Johnny Bedford

Johnny Bedford (born January 6, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist and bare-knuckle boxer. A professional from 2003 to 2017, he fought in the UFC, Bellator, the Legacy Fighting Alliance, and was a competitor on Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller. He also fought for the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC), where he was a former BKFC Bantamweight Champion.

Background Bedford was born and raised in Woodville, Ohio. At the age of five, Bedford began wrestling year round. He and his family would travel all over the Midwest so Bedford could compete in various wrestling tournaments. He went on to wrestle for Woodmore High School, where his father was the head wrestling coach. Bedford was a three-time state qualifier, placed in the state tournament twice, and during his senior year finished third in the state tournament with a record of 51–1.

Mixed martial arts career Amateur career Bedford began fighting in 2003 because he was a self-proclaimed "tough guy" that just wanted to prove how tough he was. Bedford proclaims his first six amateur fights took place in a barn where the promoter just asked the audience who wanted to fight and then would match them up by who was closest to one another's weight. With no commission in Ohio at the time, the fights were not sanctioned.

Early professional career After a successful amateur career, Bedford took a year and half off from fighting before being offered his first professional fight in 2006 for $200. With no income, Bedford took the fight on short notice and lost via submission in the first round. Bedford began fighting more frequently and by the end of 2009 Bedford held a 13–8–1 record.

Bellator Bedford was invited to fight for Bellator in 2010. The fight took place at Bellator 19 in Grand Prairie, Texas, on May 20, 2010. Bedford fought and defeated Jared Lopez via third-round TKO.

Post-Bellator At King of Kombat 9: Resurrection, Bedford fought future UFC fighter, Edwin Figueroa. Bedford lost the fight via TKO in the opening of the second round, handing Bedford his only knockout loss in his career. Four months later he bounced back with a first round submission over WEC veteran Frank Gomez.

The Ultimate Fighter In 2011, Bedford had signed with the UFC to compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Bisping vs. Team Miller in Las Vegas. In the first episode, Bedford fought Carson Beebe to gain entry into the Ultimate Fighter house. Bedford defeated Beebe in the first round via submission (neck crank). He was selected as a part of Team Mayhem.

Bedford then fought Josh Ferguson in the third episode and won by unanimous decision after using his superior size to take down and control Ferguson.

In the semi-finals Bedford pleaded for the fight against Team Mayhem teammate, John Dodson. The coaches and Dana White agreed with the fight, and matched the two up. After a closely contested first round, Bedford lost after being knocked unconscious one minute into round two. When asked if he knew where he was immediately after the fight, Bedford replied, "I'm in Ohio"; his home state.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Though he did not win the show, Bedford signed an exclusive contract with the UFC. He officially made his UFC debut on December 3, 2011, at The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale against Ultimate Fighter castmate Louis Gaudinot. Bedford dominated the entirety of the fight and won in the third round via TKO after hitting several knees to Gaudinot's body.

Bedford was expected to face Eddie Wineland on January 28, 2012, at UFC on Fox 2, replacing Demetrious Johnson who had been pulled from the bout to be a participant in the UFC's inaugural Flyweight tournament. However, Wineland himself was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Mitch Gagnon. On January 25, 2012, the UFC announced the bout was cancelled due to Gagnon's alleged visa issues. Bedford received his show-money of $8,000, despite the cancellation.

Bedford was expected to face Nick Denis at UFC on Fox 3 on May 5, 2012. However, Bedford was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Roland Delorme.

After nearly a year off due to various injuries, Bedford returned on December 15, 2012, to face Marcos Vinicius at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Carwin vs. Team Nelson Finale. He won the fight via KO in the second round.

Bedford was expected to face Erik Pérez on April 27, 2013, at UFC 159. However, Perez pulled out of the bout just days before the event citing an injury and was replaced by Bryan Caraway. He lost the back-and-forth fight via submission in the third round.

Bedford was expected to face Hugo Viana on September 4, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 28. However, Bedford pulled out of the bout citing an injury and was replaced by Wilson Reis.

Bedford faced Rani Yahya on April 11, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 39. The bout ended in a No Contest as an accidental clash of heads rendered Yahya unable to protect himself, forcing a referee stoppage at 0:39 of round 1. Bedford argued vociferously that the accidental clash of heads should have been ruled a TKO victory in his favor.

A rematch with Yahya was expected to take place on June 28, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 44. However, Yahya was forced out of the bout and replaced by Cody Gibson. For the second time in a row, his fight ended under somewhat controversial circumstances as Bedford was dropped by punches from Gibson and the fight was stopped by the referee just as Bedford appeared to be regaining consciousness, resulting in a first-round TKO loss.

The rescheduled rematch with Rani Yahya eventually took place on September 13, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 51. Yahya won via submission in the second round, and Bedford was subsequently released from the promotion shortly after.

Grappling On September 30, 2012, Johnny Bedford competed in a no gi super fight against Jimmy Flick (Flick Brother's MMA) at the American Grappling Federation's Dallas Fall Classic. Johnny won the match by points.

Bare knuckle boxing Bedford faced Nick Mamalis at the inaugural BKFC 1 event held on June 2, 2018. He won the fight via TKO in the second round.

He made his sophomore appearance in the sport against Matt Murphy at BKFC 3 on October 20, 2018. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

BKFC Lightweight Tournament and championship Bedford entered the BKFC Lightweight tournament and faced Abdiel Velazquez at BKFC 5 on April 6, 2019. He won the fight via fourth-round knockout, advancing to the tournament finals.

In the tournament final on June 22, 2019 at BKFC 6, Bedford defeated Reggie Barnett Jr. via unanimous decision to win BKFC and Police Gazette lightweight titles, the former later being renamed the BKFC Bantamweight Championship.

Bedford next faced Charles Bennett at BKFC 9 on November 16, 2019, in a non-title bout. He won the fight via second-round technical knockout.

Bedford was expected to make his first title defense against Dat Nguyen at BKFC 14 on November 14, 2020. The fight however was canceled due to a Bedford injury. Bedford eventually lost his title belt to undefeated Dat Nguyen on February 5, 2021, in Lakeland, Florida.

Bedford faced Reggie Barnett Jr. in a rematch for the vacant BKFC Bantamweight Championship at BKFC 20 on August 20, 2021. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Retirement On December 21, 2022, Beford announced his retirement from bare-knuckle fighting and other combat sports. He had been previously booked to fight Jarod Grant in March 2022 but withdrew from the fight. Later, he was set to face Dat Nguyen in another title defense in January 2023. But the match was canceled after Bedford retired.

Championships and accomplishments Mixed martial arts Warrior Xtreme Cagefighting WXC Bantamweight Championship (One time) Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship BKFC Lightweight World Champion Police Gazette Lightweight Bare Knuckle title

Folkstyle wrestling Ohio High School Athletic Association OHSAA Division 3 112 lb 6th place (2000) OHSAA Division 2 119 lb 3rd place (2001)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Jesse Arnett Decision (majority) Fight Night 5: Medicine Hat

Dallas, Texas, United States Loss

Jimmy Flick Submission (guillotine choke) Legacy Fighting Alliance 18

Dallas, Texas, United States Win

Eric Higaonna TKO (punches) WXC 68: Nemesis

Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States Win

Mike Hernandez Submission (rear-naked choke) WXC 64: Redemption

Taylor, Michigan, United States Win

Taylor Moore Submission (kimura) WXC 63: Implosion

Southgate, Michigan, United States Win

Josh Robinson TKO (punches) WXC 59: Homeland Pride

Taylor, Michigan, United States Loss

Rani Yahya Submission (kimura) UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Arlovski

Brasília, Brazil Loss

Cody Gibson TKO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Stephens

San Antonio, Texas, United States NC

Rani Yahya No Contest (accidental headbutt) UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Nelson

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Loss

Bryan Caraway Submission (guillotine choke) UFC 159

Newark, New Jersey, United States Win

Marcos Vinicius KO (body kick and punches) The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Louis Gaudinot TKO (knees to the body) The Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Frank Gomez Submission (rear-naked choke) Jackson's MMA Series 3

Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States Loss

Edwin Figueroa TKO (punches) King of Kombat 9

Austin, Texas, United States Win

Jared Lopez TKO (knees and punches) Bellator 19

Grand Prairie, Texas, United States Win

Ryan Webb Submission (kimura) Supreme Warrior 10

Frisco, Texas, United States Win

Danny Tims Decision (unanimous) C3 Fights 19

Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States Win

Tim Snyder Submission (rear-naked choke) Supreme Warrior 9

Frisco, Texas, United States Win

Humberto DeLeon Decision (unanimous) Cage Kings 6

Bossier City, Louisiana, United States Loss

Mike Baskis Submission (guillotine choke) Supreme Warrior 8

Frisco, Texas, United States Win

Daniel Pineda Submission (triangle choke) Supreme Warrior 7

Frisco, Texas, United States Win

Francisco Barragan Submission (D'Arce choke) Urban Rumble 4

Pasadena, California, United States Win

Jeremy Dodd TKO (punches) Supreme Warrior 5

Frisco, Texas, United States Loss

Daniel Pineda Submission (kneebar) Supreme Warrior 3

Frisco, Texas, United States Loss

Dustin Neace Submission (kneebar) King of Kombat 5

Austin, Texas, United States Win

Shane Waits Submission (armbar) Elite Combat League 1

Bixby, Oklahoma, United States Win

Joshua Lee Submission (rear-naked choke) Supreme Warrior 1

Frisco, Texas, United States Win

Rocky Long Decision (unanimous) King of Kombat 4

Austin, Texas, United States Loss

Stephen Ledbetter Submission (triangle choke) Revolution Fight League 3

Macon, Georgia, United States Win

Damon Chamberlin TKO (punches) Toledo Fight Challenge

Toledo, Ohio, United States Win

Justin Moore TKO (punches) Knockout Promotions

Louisville, Kentucky, United States Win

Rocky Long Decision (unanimous) Adrenaline Fight Sports 1

Lufkin, Texas, United States Loss

Billy Vaughan Submission (heel hook) Explosion CFC 2

Tinley Park, Illinois, United States Loss

Arman Loktev Submission (armbar) Fightfest 11

Canton, Ohio, United States Win

Dan Caesar Submission (guillotine choke) Explosion CFC 1

Tinley Park, Illinois, United States Loss

Dustin Neace Submission (armbar) Genesis 5

Findlay, Ohio, United States Draw

Kris Kanaley Draw Ironheart Crown 11

Hammond, Indiana, United States Win

Roc Castricone TKO (punches) Fightfest 8

Cleveland, Ohio, United States Loss

Chino Duran Submission (choke) Xtreme Gladiators 3

Richmond, Virginia, United States Mixed martial arts exhibition record Loss

John Dodson KO (punches)

(airdate)

Win

Josh Ferguson Decision (unanimous) (airdate)

Win

Carson Beebe Submission (neck crank) (airdate)

Bare knuckle record Win

Reggie Barnett Jr. Decision (unanimous) BKFC 20

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Loss

Dat Nguyen Decision (unanimous) BKFC Knucklemania

Miami, Florida, United States Win

Charles Bennett TKO (hand injury) BKFC 9

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Win

Reggie Barnett Jr. Decision (unanimous) BKFC 6

Tampa, Florida, United States Win

Abdiel Velazquez TKO (punches) BKFC 5

Biloxi, Mississippi, United States Win

Matt Murphy Decision (unanimous) BKFC 3

Biloxi, Mississippi, USA Win

Nick Mamalis TKO (punches) BKFC 1

Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA