Joe Baize: Record, Net Worth, Weight, Age & More!

By Benjamin Strusnik, November 12, 2021

Who is Joe Baize?

Joe Baize is a retired mixed martial arts fighter and a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is also a certified instructor in Hayastan. Baize is known primarily for his devotion to leg locks, which was uncommon at the time in both mma and in submission grappling. He has worked with some of the most notable names in grappling, including Luiz Palhares, Erik Paulson and, more recently, Tom DeBlass. His imprint on the game of jiu-jitsu in the modern era is hard to undersell.

Who is Joe Baize?

High Percentage Leg Attacks From Top Volume 1 by Joe Baize

Baize first began to train in martial arts when he was only eight years old. His initial experience was with taekwondo, which lasted him a few years. When he saw the first UFC in November of 1993 as an eleven year old, Baize realized that striking arts were not very useful without a solid base in grappling. After watching Royce Gracie fight Ken Shamrock, he understood that there was more to fighting than just being able to kick well and abandoned taekwondo.

This new obsession with grappling led Joe down a lifelong path that would define his style, even as an MMA fighter. In those days, there was no YouTube or BJJ Fanatics to gather techniques. Instead, Baize learned his style through a hard-earned combination of VHS tapes and traveling to meet new instructors. He eventually joined a gym that was roughly two hours from his home and made the journey regularly; a testament to his dedication and focus.

After about a year of training in MMA, Baize saw a promotional poster for a regional MMA promotion called Hook’N Shoot. He saw that one of the fighters was registered at a gym that was unknown to him, and nearly half an hour closer than his first affiliation. Baize and his new training partner, Warren Brooks, eventually founded the Nice Guy Submission Fighting School, which remains one of the premiere grappling schools in Kentucky.

His dream of stepping into a cage like Royce had in 1993 materialized only three short months after Joe’s seventeenth birthday. He made his debut on the Hook’N Shoot promotion and started down the path of an 8 year career with the promotion where he would finish 11-8-0 with an astounding eleven submission victories.

Baize earned his blackbelt from Josh Johnson under Luiz Palhares in 2011, about three years after retiring from MMA to focus on more grappling. In the intervening time, Baize continued to work with leg lock specialists to unlock that part of his game even further. He trained with Gokor Chivichyan, Erik Paulsen, and many other pioneers of the lower-body submission game in order to take him to the next level.

For years, Baize competed in submission grappling tournaments through his own affiliation in Kentucky, Nice Guy Submission Fighting. In 2018, however, Baize decided that it was time to make a change. He switched his training to Owensboro Gracie, which is under the supervision of noted black belt Tom DeBlass. After about a year, Baize again hopped affiliations, this time landing with Tom DeBlass himself for what looks to be a permanent switch.

High Percentage Leg Attacks From Top Volume 2 by Joe Baize

How Old is Joe Baize?

Joe Baize is 38 years old as of 2021. He was born on the 8th of June in 1983 in Beaver Dam, Kentucky.

Joe Baize Family

Details about Joe Baize’s family are unavailable.

How Much is Joe Baize Worth?

Joe Baize’s net worth is not known. He made his money from a successful career in both MMA and BJJ.

How Tall is Joe Baize?

Joe Baize is 5’9”, or 176 cm tall. He was average size when competing in MMA as a lightweight in the early 2000s. He has usually been the smaller competitor in his submission grappling matches, which often take place over 200 pounds.

How Much Does Joe Baize Weigh?

Joe Baize was a 155 pound lightweight in mixed martial arts. In BJJ he has competed as low as 170 pounds, or about 77 kg, on EBI events. On the upper end, he’s also entered tournaments as a heavyweight at 205 pound (94kg) and as a super heavyweight at 225 pounds, or 100.5 kg. In addition to all of these divisions, Joe Baize has often competed in the open weight absolute division at grappling events.

Joe Baize Fight List

Joe Baize has fought in both MMA and submission grappling events for well over 15 years, and has had too many matches to list them all individually here. Instead, take a look at some of the highlights of his long and successful careers in both sports:

2008 HookNshoot Pro World Championships - Gold
2009 Hayastan Grappling Challenge, Kentucky - Gold (Absolutes)
2009 Hayastan Grappling Challenge, New York - Gold (Absolutes)
2009 Hayastan Grappling Challenge, North Carolina - Gold (Absolutes)
2010 ADCC East Coast US trials - Gold
2012 ADCC East Coast US Trials - Silver
2016 Copa America Superfight Winner
2020 Fight to Win Masters Light Heavyweight NoGi World Championships - Gold

Joe Baize's Best Fight of All Time

Joe Baize has had a lot of awesome fights over his fifteen-plus year career in combat sports. One of his biggest moments came very recently, in 2020, when he returned to the submission grappling circuit to take on Joe Dierkhising. The two earned the right to compete for the Light Heavyweight NoGi World Title on Fight to Win 150. The bout took place at a limit of 205 and was an evenly fought match, but Baize was able to climb back to the top in his return to grappling competition.

Who Did Joe Baize Lose To?

Joe Baize has won his fair share of matches, but along with that comes the promise of some frustration. The end of Baize’s winning 11-8 MMA career saw him face some tough competition in future Bellator star Douglas Lima, who was able to beat him in a regional MMA bout in Kentucky in 2008.

Baize waited nearly 8 years for his next MMA fight, when he decided to make a return to Colosseum Combat 35 in May of 2016. Here, he faced young up-and-comer Cameron VanCamp in a tough bout. VanCamp swarmed Baize early, leaving him stunned from punches. He turned up the heat even more and was able to score a TKO via punches on Baize, who still made a respectable showing after nearly a decade outside of the octagon.

Joe Baize Record

Joe Baize finished his professional MMA career with an 11-8-0 record. He was an amazing ground specialist, with all eleven of his victories coming by way of submission. He is known for a foot lock game that was ahead of its time.

In submission grappling tournaments, Baize is 10-6 during black belt outtings. It’s interesting that he’s submitted his opponent in “only” eight out of his ten victories. That number, 80% would usually sound impressive; it fades only in comparison to his 100% submission rate in his MMA wins.

Joe Baize Injuries

In 2017, Joe Baize was signed up to compete in Sapateiro 9. The event was set to feature several superfights, including Joe Baize vs Mike Padilla. Only a short time before the date of the match, Baize was forced to pull out with an injury sustained in training. Instead, Ben Zapata stepped up and filled his slot, taking a loss to Mike Padilla via submission.

Is Joe Baize Retired?

Joe Baize retired from MMA after his single return bout in 2016. The picture is less clear in BJJ, where he is still irregularly competing in high-level tournaments and superfights. It looks as if Baize has a little more left in him before calling it quits from the competition scene.

In all his time in both the octagon and on the mats, Baize has picked up a huge bag of tricks. His leg-specific focus and passion are on display, however, with “High Percentage Leg Attacks From Top Volume 1 & Volume 2”, “Reverse Toe Hold Mastery”, and “Devastating Lower Body Submission Attacks”, all of which are available on BJJ Fanatics. No matter where you start, you’ll find awesome specifics about the leg lock game that made Baize famous.

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