K.J. Noons

Karl James Noons
File:KJ Noons.jpg K.J. Noons holding his EliteXC Lightweight title belt.
Born	(1982-12-07) December 7, 1982 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, United States
Other names	K.J. King Karl You got scared homie
Nationality	American
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)
Division	170 (2010–present) 160 (2007–2008) 155 (2005–present) Middleweight in boxing (2004–present)
Reach	70.0 in (178 cm)
Style	Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Kenpo, Sanshou
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	San Diego, California
Rank	Black Belt in Kenpō Karate
Years active	2000 - Present
Professional boxing record
Total	13
Wins	11
By knockout	5
Losses	2
By knockout	0
Draws	0
No contests	0
Kickboxing record
Total	14
Wins	13
By knockout	10
Losses	1
By knockout	0
Draws	0
No contests	0
Mixed martial arts record
Total	11
Wins	9
By knockout	8
Losses	2
By knockout	1
By submission	0
By decision	1
Draws	0
No contests	0
Other information
Notable relatives	Karl Noons, Father
Notable school(s)	Clements High School
Website	http://kjnoons.com/ http://twitter.com/kjnoons
Boxing record from BoxRec
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Karl James "K.J." Noons (born December 7, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist, boxer, and kickboxer who currently competes in the Strikeforce lightweight and welterweight division. He also previously competed in the EliteXC MMA promotion and was the former EliteXC Lightweight Champion with notable wins over Nick Diaz and Yves Edwards. He holds a mixed martial arts record of 9 wins with 1 loss, a professional kickboxing record of 13 wins with 1 loss, and a professional boxing record of 11 wins with 2 losses. Noons does not affiliate himself with any fight team as he trains all over the San Diego, Los Angeles, and Tijuana areas at many different gyms. Noons is currently ranked #27 in the nation and #154 in the world as a middleweight in boxing by BoxRec.

MMA career

Pride Fighting Championships and Superbrawl

In 2005, Noons won the PRIDE Fighting Championship's auditions as the "Best Striker" at a kickboxing event. Although he never fought for the PrideFC promotion, he fought for their subleased promotion called Superbrawl. Noons chose not to fight for Pride Fighting Championships because the promoters wanted to feature him in bouts against the top lightweights in the world, such as Pride's own lightweight champion, Takanori Gomi, and lightweight top contender, Joachim Hansen. Noons felt he was not ready to compete at the highest level that early in his career and chose a more conservative route. After two wins under the Superbrawl banner, and one win in an outside promotion called ICON Sport, Noons would move on to fight in other large promotions.

Elite Xtreme Combat

In 2006, Noons signed a deal with promoter Gary Shaw that allowed him to participate in both boxing and mixed martial arts. Soon after, Noons was set to face Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett in EliteXC's inaugural event in February 2007. After a few minutes of action into round number one, Bennett would land a right hook that would send Noons crashing down to the canvas. Noons was not unconscious, but was hurt enough for referee Herb Dean to step in and immediately stop the fight. Charles Bennett won the bout via KO in just 3:43 into round number one, giving Noons his first loss in his professional mixed martial arts career.

After rebounding from his loss to Bennett with a KO win over James Edson Berto at EliteXC's first ShoXC event, he would then face Nick Diaz for the promotion's first 160 pound title at EliteXC: Renegade. Noons dominated the fight using his outstanding boxing and striking against the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert, Nick Diaz. Diaz attempted to take the fight to the ground but was unsuccessful with his takedown attempts and was also countered with a knee strike to the face on one occasion. Midway through the first round, Diaz was finally successful with a takedown, but Noons got back to his feet instantly. Moments later, the referee would hault the fight and send Diaz to his corner to check on his cuts over his right eye. Diaz was given the o.k. and continued to fight. Noons would keep the fight standing and dropped Diaz with a straight right punch around the 2:07 mark of the round. After round one finally ended, the doctors in Diaz's corner would stop the fight due to how badly his face was cut. Noons was then be declared the winner of the fight by way of TKO due to cuts, and would become EliteXC's new Lightweight Champion.

On June 14, 2008 Noons was successful in his first and only title defense with a TKO win over Yves Edwards in Hawaii at EliteXC: Return of the King. Following the fight, Nick Diaz, whom fought on the event's co-main event, would step into the cage to confront Noons for a rematch during K.J.'s post-fight interview with Bill Goldberg. After Noons asked the fans if Diaz deserved the rematch, Diaz grabbed ahold of Golberg's microphone and said "Don't be scared homie." About two months later, Noons would be stripped of the title for refusing a rematch with Nick Diaz. The promotion would then go defunct before a new champion could be crowned.

DREAM and Strikeforce

On December 2, 2009, Noons signed with mixed martial arts promotion, Strikeforce. In March 2010, Noons made his Japanese MMA debut as he represented Strikeforce at DREAM.13. In his first MMA fight in nearly 2 years, Noons defeated Andre Amade via unanimous decision.

Noons would then be scheduled to make his Strikeforce debut in a rematch against Charles Bennett at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum. After Bennett pulled out of the fight due to scheduling conflicts, Noons moved on and would then be scheduled to face Conor Heun at Strikeforce: Los Angeles in a catchweight bout of 160 lbs, which would take place ten days before the date he was originally set to rematch Bennett. Noons would go on to win in a closely contested split decision by the judges' score of 29-28, 27-30, and 29-28.

On August 21st Noons fought Jorge Gurgel at Strikeforce: Houston. Throughout the fight, Gurgel chose to stand with Noons rather than take the fight to the ground and use his high level Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Both fighters stood and exchanged strikes during the first round of the fight. As the final seconds of the first round were coming to an end, Gurgel threw a flurry of punches while Noons responded with a left hook that landed and dropped Gurgel just a split second after the bell at the end of the round. The crowd reacted to what appeared to be a late punch while a wobbled Gurgel was struggling to find his corner. Right at the opening bell for round number two, Noons and Gurgel took center of the cage. After Noons felt his range and sensed Gurgel still hurt from round one, he landed a right hand followed by a left hook that dropped Gurgel to the canvas once again just seconds into the round. Noons looked to the referee waiting for a stoppage and received no response. As Noons then continued to land punches to a downed Gurgel, he threw a knee that appeared to land to the head of a still downed Gurgel, then the referee finally decided to stop the fight while hesitant moments before. Replay showed that the knee Noons threw did not land, although Noons's foot tapped Gurgel on the chin as it followed through. KJ Noons would be decided as the winner of the fight by KO at 0:19 of round number two.

Noons moved up one weight class to fight Nick Diaz in a grudge rematch for the Strikeforce Welterweight Championship on October 9th, 2010. Noons and Diaz previously fought at EliteXC: Renegade where Noons won by TKO due to cuts. Noons lost by Unanimous Decision, giving Noons his second MMA career loss and first loss by decision.

Personal Life

Karl James Noons was given the nick name 'K.J.' due to his first and middle initials. Noons's first name comes from his father's first name, while his middle name comes from his grandfather's middle name.

When not training for a fight, K.J. likes to enjoys the beach with his family, friends, and dogs. He also likes to surf, golf, and relax.

Championships and Accomplishments

• Boxing
  • 2004 Olympic Boxing Trials Semifinalist
• Kickboxing
  • ISKA Super Middleweight International Champion
  • US Open International Middleweight Champion
  • Art of War Middleweight Champion
• MMA
  • PrideFC 2005 auditions for "Best Striker" winner
  • EliteXC Lightweight Champion

MMA record

Professional record breakdown

11 matches	9 wins	2 losses
By knockout	8	1
By submission	0	0
By decision	2	1

Result	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	9-2	Nick Diaz	Decision (Unanimous)	Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Noons II	October 9, 2010	5	5:00	San Jose, California	For Strikeforce Welterweight Championship
Win	9-1	Jorge Gurgel	KO (Punches)	Strikeforce: Houston	August 21, 2010	2	0:19	Houston, Texas
Win	8-1	Conor Heun	Decision (Split)	Strikeforce: Los Angeles	June 16, 2010	3	5:00	Los Angeles, California	160 lb catchweight
Win	7–1	Andre Amade	Decision (Unanimous)	DREAM.13	March 22, 2010	2	5:00	Yokohama, Japan
Win	6–1	Yves Edwards	TKO (Punches and Elbows)	EliteXC: Return of the King	June 14, 2008	1	0:48	Honolulu, Hawaii	Defended EliteXC Lightweight Championship.
Win	5–1	Nick Diaz	TKO (Cuts)	EliteXC: Renegade	November 10, 2007	1	5:00	Corpus Christi, Texas	Became the first EliteXC Lightweight Champion
Win	4–1	James Edson Berto	KO (Knee)	ShoXC: Elite Challenger Series	July 27, 2007	3	0:45	Santa Ynez, California
Loss	3–1	Charles Bennett	KO (Punch)	EliteXC: Destiny	February 10, 2007	1	3:43	Southaven, Mississippi
Win	3–0	Harris Sarmiento	TKO (Strikes)	ICON Sport: Opposites Attract	October 28, 2005	3	4:37	Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	2–0	Bryson Kamaka	KO (Head Kick)	Superbrawl: Icon	July 23, 2005	1	1:20	Honolulu, Hawaii
Win	1–0	Malik Williams	TKO (Punches)	Superbrawl: 29 - Destiny	April 9, 2005	1	2:33	Honolulu, Hawaii

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

External links

• http://www.kjnoons.com
• Professional MMA record
• KJ Noons Official Boxing Record