Érik Gregorio Pérez Ruvalcaba (born November 19, 1989) is a Mexican

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

who competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. Bra ...

division of the

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media conglomerate Paramount Glob ...

promotion. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for

Shark Fights Shark Fights was a mixed martial arts promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. It made its debut on October 24, 2008. On September 11, 2010 Shark Fights had its biggest card in Shark Fights history by having UFC veterans Jorge Masvidal, Keith Jardi ...

BAMMA BAMMA (British Association of Mixed Martial Arts) was a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United Kingdom. It premiered on June 27, 2009, and was shown on the television channel Bravo. BAMMA events were shown live on ITV4 in the UK and I ...

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

and Combate Americas.

Personal life

Érik Pérez was born in

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guat ...

. Pérez grew from a family of sportsmen; his older brother Jorge Pérez is a professional boxer, while his brothers Iván Pérez, and Jair Pérez both are fellow mixed martial artists. Érik, Iván, and Jair all three fought together in Combate Americas.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Upon his permanent move to United States, Érik Pérez established a full-time training camp at

Jackson's MMA Jackson Wink MMA Academy (formerly known as Jackson's Submission Fighting) is a mixed martial arts gym based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The gym has been featured in several sports documentaries and has been called one of the best MMA gyms in th ...

in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Érik Pérez is managed b
VFD Sports Marketing
Pérez faced John Albert on June 1, 2012 at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale replacing Byron Bloodworth who was removed from the bout. Pérez won the fight via controversial armbar submission as Albert did not appear to verbally submit or tap out but the fight was stopped by referee Kim Winslow. Pérez next faced Ken Stone on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150. He won via first-round KO in 17 seconds. With this win, Pérez obtained the fastest Bantamweight knockout in UFC and WEC Bantamweight history, beating

Damacio Page Damacio James Page (born September 30, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing for Legacy Fighting Championship in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, Page has also formerly competed ...

's 18-second KO over Marcos Galvao. Pérez fought Byron Bloodworth on December 29, 2012 at UFC 155. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Pérez was expected to face

Johnny Bedford John Charles "Johnny" Bedford (born January 6, 1983) is an American retired mixed martial artist and bare knuckle boxer. A professional since 2003, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, the Legacy Fighting Alliance, and was a competitor on Spike ...

on April 27, 2013 at

UFC 159 ''UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen'' was a mixed martial arts event held on April 27, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Background Jimy Hettes was expected to face Steven Siler at the event; however, Hettes was forced out of the bo ...

. However, Pérez pulled out of the bout just days before the event citing an injury and was replaced by

Bryan Caraway Bryan Caraway (born August 4, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in Battlefield Fighting Championship. A professional MMA competitor since 2005, Caraway has fought in the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, and the WEC. He wa ...

. Pérez faced Takeya Mizugaki on August 28, 2013 at

UFC Fight Night 27 ''UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 27'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 28, 2013, at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event was broadcast live on Fox Sports 1. Backg ...

He lost the fight via split decision. Pérez next faced Edwin Figueroa at UFC 167. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pérez faced

on June 7, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 42. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round. Pérez was expected to face

Marcus Brimage Marcus Clyde Brimage (born April 6, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, he has formerly competed for the UFC and was a competitor on The Ultimate Fig ...

on November 15, 2014 at UFC 180. However, Pérez pulled out of the bout in mid-October citing a shoulder injury. Pérez was briefly linked to a fight with Damian Stasiak on November 21, 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. However, Stasiak was removed from the bout and replaced by Taylor Lapilus. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Pérez next faced Francisco Rivera on July 30, 2016 at UFC 201. He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Pérez faced

Felipe Arantes Felipe Arantes (born 9 February 1988) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist, who competed in the bantamweight and featherweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Arantes mostly fought in Brazil before signing with the U ...

on November 5, 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. He was awarded a split decision victory. Perez signed with Combate Americas on October 31, 2017 after fighting out his contract with the UFC.

Combate Americas

Following his departure from the UFC, Pérez signed a multi-fight contract with Combate Americas. On March 15, 2018 it was announced that Pérez would be fighting against top-ranked fighter in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, David "DJ" Fuentes. The fight took place on April 20, and Erik won the fight by knockout. Pérez was expected to headline Combate Americas Mexico vs. USA against John Castañeda on October 13, 2018, but the bout was postponed to a later date because Castaneda caught staph infection. Pérez then headlined Combate Americas Combate Monterrey on November 17, 2018 against Andres Ayala. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in the first round.

Bellator MMA

Following a two-fight stint at Combate Americas, Pérez signed a multi-fight deal with

. Pérez made his promotional debut against Toby Misech at Bellator 236 on December 20, 2019. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Pérez faced Josh Hill at Bellator 244 on August 21, 2020. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Pérez was expected to face Brian Moore at Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021. However, Moore tested positive for COVID and pulled out of the bout. He was replaced by Blaine Shutt. Pérez won the bout via unanimous decision. Pérez was scheduled to face

Brett Johns Thomas Brett Johns (born 21 February 1992) is a Welsh professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. Prior to signing with Bellator, Johns competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (U ...

on October 16, 2021 at Bellator 268. However on October 5, it was announced that Perez was injured and the bout was scrapped. Pérez, replacing Jared Scoggins, was scheduled to face Cee Jay Hamilton on April 22, 2022 at

Bellator 278 ''Bellator 278: Velasquez vs. Carmouche'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on April 22, 2022, at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Background Bellator 278 was dedicated fo ...

. Pérez in turn pulled out of the bout and Hamilton was not rescheduled, instead being paid his show money, despite not weighing in or fighting.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

**Fastest knockout in bantamweight history (0:17) **Second best takedown accuracy in bantamweight history (55.9%) **Tenth best significant strike defense in bantamweight history (66.7%) **Sixth most strikes landed in bantamweight history (666) **Ranked eighth for least strikes absorbed per minute in bantamweight history (2.09) **Fourth most takedowns landed in bantamweight history (19)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 20–8 , Blaine Shutt , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 258 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–7 , Toby Misech , KO (punches) , Bellator 235 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:54 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 , Andres Ayala , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Combate Americas - Combate Monterrey , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:39 ,

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is ancho ...

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 18–6 , David Fuentes , KO (punches) , Combate Americas - Combate Estrellas 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:22 ,

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, Decision (split) , The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6 , Francisco Rivera , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 201 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–6 , Taylor Lapilus , Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale: Magny vs. Gastelum , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 14–6 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Henderson vs. Khabilov , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:52 , Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Edwin Figueroa , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 167 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 , Takeya Mizugaki , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Condit vs. Kampmann 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Byron Bloodworth , TKO (punches) , UFC 155 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:50 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Ken Stone , KO (punch) , UFC 150 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, United States , Fastest knockout in UFC bantamweight history , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , John Albert , Submission (armbar) , The Ultimate Fighter: Live Finale , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:18 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Paul McVeigh , Decision (unanimous) , BAMMA 8 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , James Brum , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

BAMMA 7 This is a listing of event held by the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts. BAMMA 1: The Fighting Premiership ''BAMMA 1'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts on 27 June 2009 at the Room ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, England , Catchweight (140 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Douglas Frey , Decision (unanimous) , Shark Fights 17: Horwich vs. Rosholt 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Frisco, Texas Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the ...

, United States , Catchweight (150 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 7–4 , Jesse Thorton , Submission (rear-naked choke) , STFC 15: Nature of the Beast , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:34 ,

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits exte ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–4 , France Atala , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Triple A Promotions , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

Laredo, Texas Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–4 , Jason Sampson , Decision (split) , STFC: 9/3/10 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–3 , David Fuentes , Submission (armbar) , STFC 11: Night of Champions , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:01 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Jeremiah Castillo , Submission (armbar) , SCA: Duke City Fall Brawl 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:23 , Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–2 , Fabian Jacquez , Submission (rear-naked choke) , DCMMAS: Duke City MMA Series 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 , Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , Albert Martinez , TKO (punches) , STFC 6: Evolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

Odessa, Texas Odessa is a city in and the county seat of Ector County, Texas, United States. It is located primarily in Ector County, although a small section of the city extends into Midland County. Odessa's population was 114,428 at the 2020 census, ma ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–2 , Sabino Becerra , Submission (triangle choke) , STFC 4: Fuentes vs. King , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:29 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–2 , Josh Scales , TKO (punches) , STFC 3: War Zone , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:09 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–2 , Alfredo Morales , Decision (split) , Warriors Fighting Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 , Tim Snyder , Decision (split) , STFC 2: Aftershock , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

Edinburg, Texas Edinburg ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. Its population was 74,569 as of the 2010 census, and in 2019, its estimated population was 101,170, making it the second-largest city in Hidalgo County, and the ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Erik Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mexican male mixed martial artists Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Living people 1989 births People from Guadalupe, Nuevo León Sportspeople from Nuevo León