Robert "Bobby" James Voelker^[1] (born April 26, 1979) is an American professionalmixed martial artist competing in theirWelterweight division. A professional competitor since 2006, Voelker has formerly competed for theUFC,Bellator MMA,Strikeforce,M-1 Global, andTitan FC.

Voelker is fromKansas City, Missouri, and attendedShawnee Mission South High School where he competed infootball as well as swimming and diving. Voelker also got into many street fights, being charged withbattery when he was 18 years old and began training inboxing andkickboxing late in high school. After graduating high school, Voelker briefly attended college before dropping out and eventually transitioned into a career in professionalmixed martial arts.^[4]

Voelker compiled an undefeated amateur record of 10–0 before making his professional MMA debut in 2006. He competed in events primarily inIowa andKansas, amassing a record of 20–7 before signing with Strikeforce.

Voelker's debut took place on November 20, 2009 atStrikeforce Challengers: Woodley vs. Bears, where he faced off againstWEC veteranErik Apple, defeating Apple via TKO (punches) in the second round.

His second appearance took place atStrikeforce Challengers: Lindland vs. Casey, where he faced heavy-handed up-and-coming striker "Relentless"Roger Bowling. The fight ended in a technical decision in favor of Bowling due to an unintentional eye injury to Bowling.

He was next signed to faceCory Devela, who was on a two-fight slide, on July 23, 2010, atStrikeforce Challengers: del Rosario vs. Mahe. Devela easily took round one, swarming Voelker and turning the fight into a grappling match. The second and third rounds were a lot closer to call, with Devela mostly controlling Voelker in the clinch, but the split decision was awarded to Voelker, who remained in a dominant position for much of the final frames, landing shots from top position.^[5]

A rematch with Bowling took place atStrikeforce Challengers: Bowling vs. Voelker. Voelker won a very one-sided fight via technical knockout in the second round due to punches. Voelker and Bowling fought for a third time atStrikeforce Challengers: Voelker vs. Bowling III to create Strikeforce's first trilogy. Once again, Voelker dominated and out struck Bowling, thus winning the fight via TKO due to a knee in the second round.

In January 2013, the Strikeforce organization was closed by its parent companyZuffa. A list of fighters scheduled to be brought over to the Ultimate Fighting Championship was released in mid-January and Voelker was included.^[6]

For his debut, Voelker facedPatrick Côté, who was making hisWelterweight debut, on March 16, 2013 atUFC 158.^[7] Despite finishing strong and winning the third round, Voelker was unsuccessful in his debut, losing the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision.

Voelker was briefly scheduled to faceJames Head on August 28, 2013 atUFC Fight Night 27.^[8] However, on July 11, it was announced that Voelker was tabbed as a replacement forSiyar Bahadurzada and faceRobbie Lawler on July 27, 2013 atUFC on Fox 8.^[9] He lost the fight via knockout in the second round.

Voelker facedWilliam Macário on December 28, 2013 atUFC 168.^[10] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.^[11]

Voelker facedLance Benoist on June 7, 2014 atUFC Fight Night 42.^[12] He lost the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision, and was subsequently released from the promotion.

After racking a 9–1 record on the regional circuit, Voelker signed withBellator MMA in April 2019.^[13] He made his promotional debut againstSabah Homasi atBellator 250 on October 29, 2020. He lost the fight via flying knee in the second round.^[14]

On May 3, 2021, it was announced that Voelker was no longer under contract with Bellator.^[15]

After the one-off bout in Bellator, Voelker returned to Shamrock FC facing Josh Weston at Shamrock FC 332 on October 9, 2021.^[16] He won the bout via first-round knockout.^[17]

Aside from his career as a fighter, Voelker works in construction and is also a devoutCatholic. During his UFC tenure, Voelker studied atKansas City Kansas Community College to be a paramedic and eventually graduated.^[18][19]

• Shamrock Fighting Championships
  • Shamrock FC Welterweight Championship (one time)

• Professional MMA record for Bobby Voelker fromSherdog
• Bobby Voelker atUFC

• 1979 births
• American male mixed martial artists
• Living people
• Welterweight mixed martial artists
• Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing
• Mixed martial artists from Kansas
• Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters

• CS1 Dutch-language sources (nl)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata