Enrique Johnatan Barzola Acosta (born 28 April 1989) is a Peruvian

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, incorp ...

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 mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from Ba ...

division of

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

. He was the lightweight winner on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2. and he competed in the

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 ...

(UFC). As of August 16, 2022, he is ranked #9 in the Bellator Bantamweight Rankings.

Background

Barzola was born in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, Peru. He was graphic designer and studied architecture in college briefly prior to fighting professionally in MMA. Barzola was a wrestler and never thought that he would become a professional fighter, due to money being scarce to pay for MMA lessons. He has enjoyed mixed martial arts from a young age, watching

Cain Velasquez Caín Ramirez Velasquez (born July 28, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and retired mixed martial artist, currently appearing for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA). He is widely known for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, ...

and

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. He transitioned from wrestling to

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 ...

when he was 22. After six months of training, he announced that he would one day fight in UFC where he was laughed at by his gym mates, and four years later he became the winner of “ The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2".

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Barzola began his professional mixed martial arts career in 2012. While on the regional circuit in South America, he competed primarily in his home country of Peru. He amassed a record of 10-2-1 prior joining UFC.

The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2

Barzola was selected as one of the cast members for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2 , UFC

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

TV series, under Team

Efrain Escudero Efraín Escudero (born January 15, 1986) is a Mexican mixed martial artist. He trains under Drew Fickett and competes in the 155 lb (70.3 kg) weight class. Efrain was the winner of season eight of Spike TV's reality show ''The Ultimate ...

in April 2015. In the elimination round, Barzola defeated the Chilean Jonathan Ortega by unanimous decision. Barzola next faced Paraguayan Cesar Arzamendia in the semifinals and won by submission in round one. He moved on to face Horacio Gultierrez in the finals at UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Gastelum.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Barzola made his promotional debut on 21 November 2015 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 Finale. He faced Horacio Gutierrez in the finals for The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2. He defeated Gutierrez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30–27, 30–27). He next faced

Kyle Bochniak Kyle Bochniak (born February 5, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2014, he has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Professional Fighters Leagu ...

on 27 August 2016 at UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit. He lost via split decision. He stated after the fight that he disagreed with the judges decision saying "It was a very bad decision because everyone saw that I won. I connected more, I was more active and pressed all the time. I will correct some errors without considering this duel as a defeat". 14 out of 14 media scores gave it to Barzola. His third fight in UFC was against Chris Avila on 5 November 2016 at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. He picked up a win via unanimous decision. On 13 May 2017, Barzola took up

Gabriel Benítez Gabriel Apolinar Benítez (born June 15, 1988) is a Mexican mixed martial artist. He was a contestant on '' The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 1'', and he competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Ba ...

UFC 211 ''UFC 211: Miocic vs. dos Santos 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on May 13, 2017, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Background The event was the fourth that the UFC has host ...

. After three rounds, judges awarded the win to Barzola via unanimous decision with (29-28) across the score board. Barzola faced Arnold Allen at

UFC 220 ''UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on January 20, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between curren ...

on 20 January 2018. However, Allen was pulled from the fight on 11 January due to alleged

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

issues which restricted his ability to travel, and he was replaced by

Matt Bessette Matthew James Bessette (born December 28, 1984) is a retired American mixed martial artist currently competing in CES MMA where he is the reigning Featherweight Champion. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed for Bellato ...

. Barzola won the fight by unanimous decision. Barzola faced

Brandon Davis Brandon Michael Davis (born May 8, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Davis began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 20, while at ...

on 19 May 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 129 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 129'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 19, 2018, at Movistar Arena in Santiago, Chile. Background The even ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Barzola was expected to face Nad Narimani on 17 November 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 140 ''UFC Fight Night: Magny vs. Ponzinibbio'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 140'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 17, 2018 at Estadio Mary Terán de Weiss in Buenos Aires ...

. However, on 25 October 2018, it was reported that Barzola pulled out of the fight due to arm injury. Barzola faced

Kevin Aguilar Kevin Aguilar (born September 7, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). Aguilar was the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) Featherweight champion and he currently competes in the featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship ...

on 30 March 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 2 ''UFC on ESPN: Barboza vs. Gaethje'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 2'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 30, 2019 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Backgr ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Barzola faced

Bobby Moffett Robert "Bobby" Thomas Moffett (born June 1, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Featherweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). A professional since 2013, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fig ...

on 10 August 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 14 ''UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 156'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 14'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 10, 2019 at Antel Arena in Mont ...

. He won the fight via split decision. 7 out of 12 media scores gave it to Barzola. Barzola faced

Movsar Evloev Movsar Evloev (born February 11, 1994) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who is currently competing in the featherweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2014, he has also competed at M-1 Global, where he is the former bantamweight ch ...

on 26 October 2019 at

UFC on ESPN+ 20 ''UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Askren'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 162'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 26, 2019 at Singapore Indoor Stadium in ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. 4 out of 9 media scores gave it to Barzola. Barzola faced

Rani Yahya Rani Ahmad Yahya (born September 12, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and BJJ practitioner. He won the 66 kg division of the prestigious ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in April 2007. He currently fights in t ...

on 14 March 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 170 ''UFC Fight Night: Lee vs. Oliveira'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 170'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 28'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 14, 2020 at Ginásio Nilson Nelson in ...

. After a back-and-forth three rounds, the judges declared the bout a majority draw decision. After fighting out his four-year and 10-fight contract, he was not re-signed and became a free agent.

Bellator MMA

On 11 August 2021, it was announced that Barzola signed a multifight contract with Bellator. Barzola made his promotional debut against

Darrion Caldwell Darrion Caldwell (born December 19, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist and graduated collegiate wrestler, who currently competes in the bantamweight division of Bellator MMA, where he is the former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion ...

on January 29, 2022, at

Bellator 273 Bellator 273: Bader vs. Moldavsky was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA, it took place on January 29, 2022 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona. Background A winner in eight of his last 11 bouts, Bader will be making ...

. He won the bout via ground and pound TKO in the third round. Barzola was scheduled to face Josh Hill 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 for ...

. Due to the pull out of two fighters from the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix due to injuries, the bout was changed to a wild card qualifier for one of the spots in the tournament. Due to Covid, Hill had to pull out of the bout and was replaced by Nikita Mikhailov. He won the bout in dominant fashion via unanimous decision. Barzola faced Magomed Magomedov in the quarterfinals of the Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix on June 24, 2022, at Bellator 282. He lost the bout via guillotine choke in the fourth round, losing for the first time via stoppage in his career. Barzola faced

Juan Archuleta Juan Archuleta (born September 13, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA, and he is the former Bellator Bantamweight Champion. A professional MMA competitor sinc ...

on October 1, 2022, at

Bellator 286 ''Bellator 286: Pitbull vs. Borics'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on October 1, 2022, at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, California, United States. Background In his first bout since reclaiming t ...

. At weigh ins, the bout was moved to a catchweight of 141 pounds. In a fast-paced bout, Barzola lost the bout via unanimous decision. Barzola is scheduled to face

Érik Pérez Érik Gregorio Pérez Ruvalcaba (born November 19, 1989) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Bellator MMA promotion. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Shark Fights, BAMMA, U ...

on March 10, 2023, at

Bellator 292 ''Bellator 292: Nurmagomedov vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by Bellator MMA that took place on March 10, 2023, at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, United States. Background To kick off the $1 million Bellator L ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2 Lightweight Tournament Winner

Personal life

Barzola's moniker "El Fuerte" means "The Fort / The Strong" in English and he considers himself as "The Fort of El Agustino" (El Agustino, a district of Lima) - a humble person who fights for his dream. Barzola appeared in the

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

"Be More Human" Latin America advertising campaign. His favorite fighter is Stipe Miočić. He is also a Christian, and nicknames himself "Guerrero de Cristo" (Warrior for Christ), as this nickname is also written on a Peruvian flag that is usually shown in the cage.

Mixed martial arts record

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, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Shevchenko vs. Carmouche 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, Uruguay , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–4–1 ,

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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 anchor ...

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, Peru , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–2–1 , Martin Mollinedo , Decision (unanimous) , Fusion Fighting Championship 9 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Humberto Bandenay Humberto Bandenay (born September 4, 1994) is a Peruvian mixed martial artist (MMA) who is best known for competing in the Featherweight division in the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Early career Bandenay started his professional MMA career i ...

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Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barzola, Enrique 1989 births Living people Peruvian male mixed martial artists Peruvian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Peruvian Christians Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Luta Livre Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bellator male fighters Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Lima

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 2

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Bellator MMA

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Personal life

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links