Background Russow is from
Kankakee, Illinois and was a state wrestling champion in high school for the Heavyweight division. He also attended college at
Eastern Illinois University and earned a degree in sociology. His first fight was in 1998.
Ultimate Fighting Championship Russow signed with the UFC in 2009 and made his debut against
Justin McCully at
UFC 102. He won via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–26, and 30–27). Russow then defeated
Todd Duffee via third round
KO at
UFC 114. Russow absorbed heavy punishment from Duffee during the course of the fight but hung on late into the third and final round. Russow then connected with a hard straight right hand, taking Duffee and the fans in attendance by surprise. Russow defeated
TUF 10 alum and DeathClutch teammate
Jon Madsen on March 26, 2011, at
UFC Fight Night 24 via
TKO; with that win he improved his winning streak to ten. Russow was expected to face
Dave Herman on October 8, 2011, at
UFC 136. However, the bout was cancelled after Herman failed his preliminary drug test in which he tested positive for
marijuana. Russow faced
John Olav Einemo on January 28, 2012, at
UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis and won via unanimous decision (29–28, 29–28, and 30–27). Russow faced
Fabrício Werdum on June 23, 2012, at
UFC 147. Russow was defeated by Werdum via TKO at 2:28 of round 1. Russow faced
Shawn Jordan on January 26, 2013, at
UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Dodson. Despite a strong first round, Russow lost to Jordan by TKO in the second round and was subsequently released from the promotion.
World Series of Fighting On October 6, 2013, it was announced that Russow has signed with
World Series of Fighting. Since his signing with WSOF, Russow retired from MMA. ==Personal life==