"The People's Warrior" Josh Burkman

Josh Burkman burst onto the fighting scene early in 2002 and never looked back. From an early age Josh became very familiar with sports and played in just about every organized league he could. He excelled in the three primary sports of Football, Basketball, and Baseball. It wasn't long before Josh would excel past his peers and become the star player on all his teams.

Josh attended Cottonwood High School in Salt Lake City, Utah and focused his abilities on wrestling, football, and baseball. He was the captain of the football team and rushed for over 1,000 yards in his senior season. He was also the captain of the baseball team and received All-State honors his senior season. High School was also the place Josh found a passion for wrestling. He took Second Place in his weight division at the State Championship wrestling meet his senior season. Josh was a triple threat athlete in high school who was seen by many as one of the few that could take his athletic abilities to the next level.
Josh received a scholarship to attend Snow College where he played both football and baseball. Josh was the captain of the football team and had a great season despite an injury that would sideline him for half the season.

Josh would end up transferring to Dixie College and lead his football team to a winning season in which they won the "Dixie Rotary Bowl". Josh had a terrific season as a running back and put up some monster numbers in the 2001 season. He had 1,439 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns he would also receive All-Conference and All-American honors. His intentions were to transfer to the University of Utah and play football but fate and destiny had other plans.

Shortly before the football season started Josh signed up to fight in a local fighting competition, the Ultimate Combat Experience. This seemed simple to Josh who always enjoyed street fighting and for the first time could get paid and not get in trouble. Josh lost his first match but found something that interested him far more than football. He decided not to pursue football but instead to train in Mixed Martial Arts and become a professional full contact fighter. After that first loss Josh would go on to win 9 straight bouts in the amateur division. Josh was defeating the competition rather easily and was winning the hearts of his fans in and out of the ring. It was his charismatic nature that earned him the nickname "The Peoples Warrior".

Josh would move on to the professional level and fight his first match in Portland, Oregon for Randy Couture and Matt Lindland's "Sportfight Promotions". Josh's first professional match was ruled a No Contest but drew the attention of the promoters. Both Randy and Matt saw potential in Josh and invited him to train with the world famous Team Quest. Josh wasted no time in doing so and packed his bags to relocate to Oregon to start training with Team Quest. Josh did very well in training and quickly secured a spot on the team. He would go on to win his next four professional bouts and keep chasing the dream of one day making it to the Ultimate Fighting Championships in Las Vegas.

Josh's dream is beginning to unfold as he will be one of the contestants on the new season of "The Ultimate Fighter 2" premiering on Spike TV Monday August 22, 2005. Tune in every Monday night at 11:05 PM Eastern to see how he will do on his quest to become the next great Ultimate Fighter. Josh is currently living and training in Utah. He is the running back/disciplinary coach at Cottonwood High School. Visit this site often to see how Josh's preparations for his future bouts are coming!