Javier "Javy" Ayala (born August 22, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in

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 ...

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has also competed for

Tachi Palace Fights Tachi Palace Fights (TPF) was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion which hosted events at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California. Matchmaker for TPF was former fighter Richard Goodman. Regarded as a regional promotion, ...

Background

Born and raised in

Porterville, California Porterville is a city in the San Joaquin Valley, in Tulare County, California, Tulare County, California, United States. It is part of the Visalia Metropolitan Area, Visalia-Porterville metropolitan statistical area. Since its incorporation in 1 ...

, Ayala began wrestling in the seventh grade. Ayala continued with the sport at

Porterville High School Porterville High School is located in Porterville, California. The school was erected in 1896. Part of the Porterville Unified School District. Has students enrolled from 9–12 grade. It is named for the city of Porterville. Timeline ;1896 The h ...

, where he also competed in

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

. running the 100-meter dash, as well as throwing the discus and shot put. Ayala began his MMA career around 12 years old.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ayala made his professional

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 ...

debut in 2011 and compiled a record of 5-3, while competing on the regional circuit in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

for promotions such as

Bellator MMA

Ayala signed a three-fight contract with

and made his promotional debut at

Bellator 102 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight cha ...

Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

on October 4, 2013, against Thiago dos Santos. Ayala won in an upset, knocking out the Brazilian fighter with a series of punches as the first round ended, causing referee John McCarthy to call off the fight. After the fight, Ayala's contract was updated to six fights and he faced off against

Eric Prindle Eric Prindle (born August 30, 1976) is an American Heavyweight mixed martial artist who last competed in 2018. A professional competitor since 2008 he has fought in Bellator MMA and Pancrase, and was the Bellator Season Five Heavyweight Tourname ...

Bellator 111 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight, ...

on March 7, 2014. Ayala won via TKO due to a doctor stoppage in the third round, after dominating the first two rounds. Ayala faced undefeated

Raphael Butler Raphael Butler (born January 4, 1984) is an American retired Heavyweight boxer and mixed martial artist. A professional boxing competitor from 2004 until 2011, he fought fighters the likes of David Price, Malik Scott, Eddie Chambers, and Chris A ...

on September 19, 2014, at

Bellator 125 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweigh ...

. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Ayala faced Alex Huddleston at Bellator 139 on June 26, 2015. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Ayala faced Carl Seumanutafa at

Bellator 148 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxi ...

on January 29, 2016. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Ayala returned to face Roy Boughton at

Bellator 156 2016 in Bellator MMA was the eighth year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promoter based in the United States. Bellator held 23 events in 2016. Background 2016 is notable for the launch of sibling promotion Bellator Kickboxin ...

on June 17, 2016. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. In his highest profile bout to date, Ayala faced

Sergei Kharitonov Sergei Valerievich Kharitonov (russian: Серге́й Вале́рьевич Харито́нов, Sergéj Valér'jevich Kharitónov, ; born August 18, 1980) is a Russian professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and former kick ...

at Bellator 163 on November 4, 2016. Despite being a significant underdog, Ayala won the fight via knockout just sixteen seconds into the first round. Ayala faced debuting heavyweight Roy Nelson at Bellator 183 on September 23, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Ayala faced

Cheick Kongo Cheick Kongo is a French heavyweight Mixed Martial artist and former Kickboxer who fights in Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2001, he has also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of May 10, 2022, he is #4 in the ...

at Bellator 199 on May 12 in San Jose, CA. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. In his highest profile match to date, Ayala faced former UFC Heavyweight champion

Frank Mir Francisco Santos Mir III (; born May 24, 1979), is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the Heavyweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for sixteen years. A f ...

at Bellator 212 on December 14, 2018. After being taken down and controlled on the ground in the first round, Ayala rallied in the second round to win via TKO after Mir tapped to punches. Ayala was to face former Bellator Heavyweight champion

Vitaly Minakov Vitaly Viktorovich Minakov (russian: Виталий Викторович Минаков; born February 6, 1985, Bryansk) is a Russians, Russian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Sambo (martial art), sambist and judoka currently competing ...

at Bellator 225 on August 24, 2019. However, on the day of the fight, it was announced that Ayala was pulled from the fight by the Connecticut Boxing Commission due to an undisclosed medical reason and was replaced by Tim Johnson. Ayala was re-scheduled to meet Minakov at Bellator 232 on October 26, 2019. However, Minakov was unable to obtain visa for the bout, leading to Ayala being pulled from the card also. Ayala faced

Valentin Moldavsky Valentin Igorevich Moldavsky (russian: Валенти́н И́горевич Молда́вский; born 6 February 1992) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo practitioner. He is currently signed to Bellator MMA, where he is a fo ...

at Bellator 239 on February 21, 2020. After being taken down and dominated on the ground, he lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life

Ayala is married and has two children. He is the cousin of former UFC Bantamweight fighter

Joe Soto Joseph Angel Soto (born March 22, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2006, Soto has also form ...

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

** Tied (with Tyrell Fortune) for most stoppage wins in Bellator heavyweight division history (six)

Mixed martial arts record

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Carl Seumanutafa Carl Taulauniu Seumanutafa (born June 15, 1983) is a Samoan professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2007, he has competed for Bellator, Strikeforce, ShoXC, EliteXC, Tachi Palace Fights, ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Javy Living people 1988 births American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists from California People from Porterville, California