https://www.ufc.com/athlete/justin-lawrence Justin Lawrence - Official UFC® Fighter Profile]
2. (March 9, 2012). "Meet the Fighters: Justin Lawrence". UltimateFighter.com.
3. (March 17, 2010). "Baby-Faced Justin Lawrence Stands 5'8", Weighs 165 Pounds and Can Kick Your Ass Six Different Ways". RiverFrontTimes.com.
4. "Justin Lawrence: The New Kid On the Block - Black House MMA".
5. "Justin Lawrence - Black House MMA". BlackHouseMMA.com.
6. (December 4, 2010). "Strikeforce Results & Live Play-by-Play". Sherdog.com.
7. (March 19, 2012). "Justin Lawrence Fight Finder". Sherdog.com.
8. (February 27, 2012). "'The Ultimate Fighter 15' cast unveiled with 32 lightweight fighters". MMAJunkie.com.
9. (March 9, 2012). "Mixed martial arts results, Season 15 - The Ultimate Fighter". State of Nevada, Department of Business and Industry Athletic Commission.
10. (March 23, 2012). "Episode No. 3 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Live'". MMAJunkie.com.
11. (May 11, 2012). "Episode No. 10 recap: 'The Ultimate Fighter: Live'". MMAJunkie.com.
12. (May 23, 2012). "Dana White reveals matchups for TUF 15 finale". BostonHerald.com.
13. (May 23, 2012). "TUF Live Finale adds Lawrence-Cofer". MMAJunkie.com.
14. (June 18, 2012). "Justin Lawrence vs. Max Holloway booked for UFC 150 in Denver". MMAJunkie.com.
15. (February 11, 2013). "Miller-Palaszewski, Pineda-Lawrence set for TUF 17 Finale in April". [[MMA Junkie]].com on [[USA Today]].
16. (May 8, 2013). "Duran, Holobaugh, Lawrence, Sicilia, Tamura among UFC fighter releases". mmajunkie.com.
17. "Meet RFA's latest signings including Justin Lawrence, Chris Spang and Kevin Casey". kingdommma.co.uk.
18. (October 26, 2013). "RFA 10 results: Mike Rhodes cruises in title fight, Justin Lawrence victorious". mmajunkie.com.
19. [https://mmajunkie.com/2015/04/bellator-mma-signs-rfa-featherweight-champ-ufc-vet-justin-lawrence Bellator MMA signs RFA featherweight champ, UFC vet Justin Lawrence. MMAjunkie]
20. Marc Raimondi. (August 20, 2015). "Former champ Pat Curran meets Justin Lawrence at Bellator 145". mmafighting.com.
21. Luke Thomas. (October 13, 2015). "Pat Curran injures knee, withdraws from Justin Lawrence bout at Bellator 145". mmafighting.com.
22. Dave Doyle. (November 7, 2015). "Bellator 145 results: Daniel Straus wins featherweight title in thriller over Patricio Freire". mmafighting.com.
23. Brian Knapp. (June 24, 2016). "'Rampage' Jackson Handed Split Decision Over Satoshi Ishii in Bellator 157 Main Event". sherdog.com.
24. Guilherme Cruz. (December 3, 2016). "Bellator 167 results: Darrion Caldwell avenges loss to Joe Taimanglo, earns shot at champion Eduardo Dantas". mmafighting.com.
25. John Morgan. (July 14, 2017). "Bellator 181 results: Derek Campos scores trilogy win over Brandon Girtz in blood-soaked instant classic". mmajunkie.com.
26. Tristen Critchfield. (January 12, 2018). "Justin Lawrence to Face Andrew Natividad on Bellator 193 Preliminary Bill". sherdog.com.
27. John Morgan. (January 26, 2018). "Bellator 193 results: Lorenz Larkin picks up first Bellator win". mmajunkie.com.
28. Alexander K. Lee. (February 8, 2018). "A.J. McKee books Bellator co-main event fight vs. Justin Lawrence on April 13". mmafighting.com.