Dwight Joseph

DWIGHT JOSEPH

A.K.A: TBD
RECORD: 8-0-0
TEAM: Team Viper
AGE: 24
HEIGHT: 5’ 6”
WEIGHT: 135 lbs
OUT OF: Lincoln, NE
HOMETOWN: Monrovia Liberia
LAST: W/ Mark Hooper
NEXT: TBD

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8/15/14
Dwight Joseph was born on August 16th, 1989 in Monrovia, Liberia on the west coast of Africa. In December of 1999 he traveled to the United States as a refugee. He lived in Baltimore, Maryland, for 2 years then moved to Providence, Rhode Island where he lived for about a year and a half. In August of 2003 he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska .

Joseph acquired his start in Martial Arts with Taekwondo while living in Ivory Coast as a refugee, he continued his training in Taekwondo when he moved back to Liberia. After receiving a blue belt in the art, he stopped training. Joseph was playing soccer, which is the most popular sport in Liberia. When Joseph moved to the United States he got involved in football and continued to play soccer, which he enjoyed competing in. In his senior year of high school, Joseph agreed to join the wrestling team after two years of the wrestling coach asking him to join. He went on to play Football and Soccer at Doane College. Joseph had seen Mixed Martial Arts on TV before but it wasn’t until his senior year of college, after seeing an episode of the 10th season of The Ultimate Fighter, that Joseph’s interest in Martial Arts was ignited. “I was hooked on it. I was like an addict.” I watched everything I could about MMA,” Says Joseph. After graduating from college with a degree in Business Administration, Joseph eventually gained employment and decided to try MMA training over a traditional gym with no intentions of competing. He started his training at Lincoln MMA with Team Viper and he has not looked back since. After about 5 months of training his teammates told him that he had to compete. Joseph was reluctant at first but eventually gave in and took his first fight about one year after he started training. Immediately after his first fight, he wasn’t sure if he would compete again but he admits that as soon “as I got home, I was ready to do it again”. Mixed Martial Arts has become his life. Dwight trains twice a day, Monday through Friday in Muay Thai, Boxing, Wrestling, Jiujitsu and Strength and Conditioning, followed by one training session on Saturdays. He considers Robert Anderson of Team Viper to be his friend and a bit of a mentor for helping him with some friendly advice throughout his career so far. He also trains at Premier Combat Center in Omaha, NE, Lincoln Boxing Club and Lincoln Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in Lincoln, NE. He currently holds the Dynasty Combat Sports Featherweight (145) belt and the Midwest Championship Fighting 145 belt.

Dwight Joseph defines an impressive victory in two ways; challenge and improvement. “Finding your way to victory against tough opponents is an impressive feat in my opinion because you have to dig deep and fight through adversities to achieve your goal.” He also considers his last three fights impressive in the context of improvement. “Improving with every fight is what I try to do and I feel like I got much better in the last three. And that makes me happy, so I keep working to better myself everyday”. He humbly states that he has no idea how he would rank nationally at 135. Joseph says, “I am just happy to take the fights as they come right now and keep growing in the sport. I am just happy to be a part of this sport and I am grateful that I get to live it everyday.” Joseph claims that the best fighter at his weight is the UFC champ TJ Dillashaw. “He proved that he is worthy to be the champ and that is what I’m striving for. I want to learn and grow with each fight and get to that level. And when I get there, I will work hard and take that top position,” Says Joseph. “There are a lot of variables to get into the national spotlight. The only thing I am focused on is getting better every day and working hard. That is the only way I will get the opportunity and recognition I need to make it to the next level.”

Joseph became a member of the MMA Futures Grey Hat Team right before attaining the Midwest Championship Fighting (MCF) Featherweight belt. Joseph Says, “Before you guys (MMA Futures) came around, we were fighting in the dark, so to speak. You guys are helping to get us out there. You guys are doing great things for the promoters, the fighters and most importantly for the sport.” MMA Futures is proud to have Dwight Joseph represent our brand as he gets prepared to further his professional career. Joseph, in response to being asked if he has any outside projects, says that he wants to help his home country of Liberia. “People are dying from the Ebola virus every day in my country and I am working on raising money to help the organizations that are helping to contain the disease, treat the infected and raise awareness in the country. Joseph is passionate about his homeland and his people. “I think it is our responsibility as a human beings to help the poorest of the poor. I want to help and do all that I can,” says Joseph. Joseph’s family is very supportive of his career choice and watches his fights on MMA Futures. “My dad has always told me my whole life, if you are going to do something, I don’t care what it is, do it to be the best. Be the best at whatever you do,” recalls Joseph. And that is what Joseph plans to do. “The last time I went back there (Liberia), there were hundreds of people at the airport to meet me.” Joseph humbly accepts the praise but admits that he feels undeserving. When asked to sum up his life right now, in one word, he says, “Positive.” And after talking with this young man, he is! We are very proud to have Dwight Joseph represent MMA Futures and we look forward to see what happens next in this young man’s career.

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