Justin Eilers
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| Justin Eilers | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Statistics | |
| Height | 6'1" (185 cm)[1] |
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg)[1] |
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | June 28, 1978 |
| Town of birth | Boise, Idaho[1] |
| Team/Association | Miletich Martial Arts |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 18 |
| By knockout | 11 |
| By submission | 6 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Draws | 1 |
Justin Eilers (born June 28, 1978) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, formerly with the UFC and WEC. Eilers trains with Miletich Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, IA.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Justin Eilers grew up in Boise, Idaho with an early love of football. He began wrestling in the sixth grade, and wrestled through high school. He missed a football scholarship out of high school due to his low SAT scores, and soon took up karate at a local school.[2] He began competing in small full contact shows around Idaho, where he met up and coming fighter Jens Pulver, who was fighting with the same promotion.
After being accepted to Butte Junior College near Chico, California, Eilers left MMA behind for football, and was recruited by Iowa State University as a linebacker. He would go on to play for Iowa State for the next four years, but between college and the NFL, Eilers took time off to fully heal a shoulder injury. It was during this time that he had another chance meeting with Jens Pulver, who was now a popular fighter in the UFC. Pulver urged Eilers to try fighting again, and after a few months of training, Eilers made his MMA debut in 2002 facing classic UFC fighter Dan Severn at Victory Fighting Championships 3 (a local Iowa MMA organization). Eilers would lose the fight via decision, but the experience pushed Eilers to focus full time on the sport of mixed martial arts. Just one month later Eilers would return to MMA competition, taking a quick KO victory over Jeff Gerlick at an Extreme Challenge event.
Eilers went undefeated in his next 4 fights, before losing a close split decision victory to Cabbage Correira at SuperBrawl 30. Coming off the loss to Cabbage, Eilers won his next five fights, all by KO, and was signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2004. His first fight in the octagon was against an old friend from high school, Mike Kyle at UFC 49. Eilers knocked Kyle out in just 1:14 of the first round, but was suspended after the fight by the Nevada State Athletic Commission due to injury sustained to his hand in the fight. He returned in February of 2005 at UFC 51 to face top heavyweight contender Paul Buentello. Three minutes into the first round, Eilers was caught by a right hook from Buentello, which ended the fight. Four months later at UFC 53, Eilers would get a title shot, facing Andrei Arlovski. Unfortunately he would suffer another KO loss at the hands of the heavyweight champion Arlovski. Eilers suffered extensive injuries in this match, breaking both hands, his jaw, and tearing his ACL.
Following his loss to Arlovski, Eilers took 8 months off, and returned to the octagon at UFC 57 to face Brandon Vera. In yet another brutal knock out, Eilers was dropped by a vicious knee, and the fight was stopped.
Eilers was released from the UFC in 2006, and returned to MMA competition at Combat in the Cage 2, finally scoring a KO victory (his first victory in almost 2 years) over Sherman Pendergarst.
In June of 2006, Eilers faced Jimmy Ambriz at World Extreme Cagefighting 21, taking a TKO victory due to doctor stoppage.
In his next five fights Eilers proceeded to beat Rocky Batastini (by submission due to strikes), Wade Hamilton (by submission due to strikes), Josh Diekman (by TKO due to strikes), John Dixon (by submission due to strikes) and Jihoon Kim (by submission due to strikes).
Eilers' winning streak came to an end when, on March 9, 2007, he lost to Pedro Rizzo by unanimous decision. The fight took place at the début show of the Undisputed Arena Fighting Championships, and was held in Dallas, Texas.
Most recently Eilers defeated Matt Thompson by unanimous decision at the first HDNet Fight event in Dallas, Texas on October 13, 2007.
[edit] MMA record
| 18 Wins (11 TKO's, 6 submissions, 1 decisions), 6 Losses, 1 Draw[1] | |||||||
| Result | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Notes |
| Win | Matt Thompson | Decision (Unanimous) | HDNet Fight | 10/13/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Scott Hough | TKO | FSG: Coliseum Carnage | 4/8/2007 | 1 | 4:11 | |
| Loss | Pedro Rizzo | Decision (Unanimous) | Undisputed Arena Fighting Championships | 3/9/2007 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Jihoon Kim | Submission (Strikes) | World Best Fighter: USA vs. Asia | 2/3/2007 | 1 | 2:10 | |
| Win | Josh Dixon | Submission (Strikes) | Beatdown in Bakersfield | 11/17/2006 | 2 | 0:56 | |
| Win | Josh Diekman | TKO (Strikes) | WEC 24: Halloween Fury 5: Full Force | 10/12/2006 | 1 | 2:29 | |
| Win | Wade Hamilton | Submission (Strikes) | RMN - MMA: Demolition | 9/16/2006 | 1 | 2:23 | |
| Win | Rocky Batastini | Submission (Strikes) | Xtreme Fight Series 1 | 7/15/2006 | 1 | 2:32 | |
| Win | Jimmy Ambriz | TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | WEC 21: Tapout | 6/15/2006 | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Sherman Pendergarst | KO | Combat in the Cage 2 | 5/20/2006 | 2 | 4:34 | |
| Loss | Brandon Vera | KO (Kick) | UFC 57: Liddell vs Couture 3 | 2/4/2006 | 1 | 1:25 | |
| Loss | Andrei Arlovski | TKO | UFC 53: Heavy Hitters | 6/4/2005 | 1 | 4:10 | For UFC Heavyweight title |
| Loss | Paul Buentello | KO (Punch) | UFC 51: Super Saturday | 2/5/2005 | 1 | 3:34 | |
| Win | Mike Kyle | KO (Punch) | UFC 49: Unfinished Business | 8/21/2004 | 1 | 1:14 | |
| Win | Mikhail Bogdanov | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | Euphoria: Russia vs USA | 3/13/2004 | 1 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Vince Lucero | TKO (Injury) | SuperBrawl 33 | 2/7/2004 | 1 | ||
| Win | Rocky Batastini | TKO | IFC: Battleground Tahoe | 1/31/2004 | 1 | ||
| Win | Gary Marshall | TKO | IFC: Battleground Boise | 10/25/2003 | 1 | 4:25 | |
| Win | Brian Shepard | TKO (Injury) | CFM: Octogono Extremo | 9/27/2003 | 1 | 4:00 | |
| Loss | Wesley Correira | Decision (Split) | SB 30: Collision Course | 6/13/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Draw | Jason Brilz | Draw | VFC 4: Wildcard | 4/19/2003 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Win | Johnathan Ivey | Submission (Strikes) | Iowa Challenge 9 | 4/5/2003 | N/A | ||
| Win | Seth Peters | Submission (Strikes) | Iowa Challenge 8 | 1/11/2003 | N/A | ||
| Win | Jeff Gerlick | KO | MMA Nationals 2002 | 12/14/2002 | 1 | 2:56 | |
| Loss | Dan Severn | Decision (Unanimous) | VFC 3: Total Chaos | 11/23/2002 | N/A | ||
