Justin Willis (born July 19, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2012, he has formerly competed for the World Series of Fighting and the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Background
Born and raised in California, Willis played football through high school and the collegiate level as a lineman at San Jose State University, graduating with a degree in sociology. At the collegiate level, Willis was All-Conference.[2]
Mixed martial arts career
Early career
Willis made his amateur debut in 2009, a second-round loss, before competing again as an amateur bout on the Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons 2 against Steve Dickey. Willis won via unanimous decision . After going professional in 2012, he amassed a record of 4–1 before being signed by the UFC.[3]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Willis made his promotional debut on July 16, 2017, against James Mulheron at UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio. He won via unanimous decision.[4]
He then faced Allen Crowder at UFC 218 on December 2, 2017[5] and won via knockout in the first round.[6]
He faced Chase Sherman on April 21, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 128[7] and won by unanimous decision.[8]
He faced Mark Hunt on December 2, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 142[9] and won by unanimous decision.[10]
Willis faced Curtis Blaydes on March 23, 2019, at UFC Fight Night 148.[11] Blaydes continually took Willis down and controlled him and also scored a knockdown in the second round. Willis lost the fight via unanimous decision.[12] Willis spent a good amount of the pre-fight press time taunting Blaydes, who responded in kind in his post-fight interview, referring to Willis as "Big Titty".[13]
On May 24, 2019, it was reported that Willis was released from UFC.[14][15]
Professional Fighters League
On February 11, 2020, news surfaced that Willis had signed with the PFL and was expected to compete in the PFL 2021 heavyweight season.[16]
Willis was expected to make his debut against Denis Goltsov at PFL 3 on May 6, 2021, but was removed from the fight prior to weigh-ins.[17]
Mixed martial arts record
| 10 matches | 8 wins | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 4 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 1 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 8–2 | Curtis Blaydes | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis | March 23, 2019 | 3 | 5:00 | Nashville, Tennessee, United States | |
| Win | 8–1 | Mark Hunt | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa | December 2, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Adelaide, Australia | |
| Win | 7–1 | Chase Sherman | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Barboza vs. Lee | April 21, 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States | |
| Win | 6–1 | Allen Crowder | KO (punch) | UFC 218 | December 2, 2017 | 1 | 2:33 | Detroit, Michigan, United States | |
| Win | 5–1 | James Mulheron | Decision (unanimous) | UFC Fight Night: Nelson vs. Ponzinibbio | July 16, 2017 | 3 | 5:00 | Glasgow, Scotland | |
| Win | 4–1 | Julian Coutinho | TKO (punches) | WSOF 31 | June 17, 2016 | 2 | 0:30 | Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States | |
| Win | 3–1 | Rizvan Kuniev | Decision (unanimous) | Inoki Genome Fight 4 | August 29, 2015 | 2 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | Openweight bout. |
| Win | 2–1 | Yusuke Kawaguchi | TKO (punches) | Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2014 | December 31, 2014 | 1 | 0:43 | Tokyo, Japan | Openweight bout. |
| Win | 1–1 | James Kirby | TKO (punches) | Global Knockout: The Return | June 14, 2014 | 1 | N/A | Jackson, California, United States | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Henry Solis | TKO (elbows) | ROF 43: Bad Blood | June 2, 2012 | 2 | 4:32 | Broomfield, Colorado, United States |
See also
References
- ^ "Justin Willis". www.pflmma.com. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
- ^ "Justin Willis - Official UFC® Profile". UFC.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Justin". Sherdog. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "UFC Fight Night 113 results: Justin Willis outworks fellow newcomer James Mulheron". MMAjunkie. July 16, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "Contender Series' Allen Crowder to Debut vs Justin Willis at UFC 218 - MMA Today". MMA Today. September 28, 2017. Archived from the original on September 30, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "UFC 218 results: Justin Willis levels Allen Crowder for first-round knockout". MMAjunkie. December 2, 2017. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ Mike Bohn (March 15, 2018). "Chase Sherman vs. Justin Willis booked for UFC Fight Night 128 in Atlantic City". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "UFC Fight Night 128 results: Justin Willis outlasts Chase Sherman in sometime-slugfest". MMAjunkie. April 22, 2018. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- ^ "Report | Mark Hunt to take on Justin Willis at UFC Adelaide in last fight on UFC deal | BJPenn.com". | BJPenn.com. September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
- ^ "UFC Adelaide results: Justin Willis earns methodical victory over Mark Hunt". MMA Fighting. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ Jesse Holland (January 16, 2019). "Curtis Blaydes vs Justin Willis on tap for UFC Nashville". mmamania.com. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
- ^ "UFC Nashville results: Curtis Blaydes shuts down Justin Willis in one-sided affair". MMA Junkie. March 24, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "After one-sided Nashville loss, Justin Willis responds to Curtis Blaydes' 'Big Titty' diss".
- ^ Sherdog.com. "UFC Heavyweight Justin Willis Released". Sherdog. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
- ^ "Justin Willis disputes being released from UFC contract, vows August return". MMA Junkie. May 24, 2019. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
- ^ Danny Segura (February 11, 2020). "Former UFC heavyweight Justin Willis signs with PFL". mmajunkie.com.
- ^ Brand, Jeremy. "PFL 3 Features Fabricio Werdum vs. Renan Ferreira Main Event". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ Sherdog.com. "Justin". Sherdog. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
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