The Ultimate Fighter Stevenson was one of the more experienced fighters participating in
The Ultimate Fighter 2. He had a professional record of 23-6-0 and held the . championship at
King of the Cage and the . at Gladiator Challenge going into the show. On November 5, 2005, Stevenson defeated
Luke Cummo by unanimous decision, winning
The Ultimate Fighter 2 welterweight tournament and earning a six-figure contract with the UFC. UFC president
Dana White compared the bout to
Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar's fight, stating, "that was Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin, only on the ground".
UFC start On April 6, 2006, in his first fight after winning
The Ultimate Fighter 2, he was upset by
Josh Neer at
Ultimate Fight Night 4, losing the fight by unanimous decision. Following the loss, Stevenson announced that he would drop down to the Lightweight division for future bouts. On July 8, 2006, at
UFC 61, Stevenson won his 155-pound debut against
Yves Edwards. After opening up a deep cut on Edwards from the top position, the doctors were forced to pull Edwards from the match. This fight earned him a
Fight of the Night award. Stevenson returned to the Octagon at
UFC 65 on November 18, 2006, defeating
Japanese fighter
Dokonjonosuke Mishima by
guillotine choke in the first round. This fight earned him a
Submission of the Night award. Next, Stevenson was booked for the main event at
UFC Fight Night 9 on April 5, 2007 against fellow Season 2 contestant
Melvin Guillard. Despite a war of words between the two fighters, particularly by Guillard leading up to the bout, Stevenson made quick work of his opponent, knocking down Guillard with a punch before securing a fight-ending
guillotine choke. This fight earned him another
Submission of the Night award. With his string of victories at 155, Stevenson established himself as one of the top contenders in the UFC's very competitive Lightweight division.
UFC Lightweight Championship Stevenson was set to fight
B.J. Penn for the
UFC Interim Lightweight Championship at
UFC 80 due to ongoing litigation regarding
Sean Sherk's steroid use. On December 4, 2007, the California State Athletic Commission upheld a reduced suspension for Sherk, prompting the UFC to strip him of the lightweight championship. UFC President
Dana White then confirmed that Stevenson and Penn's match would be to fill the vacant lightweight championship, but the winner of that fight would face Sherk at the next opportunity. Just seconds after the start of the fight, Penn knocked Stevenson down with a right uppercut. From the top position, Penn landed a strong elbow to the head of Stevenson—causing a serious cut on Stevenson's hairline. In the second round, Stevenson fought more aggressively but was still unable to threaten Penn. After taking Stevenson's back, Penn secured a fight-ending rear naked choke at 4:02 of the second round.
UFC after loss to Penn At
UFC 86, Stevenson returned to the Octagon and defeated
Gleison Tibau by
guillotine choke submission after pulling guard. Tibau tapped quickly at 2:57 in the second round. At
UFC 91 on November 15, 2008, Stevenson was set to face top-contender
Kenny Florian in a highly anticipated bout. Despite stating that he was offended to be considered an underdog against Florian, Stevenson was outclassed in the bout. After being taken down three minutes into the fight, Stevenson was mounted and eventually gave up his back to Florian. Florian forced Stevenson, who had just attained his
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, to submit to a
rear naked choke just 4:03 into the first round. Stevenson returned at
UFC 95 on February 21, 2009 in the main event against debuting lightweight
Diego Sanchez, and lost via unanimous decision. This fight earned him a $40,000
Fight of the Night award. Stevenson defeated
The Ultimate Fighter 5 winner
Nate Diaz by unanimous decision at
The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale on June 20, 2009. Stevenson showed superior wrestling and controlled the majority of the fight. This fight earned him a $25,000
Fight of the Night award. In his next bout, Stevenson defeated
Spencer Fisher by submission due to strikes at
UFC 104. Stevenson secured the crucifix position and landed elbows, forcing Fisher to submit. Stevenson went on to face top 10 contender
George Sotiropoulos on February 21, 2010, at
UFC 110 in
Sydney,
Australia. Stevenson lost a very one sided fight by unanimous decision, but was awarded a $50,000
Fight of the Night bonus award. Stevenson was expected to face former
Pride Lightweight Champion
Takanori Gomi on August 1, 2010, at
UFC Live on Versus: 2. However, Stevenson pulled out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by
Tyson Griffin. Stevenson faced fellow TUF winner
Mac Danzig on December 11, 2010, at
UFC 124. Stevenson lost via a left hook KO as Danzig was moving back toward the cage. This loss was his first KO loss since 1999. Stevenson suffered his third consecutive loss after falling short via unanimous decision to
Danny Castillo on March 3, 2011, at
UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann. Stevenson was defeated by
Javier Vazquez via unanimous decision in his featherweight debut on June 26, 2011, at
UFC on Versus 4. After having four consecutive losses, Stevenson was released from the UFC. He became the fourth
The Ultimate Fighter winner to be released from the UFC.
Post-UFC Stevenson signed a new contract with the Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA). He fought
Dakota Cochrane at Lightweight in the main event of RFA 3: Stevenson vs. Cochrane on Saturday, June 30, 2012, at the
Viaero Event Center in
Kearney, Nebraska. Stevenson was rocked early in the first round by a knee from Cochrane, yet Stevenson managed to take Cochrane down to control him throughout the round. At the start of the second round, Cochrane rocked Stevenson again and managed to secure a rear naked choke. Stevenson escaped the attempt, but Cochrane was able to quickly take Stevenson's back a second time and finished via submission due to a rear-naked choke. Stevenson next fought Dominique Robinson at Sugar Shane Promotions on January 30, 2015. He lost the fight via split decision. After a year-and-a-half away from the sport, Stevenson returned to the cage July 30, 2016, for the California Fight League. He faced Daniel McWilliams and won the fight via TKO in the first round. Stevenson made a quick return to the cage, facing Gabriel Miglioli at Tru-Form Entertainment on August 26, 2016. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Stevenson is a contestant of
The Ultimate Fighter season 25, consisting of fighters that have been competing in previous The Ultimate Fighter seasons.
The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption In February 2017, it was revealed that Stevenson would compete again on the UFC's reality show in the 25th season on
The Ultimate Fighter: Redemption. Stevenson was the fifth pick overall for Team Dillashaw. He was defeated by
Justin Edwards in the opening round of fights by unanimous decision. He was defeated by
Hayder Hassan by knockout in the first round in the wildcard bout. ==Grappling career==