Jonathan Michael Madsen

(born February 12, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights fighting for Team Rashad.

Born in Orange County, California and raised in Doland, South Dakota, Madsen attended Doland High School where he was a decorated high school and college wrestler. Madsen has won many awards and even had a high school wrestling match with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. Besides wrestling, Madsen was a track and football star.

Madsen enrolled in South Dakota State University and won a National Title in wrestling in his freshmen year. After college he still had the passion to compete and decided to pursue mixed martial arts fulltime. Wanting to train with one of the best mixed martial arts gyms, Madsen packed his stuff and moved out of his home in South Dakota to train with The H.I.T. Squad (Hughes Intensive Training) in Granite City, Illinois. Madsen decided to skip competing as an amateur and went straight to professional, with a previous record of 3–0 Madsen was picked to compete on The Ultimate Fighter 10.

The Ultimate Fighter

Madsen was on the tenth season of the The Ultimate Fighter. In the first episode, Madsen advanced to the quarterfinals after he defeated Team Rampage's second pick Abe Wagner via unanimous decision.

In the quarterfinals, Madsen fought teammate Brendan Schaub and was knocked out in the second round via two straight right punches.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Madsen made his official UFC debut at the Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale. He fought cast mate and teammate Justin Wren to a decision of 30–27, 28–29 and 29–28 winning by split decision.

Madsen next fought Mostapha Al-turk at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi. After 3 rounds, Madsen was declared the winner via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28).

At UFC 116, Madsen defeated Karlos Vemola via unanimous decision.

Madsen was expected to face Todd Duffee on October 23, 2010 at UFC 121. However, Duffee was forced off the card with an injury and replaced by Gilbert Yvel. Both men circled early on in the fight before Madsen gained a double leg takedown. Madsen then hit Yvel multiple times forcing the referee to stop the fight