Frankie Ozuna Saenz III (born August 12, 1980) is an American

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 ...

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 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 ...

. A professional since 2009, he made a name for himself fighting mostly in his native state, where he was King of the Cage Flyweight Champion (135 lb), World Fighting Federation Featherweight Champion and Coalition of Combat Featherweight Champion.

Background

The son of Frank and Debbie Saenz, Frankie is of Mexican descent. Frankie had four younger sisters, of whom one committed suicide in her teens. Frankie grew up in

Maryvale, Phoenix Maryvale is an urban village of Phoenix, Arizona. History Plans for Maryvale began to take shape in the 1950s, when developer John F. Long (1920-2008) came up with the idea of a master-planned community on the western part of the city of Phoenix ...

playing football from the age of seven onward, picking up wrestling at his wrestling coach father's behest in the middle school. Frankie attended

Marcos de Niza High School Marcos de Niza High School is a high school located in Tempe, Arizona. It was founded in 1971 and it has an enrollment of approximately 1,500 students. The school's mascot is the Padre. The school is a part of the Tempe Union High School District ...

where he was undefeated state champion wrestler in 1998 and 1999 at 133-pound division receiving All American honors in his senior year. He

lettered Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

all four of his high school years in wrestling along with two letterman years in football. Graduating from high school in 1999 Frankie was about to attend

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, but due to the sister's recent suicide he wasn't ready to leave home state and was recruited to

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. He went on to wrestle two years at Arizona State without much accolades and ended up transferring to

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. At the time UNC had just transferred from Division II to Division I in wrestling, and after a year of wrestling the college was placed on probation which effectively ended Frankie's collegiate wrestling career. Subsequently, Frankie returned to Arizona and started coaching wrestling at Maryvale high school before beginning to train mixed martial arts in 2008.

Mixed martial arts career

He won WFF Featherweight championship in 2011 at WFF 7, with a TKO win over Michael Parker. Later in the next year, he lost his belt via disqualification to Jeff Fletcher due to an illegal knee to head of grounded opponent.

King of the Cage

After winning the Coalition of Combat Championship in 2012, Saenz signed a four-fight contract with

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

with a clause sign with the UFC after two fights. In his promotional debut, Saenz won

KOTC King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstr ...

Flyweight (135 lbs) championship, with a submission win over Marvin Garcia. He made his first successful title defense against Tyler Bialecki at KOTC: Boiling Point on September 28, 2013. After the fight,

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by Venture capital, venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fight ...

tried to sign Saenz, but King of the Cage did not release him because the clause in his contract applied only UFC. Saenz then defended his title for the second time against Marvin Blumer at KOTC: Radar Lock on February 22, 2014.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

After his second title defense on KOTC, Saenz signed with the UFC on August 7, 2014. He was scheduled to make his promotional debut on short notice against another newcomer, Nolan Ticman on August 16, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 47 ''UFC Fight Night: Bader vs. Saint Preux'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 47'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 16, 2014, at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine. Background The event was headlined by top ten light heavyw ...

. Saenz won the fight via unanimous decision. Saenz later was scheduled to face

Aljamain Sterling Aljamain Antoine Sterlinghttp://boxing.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/boxingnvgov/content/results/2014_Results/02-22-14MMA.pdf (born July 31, 1989) is a Jamaican-American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ul ...

on November 8, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 55 ''UFC Fight Night: Rockhold vs. Bisping'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 55'') was a mixed martial arts event held at the Allphones Arena in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on November 8, 2014. Background This event was the fourth event t ...

, but the fight was scrapped due to Saenz being injured. On February 22, 2015, Saenz fought

Iuri Alcântara Iuri Alcântara (born 4 August 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2003, Alcântara mostly fought in Brazil before signing with World Extreme Cagefighting ...

UFC Fight Night 61 ''UFC Fight Night: Bigfoot vs. Mir'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 61'') was a mixed martial arts event held on February 22, 2015, at the Ginásio Gigantinho in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Background The event was the first that the UFC has hosted ...

. As a 7-1 underdog, Saenz defeated the #8 ranked Alcântara via unanimous decision. Saenz faced Sirwan Kakai on August 8, 2015 at

UFC Fight Night 73 ''UFC Fight Night: Teixeira vs. Saint Preux'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 73'') was a mixed martial arts event held on August 8, 2015, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Background The event was headlined by a light heavyweight bo ...

. He won the fight by split decision. Saenz next faced

Urijah Faber Urijah Faber (born May 14, 1979) is an American mixed martial artist and actor who is signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He competed as a bantamweight and formerly competed as a featherweight. He is also the founder of Team Alpha Male ...

on December 12, 2015 at

UFC 194 ''UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on December 12, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was originally scheduled to take place on D ...

. He lost the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Saenz faced

Eddie Wineland Edward Alan Wineland Jr. (born June 26, 1984) is an American retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2003 until 2022, Wineland was the in ...

on July 23, 2016 at

UFC on Fox 20 ''UFC on Fox: Holm vs. Shevchenko'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 20'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on July 23, 2016, at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Background The event was headlined b ...

. He lost the fight via TKO at the 1:54 mark of the third round. Saenz next faced

Augusto Mendes Augusto Mendes (born March 3, 1983) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian jiu jitsu practitioner. He is currently signed to the Absolute Championship Berkut. He was the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation Black ...

on January 15, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 103 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 ...

. He lost the fight by split decision. Both participants were awarded ''Fight of the Night'' for their performance. Saenz faced promotional newcomer

Merab Dvalishvili Merab Dvalishvili (born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of March 13, 2023, he is #1 in the UFC bantamweight ran ...

at UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega on December 9, 2017. He won the fight by split decision. Saenz faced Henry Briones on May 19, 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. Saenz was expected to face

Song Yadong Song Yadong (; born December 2, 1997) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 6, 2022, he is #8 in the UFC bantamweight rankings. Background Raised by a s ...

on November 23, 2018 at

UFC Fight Night 141 ''UFC Fight Night: Blaydes vs. Ngannou 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 141'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on November 24, 2018 at Cadillac Arena in Beijing, China. Background ...

. However, it was reported on November 7, 2018 that he pulled out of the event due to injury and he was replaced by newcomer

Vince Morales Vince Morales (born November 12, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division most recently for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional mixed martial artist since 2015, Morales has also com ...

. Saenz was scheduled to face

Marlon Vera Marlon Andres Vera Delgado (born December 2, 1992) is an Ecuadorian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Vera first appeared on '' The Ultimate Fight ...

on March 2, 2019 at

UFC 235 ''UFC 235: Jones vs. Smith'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on March 2, 2019 at T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area. Background A UFC Light Heavyweigh ...

. However, Vera pulled out of the fight on February 27 due to illness and the bout was scrapped from the event. The bout was rescheduled to

UFC Fight Night 148 ''UFC Fight Night: Thompson vs. Pettis'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 148'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 6'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on March 23, 2019 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville ...

. Saenz lost the fight via technical knockout in round one. Saenz faced

Jonathan Martinez Jonathan Martinez (born April 20, 1994) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Martinez currently competes in the bantamweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Martinez was born and grew up in Califo ...

on August 1, 2020 at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. At the weigh-ins, Martinez weighed in at 140.5 pounds, four and a half pounds over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at a catchweight and he was fined 30 percent of his purse, which went to Saenz. He lost this fight via TKO in the third round.

Personal life

Saenz and his fiancé Lena have a daughter and a son.

Championships and accomplishments

** KOTC Flyweight Championship (One time) * Two successful title defenses *World Fighting Federation **WFF Featherweight Championship (One time) *Coalition of Combat **COC Featherweight Championship (One time) *

** Fight of the Night (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

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Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

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Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

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Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

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Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

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Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz, Frankie 1980 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent Sportspeople from Phoenix, Arizona Mixed martial artists from Arizona Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu