Alexis Vila Perdomo (born March 12, 1971) is a Cuban professional mixed martial artist. An accomplished wrestler, Vila is also a two-time

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and 1996 Olympic bronze medallist. At the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

he won the bronze medal in the Freestyle Light Flyweight (– 48 kg) category.

Background

Born and raised in a rough neighborhood in Villa Clara, Cuba, Vila began getting into

street fights Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fig ...

from a young age. After winning multiple titles in

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

and earning a bronze medal at the

in Atlanta, Georgia, Vila defected to the United States in 1997 and found a job coaching at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

where he worked with future

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 ...

fighters

Rashad Evans Rashad Anton Evans (born September 25, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist. Evans started his professional career in 2003, he was the Heavyweight winner of The Ultimate Fighter 2 and is also a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, and a 2 ...

and

Gray Maynard Bradley Gray Maynard (born May 9, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Between 2008 and 2011, he competed in a noted rivalry with former UFC Lightweight ...

. In 2004, Vila accidentally crashed his car into

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. Though no one was hurt, authorities mistakenly believed it to be attempted terrorism and Vila was charged with airport violence and sent to prison for three years. Upon his release, Vila began his career in

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

Mixed martial arts career

Bellator Fighting Championships

Vila made his

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Archaeological site of Sbeitla, Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * Bellator (fish), ''Bellator'' (fish), a fis ...

debut by defeating Featherweight Champion Joe Warren in the quarterfinals of 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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

tournament at

Bellator 51 2011 in Bellator MMA was the fourth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in multiple weight classes, including three of the original tournament classes: Welterweight, Lightweight and Feather ...

. Vila next faced

Marcos Galvao Marcos may refer to: People with the given name ''Marcos'' *Marcos (given name) Sports ;Surnamed * Dayton Marcos, Negro league baseball team from Dayton, Ohio (early twentieth-century) * Dimitris Markos, Greek footballer * Nélson Marcos, Portugue ...

and won by controversial split decision. In the finals, Vila faced

Eduardo Dantas Eduardo Dantas (born 3 February 1989) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Dantas mostly fought for the Bellator MMA where he was the former two-ti ...

for the Season 5 Bellator Bantamweight Tournament Championship. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Vila's next fight was against

Luis Nogueira Luis Alberto Nogueira (born April 10, 1985) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Nogueira has mostly fought for Shooto Brazil before making his U.S. ...

in the Quarterfinals of the Season 6 Bantamweight Tournament. Vila lost via unanimous decision.

World Series of Fighting

Vila faced Josh Rettinghouse in a

bout at World Series of Fighting 6: Burkman vs. Carl on October 26, 2013. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Vila faced Sidemar Honorio at WSOF 8. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Vila then faced Brandon Hempleman at WSOF 12 on August 9, 2014. Vila lost via unanimous decision.

Other promotions

Vila faced Brazilian prospect Marcel Adur at Fight Time 23: Mayhem In Miami on February 6, 2015. He lost the fight via body kick TKO, suffering the first TKO loss of his career.

Personal life

He has a daughter in Cuba. He married Adriana Vila Perdomo (née De La Cruz) in Miami on April 26, 2012, but later divorced. She is now married to fellow Cuban boxer Joel Casamayor. On April 23, 2018, Vila was arrested for charges including 2nd degree murder. In December 2019, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison following his conviction for his role in organizing the kidnapping, torture and murder of Camilo Salazar.

Mixed martial arts record

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WSOF 6 World Series of Fighting 6: Burkman vs. Carl was a mixed martial arts event held in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. Background This event featured the first WSOF Championship bout between Josh Burkman and Steve Carl. Results ...

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Marcos Galvão Marcos Galvão (born 23 June 1981) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League. A professional competitor since 2003, Galvão peaked at a global ranking ...

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Ben Nguyen Ben Nguyen or Nguyễn Ben, (born August 3, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competed as a flyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he compiled a record of 4–3 with the organization. He is also a former Nitro B ...

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References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vila, Alexis 1971 births Living people Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Cuban male sport wrestlers Olympic wrestlers of Cuba Olympic bronze medalists for Cuba Cuban male mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Defecting sportspeople of Cuba Cuban emigrants to the United States Olympic medalists in wrestling Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Cuba Pan American Games medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games American people convicted of murder People from Villa Clara Province