Ivan Menjivar (born May 30, 1982) is a Salvadorian-Canadian

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 formerly fought in the

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

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 ...

Background

Menjivar was born in

La Paz La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...

, El Salvador, in 1982. Fleeing the corrupt government, Menjivar moved to Montreal with his family when he was 11. He has a brother and a sister. He started training

Kung-Fu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (), are multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. These fighting styles are often classified according to common ...

as a kid, eventually progressing to

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Menjivar formerly fought in the welterweight and lightweight divisions, before dropping to featherweight. Menjivar made his MMA debut in 2001 and fought until 2006, earning a record of 20–7. After he was defeated by Bart Palaszewski at an

IFL IFL may refer to: ;American football *Intense Football League, (2004–2008) in the United States, merged into the Indoor Football League *Indoor Football League, (2008–present) in the United States *Intercontinental Football League, a European l ...

event, he retired from MMA. Four years later, he came out of retirement for W-1 MMA, defeating Aaron Miller by triangle choke submission in round one.

World Extreme Cagefighting

In November 2010, Menjivar signed with the WEC, right before its merger with the UFC. In his promotional debut, Menjivar dropped to bantamweight and faced

Brad Pickett Brad Pickett (born 24 September 1978) is an English former mixed martial artist. He is a former Cage Rage British Featherweight Champion. He competed as a bantamweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship; Dana White stated that Pickett was ...

on December 16, 2010 at

WEC 53 ''WEC 53: Henderson vs. Pettis'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on December 16, 2010 at Jobing.com Arena in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona. The event was the first time that Zuffa has h ...

, the final WEC event. After a back and forth fight, Menjivar lost via unanimous decision. The bout won ''Fight of the Night'' honors.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On October 28, 2010, WEC merged with the UFC. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Menjivar defeated

Charlie Valencia Carlos Enrique "Charlie" Valencia (born October 31, 1974) is an American mixed martial artist. He has fought for the WEC and UFC in their Bantamweight divisions, and is the former King of the Cage Bantamweight Champion. He is one of only two m ...

via first round TKO on April 30, 2011 at

UFC 129 ''UFC 129: St-Pierre vs. Shields'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Background The event was the sixth that the UFC has hosted in ...

, after breaking his nose with a short elbow and following up with punches to finish the fight in 90 seconds. Menjivar next faced

Nick Pace Nick Pace (born April 17, 1987) is a former American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Pace mostly fought in the Ring of Combat promotion where he was the reignin ...

on August 6, 2011 at

UFC 133 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 ...

. The bout was held at a catchweight of 138 pounds after Menjivar failed to make weight. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Menjivar submitted John Albert with a first round rear naked choke on February 15, 2012 at

UFC on Fuel TV 1 The year 2012 was the 20th year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2012 started with UFC 142: Aldo vs. Mendes and ended with UFC 155: dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2 ...

. His performance earned him the ''Submission of the Night'' award. Menjivar was expected to face

Renan Barão Renan Mota do Nascimento Pegado (born 31 January 1987), better known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the former UFC Bantamweight Champion. He held one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history - follo ...

UFC 148 ''UFC 148: Silva vs. Sonnen II'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on July 7, 2012, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was the seventeenth UFC event of the year. The card consisted of el ...

on July 7, 2012. However, Barão was pulled from the bout to face

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, ...

for the Interim Bantamweight Title on the same card. Menjivar instead faced

Mike Easton Michael Raymond Easton (born January 25, 1984) is an American mixed martial artist, who is perhaps best known for his stint in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he was the reign ...

at the event and lost the fight via unanimous decision. Menjivar defeated promotional newcomer Azamat Gashimov via first round submission due to an armbar on November 17, 2012 at

UFC 154 ''UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 17, 2012, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background Parent company Zuffa, LLC produced a UFC Pri ...

. The performance earned Menjivar ''Submission of the Night'' honors. Menjivar faced

on February 23, 2013 at

UFC 157 ''UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 23, 2013, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background The headline bout between Ronda Rousey and Liz Carmouche was ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Menjivar was expected to face

Norifumi Yamamoto was a Japanese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight division of the UFC. He quickly gained popularity in the Shooto organization due to his aggressive, well-rounded style and controversial persona. He moved on to ...

on September 21, 2013 at

UFC 165 ''UFC 165: Jones vs. Gustafsson'' was a mixed martial arts event held on September 21, 2013, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The main event was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing in 2021. Background The main ...

. However, Yamamoto was removed from the bout and was replaced by

Wilson Reis Wilson Reis Monte Alto Gonçalves (born January 6, 1985, in Januária) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. Reis is the former EliteXC Bantamweight Champion and has also competed for UFC, Bellator, ShoXC a ...

. Menjivar lost the fight via unanimous decision. Menjivar faced

Hatsu Hioki (, born July 18, 1983) is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist competing in the featherweight division. He is the former Shooto Lightweight Champion, Sengoku Featherweight Champion, and TKO Featherweight Champion. Hioki is a long time ...

in a featherweight bout on March 1, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Personal life

Menjivar and his wife have two children, a daughter and a son. He balances MMA with a full-time job as a bus driver for the public transport of Montreal STM.

Championships and achievements

** Submission of the Night (Two times) vs. John Albert and Azamat Gashimov

Mixed martial arts record

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Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

SAR SAR or Sar may refer to: Places * Sar (river), Galicia, Spain * Sar, Bahrain, a residential district * Sar, Iran (disambiguation), several places in Iran * Sar, Tibet, Tibet Autonomous Region of China * Šar Mountains, in southeastern Europe ...

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Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

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Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

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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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Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

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Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located approximately northwest of Downtown Phoenix. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 248,325. History In the la ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 21–7 , Aaron Miller , Submission (triangle choke) , W-1 MMA 5: Judgment Day , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–7 , Bart Palaszewski , Decision (split) , International Fight League: World Championship Semifinals , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:00 ,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 20–6 ,

Caol Uno (born May 8, 1975) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is the Co-Champion of the UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament and a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. As one of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship's el ...

, Decision (unanimous) , Hero's 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

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Hideo Tokoro Hideo Tokoro (born August 22, 1977) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who last competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2000, Tokoro has also formerly competed for Vale Tudo Japan, ZST, Shooto, Rings and K-1 Hero' ...

, Decision (majority) , Hero's 6 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 19–5 , Justin Tavernini , Submission (triangle choke) , Ultimate Cage Wars 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 18–5 , Taiyo Nakahara , Decision (unanimous) , Hero's 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, DQ (illegal kick to downed opponent) , TKO 24: Eruption , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

Laval, Quebec Laval (; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in C ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 17–4 ,

Joe Lauzon Joseph Edward Lauzon Jr. (born May 22, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist, competing in the UFC's Lightweight division. A well-rounded fighter, he has the fourth most post-fight bonus awards in UFC history, behind Donald Ce ...

, Submission (calf slicer) , APEX: Undisputed , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:39 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 16–4 , Mika Shida , Decision (unanimous) , Pancrase: Spiral 6 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Brandon Carlson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , KOTC: Edmonton , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 ,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 14–4 , Ryan Ackerman , TKO (punches) , APEX: Genesis , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:02 ,

, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–4 ,

Matt Serra Matthew John Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the co-star of Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight and co- ...

, Decision (unanimous) ,

UFC 48 ''UFC 48: Payback'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 19, 2004, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and was late ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Mike French , Submission (armbar) , Ultimate Generation Combat 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:40 ,

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Vítor Ribeiro Vítor de Souza Ribeiro (born February 24, 1979 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, he has formerly compet ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Brandon Shuey , Submission (kneebar) , WFF 4: Civil War , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:38 ,

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Victoriaville, Quebec Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabaska ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Shane Rice , TKO (punches) , UCC 11: The Next Level , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:58 ,

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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 island o ...

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Jeff Curran Jeffrey Michael Curran (born September 2, 1977) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1998, Curran has fought at a number of different weight classes for a large number of promotions includin ...

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Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...

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Jason Black Jason Douglas Black (born August 15, 1972) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the lightweight and welterweight divisions. He is a veteran of the King of the Cage, UFC, and PRIDE Fighting Championships organizations, a ...

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Rimouski, Quebec Rimouski ( ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski is the site of Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR), the ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Andy Lalonde , TKO (punches) , UCC Proving Ground 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:00 ,

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Georges St-Pierre Georges St-Pierre (; born May 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor and former professional mixed martial artist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters in mixed martial arts (MMA) history. St-Pierre was a two-division champion in the Ult ...

, TKO (punches) , UCC 7: Bad Boyz , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Dany Ward , KO (head kick) , UCC Proving Ground 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:05 ,

Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu () is a city in eastern Montérégie in the Canadian province of Quebec, about southeast of Montreal. It is situated on the west bank of the Richelieu River at the northernmost navigable point of Lake Champlain. As of De ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Francois Flibotte , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UCC Proving Ground 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , J.F. Bolduc , Decision (split) , UCC 4: Return Of The Super Strikers , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 10:00 ,

Sherbrooke, Quebec Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

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References

External links