Joshua Ray Burkman[2] (born April 10, 1980) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist formerly competing in the Welterweight division.

[3] Burkman was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, he attended Cottonwood High School.

Burkman played two seasons of college football before he began his career in mixed martial arts.

His sophomore season (2001) was spectacular: he rushed for 1,439 yards and 13 touchdowns for the Rebels, earning JUCO All-American honors.

His team won the Dixie Rotary Bowl; for his performance, Burkman earned a scholarship offer from the University of Utah.

Burkman was originally chosen to be on the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter, but he failed pre-show drug test failure and admitted to taking Winstrol.

Burkman was signed by the UFC and had his debut fight at The Ultimate Fighter 2 Finale; he defeated Sammy Morgan by knockout in 21 seconds of the first round.

During his time with the UFC, Burkman earned wins over Drew Fickett, Josh Neer, and Forrest Petz, but was largely unsuccessful against the bigger names in the division.

On November 20, 2009, Burkman faced Ultimate Fighter alumni Brandon Melendez defeating him by KO in round one at Throwdown Showdown 5.

On September 6, 2012, it was announced that Burkman was one of many fighters to sign on with new MMA Promotion the World Series of Fighting.

Burkman avenged his loss, dropping Fitch with a series of punches before applying a guillotine choke submission and getting the win in just 41 seconds of round number one.

[27] Burkman faced Alex Morono on February 18, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 126 at the welterweight division.

[36] His older brother Jered was a star baseball player alongside Chris Shelton at both Cottonwood High School and Salt Lake Community College.