Joseph Christopher Stevenson (born June 15, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting out of Hesperia, California. Coached by (UFC Hall of Famer) Matt Hughes, Stevenson rose to prominence by becoming The Ultimate Fighter 2 Welterweight Tournament Winner. Following a drop in weight class and two-year undefeated streak, he was ranked among the top UFC Lightweight competitors, culminating into a title shot for the vacant UFC Lightweight Championship against B.J. Penn at UFC 80: Rapid Fire (after the title was stripped from Sean Sherk). Stevenson fought most of his career as a Lightweight and made his Featherweight debut at UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry. He is the former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion. Background Stevenson began Wrestling at the age of 11. then he started both Judo, and Jiu-Jitsu, at the age of 13. He moved to Las Vegas in 2004, and began training at Marc Laimon's Cobra Kai in Las Vegas. In March 2008, Stevenson opened his own school in his hometown of Victorville, California. "Joe Stevenson's Cobra Kai" teaches MMA as well as Boxing, Kickboxing, Wrestling, and Jiu-Jitsu. On November 8, 2008, Stevenson earned his Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Robert Drysdale. After his loss to Diego Sanchez, Stevenson got a call from Rashad Evans for an invite to check out his camp at Jackson's Submission Fighting. After being reluctant at first, he finally joined Greg Jackson's camp in April 2009. Mixed martial arts career The Ultimate Fighter Stevenson was one of the more experienced fighters participating in The Ultimate Fighter 2. He had a professional record of 23-6-0 and held the . championship at King of the Cage and the . at Gladiator Challenge going into the show. On November 5, 2005, Stevenson defeated Luke Cummo by unanimous decision, winning The Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight tournament and earning a six-figure contract with the UFC, UFC president Dana White said "that was Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin, only on the ground". UFC start On April 6, 2006, in his first fight after winning The Ultimate Fighter 2, he was upset by Josh Neer at Ultimate Fight Night 4, losing the fight by unanimous decision. Following the loss, Stevenson announced that he would drop down to the Lightweight division for future bouts. On July 8, 2006, at UFC 61, Stevenson won his 155-pound debut against Yves Edwards. After opening up a deep cut on Edwards from the