Jeremy Horn

Background

Horn was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and has two half-brothers, Sid and Matt Anderson, along with his younger brother Marshall Horn. All of the boys were raised by their single mother, Ruth. Horn's mother worked many odd jobs, sometimes working 16 hours a day, to support her family. Horn often fought bullies when he was in school, and began training when he was 12 years old, along with his brother Matt. Before becoming a full-time mixed martial arts fighter, Horn worked in construction. He is known for his durability, with an amazing 118 total fights in his career, as well as his world-class grappling skills with 62 of his 91 wins by submission.

Early career

Horn's early martial arts training was under Robert Bussey's Warrior International founder, Robert Bussey. Horn earned a RBWI black belt under Bussey in 1992, and spent most of his career with the Miletich Fighting Systems team in Iowa. Horn is currently training in Salt Lake City, Utah with Elite Performance, the team that he created.

Horn made his professional debut in early 1996 in a warehouse in Atlanta, Georgia. Horn won the bout in under two minutes via armbar submission. The young Omaha native would go on to reach a record of 9-2-3 with eight submission wins before being invited to compete in the UFC.

UFC

Horn made his UFC debut at UFC 17 on May 15, 1998 against then-UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, Frank Shamrock in a fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Horn lost via kneebar submission 16:28 into the bout. He also fought Jason Godsey in the UFC.

Horn made his next appearance for the organization at UFC Brazil five fights later against Brazilian Vale Tudo fighter, Ebenezer Fontes Braga. Horn lost the bout via guillotine choke submission 3:27 into the first round. Horn bounced back after the loss, going 9-0-1 in his next 10 fights with two wins in the IFC and the draw being against Keiichiro Yamamiya in Horn's Pancrase debut. Horn returned to the UFC at UFC 19 to fight future UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and future UFC Hall of Fame inductee, Chuck Liddell. Horn rendered Liddell unconscious with an arm-triangle choke 12:00 into the bout, which would be the only submission loss of Liddell's career.

Horn compiled eight more wins to bring his winning-streak to 15 fights, before making another appearance for the UFC at UFC 21 against Daiju Takase in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Horn won the bout via TKO 4:41 into the fight. Horn then fought at UFC 22 two fights later against Jason Godsey, who had defeated Horn via submission earlier in his career. Horn avenged the loss with an armbar submission 2:08 into the first round. Horn's 18-fight winning-streak was snapped in his next fight after suffering a loss via majority decision at the hands of Hiromitsu Kanehara in Horn's RINGS debut in Tokyo, Japan. Horn's next loss was against future Pride Heavyweight Champion and future UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira via unanimous decision. After a split decision loss to Ricardo Arona in RINGS, Horn made his next UFC appearance at UFC 27 against future Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Eugene Jackson and won via armbar submission in the first round.

In RINGS, Horn faced six-time UFC Champion and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture who was able to out strike Horn from the clinch and knocked down Horn multiple times, as Horn would end up losing in a unanimous decision. After the loss to Couture, Horn faced Australian Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist, Elvis Sinosic at UFC 30. Sinosic, who held a career record 3-3-1 coming into the fight, defeated Horn with an armbar submission in a disappointing loss for the much-more experienced Horn. Two fights after a majority decision loss in a rematch with Ricardo Arona, Horn was invited to compete in the Pride Fighting Championships.

PRIDE

Horn made his PRIDE debut against Akira Shoji on December 23, 2001 at Pride 18 in Fukuoka, Japan. Horn won the bout against the Japanese veteran via unanimous decision. Horn's next appearance for the Japan-based organization was against Dutch knockout artist, Gilbert Yvel at Pride 21 and Horn won via unanimous decision.

WEC, King of the Cage, and the IFC

After his last fight with PRIDE, Horn made his WEC debut at WEC 4 and won via rear-naked choke submission under one minute into the first round. Horn then followed this up with wins over Kristof Midoux, Travis Fulton, Chalid Arrab, and Homer Moore before fighting for the King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Championship against then-champion, Vernon White, who had won and defended the title four times. Horn won the bout via unanimous decision, becoming the new King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Champion.

Two fights later, Horn fought in the IFC Light Heavyweight tournament on September 6, 2003 and won his first bout of the night via armbar submission before facing future Ultimate Fighter Winner, UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and UFC Hall of Famer, Forrest Griffin in a highly anticipated bout. The two exchanged powerful strikes on the feet and battled on the ground in the first round, and continued to grapple through the second round until Horn knocked out the fatigued Griffin with a single head kick. Horn's next fight of the night was for the final against future Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Renato "Babalu" Sobral. Sobral was able to overwhelm Horn from the start of the fight with his strikes and grappling skills as he took down Horn who then attempted a triangle choke before Sobral escaped from the position. Later in the round, Horn took down Sobral, who in turn was able to get back on top of Horn and continue to utilize the ground and pound technique while again Horn came very close to executing a successful triangle choke which he held until the end of the round. At the start of the second round, the two exchanged submission attempts until Horn, while ground and pounding Sobral from the top, unintentionally landed an illegal knee strike to the face of the downed Muay Thai fighter. After the fight continued, Sobral took down Horn and the two continued to battle from the ground until the end of the fight. Horn ultimately lost in a unanimous decision in a very entertaining fight.

Two fights later, Horn defended his King of the Cage Light Heavyweight Championship title against former King of the Cage Middleweight Champion, who had vacated his title when he moved up to the Light Heavyweight division. Two fights later, Horn fought for TKO Major League MMA against UFC veteran, David Losieau and won via guillotine choke submission under one minute into the first round. Horn then fought against future UFC veteran Chael Sonnen and won via TKO due to a cut 3:34 into the fight. Two fights after the win over Sonnen, Horn fought future longtime UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva in Seoul, South Korea. Horn was outmatched by Silva's striking and multiple takedown attempts by Horn were defended by the Brazilian fighter using the sprawl technique, as Horn would go on to lose in a unanimous decision.

Two fights later, Horn had a rematch with Chael Sonnen. Sonnen, a wrestler, immediately took Horn down and utilized the ground and pound technique through the first round and into the second round until Horn was able to sink in a guillotine choke, causing Sonnen to tap. Horn faced Josh Burkman two fights after the win over Sonnen, and won via technical submission with a guillotine choke early into the fight, causing controversy as he spit on the downed Burkman immediately after the referee stopped the fight. After following this up with another win, Horn returned to the UFC.

Return to the UFC

Horn made his return to the UFC at UFC 54 to fight for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against then-champion, Chuck Liddell in a rematch of their UFC 19 bout. Horn lost the rematch via TKO, after being dominated by Liddell's superior striking, although Horn displayed his toughness and heart, as the fight carried on until 2:46 into the fourth round. Horn made his next appearance at UFC 56 against South African Trevor Prangley and won via unanimous decision. After his win over Prangley, Horn fought Chael Sonnen for a third time at UFC 60 and won again, this time being via armbar submission.

At a September 9, 2006 International Fight League show, Horn lost to former Olympic wrestling silver medalist Matt Lindland in the second round due to strikes. After the fight, Horn announced that he would be taking a break from fighting. He returned from this break when he beat Falaniko Vitale by split decision at the IFL Oakland event. Horn's next bout, the 100th of his career, was a loss against future Strikeforce Middleweight Grand Prix Champion Jorge Santiago, but then won his next bout via unanimous decision against future Ultimate Fighter winner and current UFC veteran, Court McGee, who had been undefeated heading into the fight.

Horn then fought again for the UFC at UFC 81 against future Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Nate Marquardt as a replacement for Thales Leites and lost via guillotine choke submission. Horn then lost again via guillotine choke submission in a rematch with Dean Lister at The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest Finale. After two consecutive losses, Horn faced Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Rousimar Palhares at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland and lost again via unanimous decision. After three consecutive losses, Horn was released by the UFC.

Post-UFC

After leaving the UFC, Horn then fought Sean Salmon and defeated him in the first round by rear-naked choke to win the IFC Middleweight Championship. Horn fought for the Bellator Fighting Championships against Bryan Baker at Bellator 30 on September 23, 2010. Horn lost the bout via unanimous decision.

Horn was set to face UFC and WEC veteran Jake Rosholt on April 16, 2010 on the "Bad Boys 2" card for King of the Cage, but the fight was canceled when Rosholt sustained a neck injury the day before the event.

Mixed martial arts