Fighter Profile: Damarques Johnson

Damarques Johnson (right, black & white PROFIGHTINGFANS.COM trunks) lands a left hand to the face of Edgar Garcia at UFC 107.

Overall Record: 11-7

Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT

Height: 6’ 0” Weight: 170

Age: 27

DeMarques Johnson is a four plus year veteran of mixed martial arts who is known primarily as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist. Johnson trains out of the Elite Performance training center with well-known grappler, Jeremy Horn. Johnson is also well known for his tenure on The Ultimate Fighter 9: Team US vs. Team UK.

Johnson debuted in early 2005 and fought in a wide range of different promotions over the next three and a half years. He worked his way up the minor league circuit with appearances in the XFC, Extreme Challenge, King of the Cage, and Ultimate Combat Experience organizations.

He began by losing his first two fights as a professional and three of his next nine before going on a hot streak. His hot streak consisted of five straight victories where he produced three TKO/KO’s and two submissions. He did lose his final fight before getting his opportunity in The Ultimate Fighter 9 house when Ryan Williams outlasted him for a unanimous decision at Extreme Challenge 109 in October 2008.

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Fighting as a welterweight, Johnson used a TKO to defeat Ray Elbe in the elimination round to earn his bed in the TUF 9 house. He used a triangle choke submission to stop Dean Amasinger in the tournament quarterfinals. The Utah-native jumped on Nick Osipczak in the semifinals early and earned the unanimous decision victory to advance into the finals.

Facing Team UK’s James Wilks in the final, Johnson got caught out of position and was forced to submit in the 1st round via rear naked choke and finished as the runner-up. His prior performances were good enough to convince the UFC executives that he was a future prospect and worth another look inside the octagon.

At UFC 107 this December, Johnson squared off with WEC vet and UFC sophomore Edgar Garcia in the preliminaries. His performance consisted of a back-and-forth battle with Garcia until he caught him with a triangle choke submission late in the 1st round. The 1st round stoppage was good enough to earn him “Submission of the Night” honors and a fight bonus while also marking his first official victory in the UFC.

Recent Damarques Johnson MMA News:

• Defeated Edgar Garcia via Submission (Triangle Choke) at UFC 107 in Memphis, TN - UFC 107 results

• Defeated Brad Blackburn by TKO at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi on April 10, 2010 - UFC 112 results

• Is expected to face Matthew Riddle at UFC on Versus 2 in Oakland, CA on August 1, 2010 - UFC on Versus 2 fight card & results

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Staff Writer
Published April 2010

Photo courtesy of UFC