5 Things You Might Not Know About John Howard

After nearly two decades of hand-to-hand combat, John Howard still musters the motivation to strap on the gloves and climb into the cage.

The Wai Kru MMA mainstay will make his under-the-radar Eagle Fighting Championship debut when he zeroes in on undefeated Russian prospect Ramazan Kuramagomedov in an EFC 44 welterweight showcase on Friday at the FLX Arena in Miami. Howard, 38, has alternated wins and losses in each of his past four outings. He last competed under the Xtreme MMA banner, as he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Tyler Ray at XMMA 3 “Vice City” on Oct. 23.

As Howard makes final preparations for his forthcoming battle with Kuramagomedov, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. Few can match his real-world seasoning.

Howard has gone the distance in more than half (24) of his 47 professional appearances, giving him a significant experience advantage over virtually anyone he faces. He owns a 12-11-1 record in those bouts, which account for nearly six hours of actual cage time when combined together.

2. He fleshed out his skills.

Though he has a history of quick-strike violence, Howard holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and sports seven submissions among his 29 victories. His methods of choice: two rear-naked chokes, two armbars, one heel hook, one arm-triangle choke and one triangle choke.

3. He struck gold in more than one locale.

Howard has held championships in the Combat Zone, Ring of Combat and CES MMA organizations. He claimed the vacant Combat Zone welterweight crown when he submitted Jason Dublin with an arm-triangle choke on April 22, 2006, captured the Ring of Combat welterweight title when he took a unanimous decision from Charlie Brenneman on Sept. 12, 2008 and seized the CES MMA middleweight belt when he put away Todd Chattelle with punches on April 13, 2012.

4. Heightened competition did not spook him.

“Doomsday” held his own across his two stints in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Howard pieced together a respectable 7-7 record across 14 assignments inside the Octagon, his wins over Chris Wilson, Tamdan McCrory, Dennis Hallman, Daniel Roberts, Uriah Hall, Siyar Bahadurzada and Cathal Pendred offset by losses to Jake Ellenberger, Thiago Alves, Matt Brown, Ryan LaFlare, Brian Ebersole, Lorenz Larkin and Tim Means.

5. His travels have been surprisingly limited.

All but two of Howard’s fights have taken place in North America. The exceptions? He lost a unanimous decision to Leandro Silva at a High Fight Rock show on Oct. 27, 2012 in Goiania, Brazil, and dropped a unanimous verdict to the aforementioned LaFlare at UFC Fight Night 39 on April 11, 2014 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.