Joe Stevenson

UFC Lightweight Championship Stevenson was set to fight B.J. Penn for the UFC Interim Lightweight Championship at UFC 80 due to ongoing litigation regarding Sean Sherk's steroid use. On December 4, 2007, the California State Athletic Commission upheld a reduced suspension for Sherk, prompting the UFC to strip him of the lightweight championship. UFC President Dana White then confirmed that Stevenson and Penn's match would be to fill the vacant lightweight championship, but the winner of that fight would face Sherk at the next opportunity.

Just seconds after the start of the fight, Penn knocked Stevenson down with a right uppercut. From the top position, Penn landed a strong elbow to the head of Stevenson—causing a serious cut on Stevenson's hairline. In the second round, Stevenson fought more aggressively but was still unable to threaten Penn. After taking Stevenson's back, Penn secured a fight-ending rear naked choke at 4:02 of the second round.

UFC after loss to Penn At UFC 86, Stevenson returned to the Octagon and defeated Gleison Tibau by guillotine choke submission after pulling guard. Tibau tapped quickly at 2:57 in the second round.

At UFC 91 on November 15, 2008, Stevenson was set to face top-contender Kenny Florian in a highly anticipated bout. Despite stating that he was offended to be considered an underdog against Florian, Stevenson was outclassed in the bout. After being taken down three minutes into the fight, Stevenson was mounted and eventually gave up his back to Florian. Florian forced Stevenson, who had just attained his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, to submit to a rear naked choke just 4:03 into the first round.

Stevenson returned at UFC 95 on February 21, 2009 in the main event against debuting lightweight Diego Sanchez, and lost via unanimous decision. This fight earned him a $40,000 Fight of the Night award.

Stevenson defeated The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner Nate Diaz by unanimous decision at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009. Stevenson showed superior wrestling and controlled the majority of the fight. This fight earned him a $25,000 Fight of the Night award.

In his next bout, Stevenson defeated Spencer Fisher by submission due to strikes at UFC 104. Stevenson secured the crucifix position and landed elbows, forcing Fisher to submit.

Stevenson went on to face top 10 contender George Sotiropoulos on February 21, 2010, at UFC 110 in Sydney, Australia. Stevenson lost a very one sided fight by unanimous decision, but was awarded a $50,000 Fight of the Night bonus award.

Stevenson was expected to face former Pride Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi on August 1, 2010, at UFC Live on Versus: 2. However, Stevenson pulled out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Tyson Griffin.

Stevenson faced fellow TUF winner Mac Danzig on December 11, 2010, at UFC 124. Stevenson lost via a left hook KO as Danzig was moving back toward the cage. This loss was his first KO loss since 1999.

Stevenson suffered his third consecutive loss after falling short via unanimous decision to Danny Castillo on March 3, 2011, at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann.

Stevenson was defeated by Javier Vazquez via unanimous decision in his featherweight debut on June 26, 2011, at UFC on Versus 4. After having four consecutive losses, Stevenson was released from the UFC. He became the fourth The Ultimate Fighter winner to be released from the UFC.

Post-UFC Stevenson signed a new contract with the Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA). He fought Dakota Cochrane at Lightweight in the main event of RFA 3: Stevenson vs. Cochrane on Saturday, June 30, 2012, at the Viaero Event Center in Kearney, Nebraska. Stevenson was rocked early in the first round by a knee from Cochrane, yet Stevenson managed to take Cochrane down to control him throughout the round. At the start of the second round, Cochrane rocked Stevenson again and managed to secure a rear naked choke. Stevenson escaped the attempt, but Cochrane was able to quickly take Stevenson's back a second time and finished via submission due to a rear-naked choke.

Stevenson next fought Dominique Robinson at Sugar Shane Promotions on January 30, 2015. He lost the fight via split decision.

After a year-and-a-half away from the sport, Stevenson returned to the cage July 30, 2016, for the California Fight League. He faced Daniel McWilliams and won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Stevenson made a quick return to the cage, facing Gabriel Miglioli at Tru-Form Entertainment on August 26, 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Stevenson is a contestant of The Ultimate Fighter season 25, consisting of fighters that have been competing in previous The Ultimate Fighter seasons.

The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption In February 2017, it was revealed that Stevenson would compete again on the UFC's reality show in the 25th season on The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption. Stevenson was the fifth pick overall for Team Dillashaw. He was defeated by Justin Edwards in the opening round of fights by unanimous decision. He was defeated by Hayder Hassan by knockout in the first round in the wildcard bout.

Grappling career Stevenson competed in the Southern California Pro-Am Invitational 2003, where he lost to Rener Gracie in the opening round.

Television work Stevenson signed on to play Fight Coach "Joe Daddy" for 3 episodes in the first season of the DirecTV 2014 series Kingdom. Ultimately he ended being a recurring character, appearing regularly in the episodes.

Personal life Stevenson's mother, Carolina Smith, hails from Victorville, California. Growing up, he is the only boy in a family of girls; he has an older sister, Monica, a younger sister, Reye, and a step sister, Jessica. When Stevenson was seventeen, his father, Raymond, died of bone marrow cancer.

Stevenson graduated from Silverado High School in 2000, where he was a standout wrestler. As a wrestler for the Silverado Hawks, he placed in CIF as a sophomore and senior (4th at Masters in March, 2000). Stevenson put his life on hold when his maternal grandfather suddenly became ill in 1999. After finishing high school in June, Stevenson married his first wife Lisa, continued to fight professionally for King of the Cage; and wrestled at Victor Valley College to become the 198-lb champion at the 2000 Southern California Community College Regionals (a title previously held by fellow-UFC-star, Tito Ortiz). Stevenson was up a few weight divisions due to his last-minute change of schedule with King of the Cage, and also because of his friend, teammate and two-time Community College All-American at 184, UFC fighter, Phillip Miller. He has two sons from his marriage to Lisa - Joe Jr. ("Joey") and Tyler. He is now married to Maia, and the couple have two sons, Frankie and Maximus.

Stevenson has struggled with alcoholism his whole adulthood, but claims to have been sober since 2014.

Championships and achievements Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighter 2 Welterweight Tournament Winner Fight of the Night (Four times) vs. Yves Edwards, Diego Sanchez, Nate Diaz and George Sotiropoulos UFC.com Awards 2005: Ranked #9 Fight of the Year 2007: Ranked #10 Submission of the Year King of the Cage KOTC Lightweight Champion (One time; fifth) KOTC Welterweight Champion (One time; second) Ring of Fire Ring of Fire Welterweight Championship Rage In The Cage Rage In The Cage Welterweight Championship

Mixed martial arts record Win

Gabriel Miglioli Decision (unanimous) TFE Vengeance

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Daniel McWilliams TKO (punches) California Fight League 8: Stevenson vs McWilliams

San Bernardino, California, United States Loss

Dominique Robinson Decision (split) Super Brawl Showdown I

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Loss

Dakota Cochrane Submission (rear-naked choke) RFA 3: Stevenson vs. Cochrane

Kearney, Nebraska, United States Loss

Javier Vazquez Decision (unanimous) UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Loss

Danny Castillo Decision (unanimous) UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann

Louisville, Kentucky, United States Loss

Mac Danzig KO (punch) UFC 124

Montreal, Quebec, Canada Loss

George Sotiropoulos Decision (unanimous) UFC 110

Sydney, Australia Win

Spencer Fisher TKO (submission to elbows) UFC 104

Los Angeles, California, United States Win

Nate Diaz Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Diego Sanchez Decision (unanimous) UFC 95

London, England Loss

Kenny Florian Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 91

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Gleison Tibau Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 86

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

B.J. Penn Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 80

Newcastle, England Win

Kurt Pellegrino Decision (unanimous) UFC 74

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Melvin Guillard Submission (guillotine choke) UFC Fight Night: Stevenson vs. Guillard

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Dokonjonosuke Mishima Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 65: Bad Intentions

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Yves Edwards TKO (doctor stoppage) UFC 61: Bitter Rivals

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Josh Neer Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night 4

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Luke Cummo Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Joe Camacho Submission (guillotine choke) KOTC 33: After Shock

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Cory Cass Submission GC 21: Gladiator Challenge 21

Porterville, California, United States Win

Thomas Schulte KO (knee) KOTC 30: The Pinnacle

Pala, California, United States Win

Demitrius Jefford KO GC 19: Gladiator Challenge 19

Porterville, California, United States Win

Kiko Cassela TKO (corner stoppage) KOTC 27: Aftermath

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Thomas Denny Submission (guillotine choke) KOTC 23: Sin City

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Chuck Kim Submission (armbar) GC 15: Gladiator Challenge 15

Porterville, California, United States Win

Casey Balkenbush TKO (elbows) GC 14: Gladiator Challenge 14

Porterville, California, United States Loss

Romie Aram Decision (unanimous) KOTC 17: Nuclear Explosion

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Jeremy Jackson TKO (submission to punches) KOTC 15: Bad Intentions

San Jacinto, California, United States Win

Cruz Chacon Submission (kneebar) Ring Of Fire Warriors 4

Denver, Colorado, United States small|Won the Ring of Fire Welterweight Championship Win

Maurice Wilson Decision (unanimous) GC 3: Showdown at Soboba

Friant, California, United States Win

Kai Kamaka Submission (shoulder lock) GC 2: Collision at Colusa

Colusa, California, United States Win

Eric Meaders Decision (unanimous) KOTC 6: Road Warriors

Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, United States Win

Mike Berardi Decision (unanimous) RITC 20: Rage in the Cage 20

Phoenix, Arizona, United States Win

David Roberts Submission HBUP: Huntington Beach Underground Pancrase

Huntington Beach, California, United States Win

Toby Imada Decision KOTC 3: Knockout Nightmare

San Jacinto, California, United States Loss

Maurice Wilson Submission (guillotine choke) EFC: Extreme Fighter Challenge

California, United States Loss

Chris Brennan Submission (triangle choke) KOTC 1: Bas Rutten's King of the Cage

San Jacinto, California, United States Loss

Jens Pulver KO (punch)

Win

Steve Horton Submission (rear-naked choke)

Win

Joe Camacho Submission (triangle choke) ESF: Empire One

Corona, California, United States Mixed martial arts exhibition record Loss

Hayder Hassan KO (punch)

(airdate)

Loss

Justin Edwards Decision (unanimous) (airdate)

win

Jason Von Flue Submission (armbar)

(airdate)

Win

Marcus Davis Submission (elbows) (airdate)