Luis Saldaña (born January 27, 1991) 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 ...

who competes 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

Having his first boxing match at eight years old, he was introduced to the sport by his father. He won the 2009 Iowa Golden Gloves and won the silver three times.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Saldaña compiled a 14–6 record on the regional scene, with some highlights being capturing the Ascendancy FC Featherweight Title after anocking out Will Shutt with a high kick in the first round and winning the TFS Featherweight title vagainst Ramiro Hernandez via doctor stoppage. His regional career culminated in a rear-naked choke victory in the second round against Carl Wittstock at LFA 60. Saldaña was invited to compete at Dana White's Contender Series 34 against Vince Murdock on November 4, 2020. He won the bout via third-round technical knockout and was awarded a contract with the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Saldaña made his debut against

Jordan Griffin Jordan Griffin (born February 23, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Legacy Fighting Alliance and Ki ...

on April 10, 2021 at

UFC on ABC 2 ''UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland'' (also known as ''UFC on ABC 2'' and ''UFC Vegas 23'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on April 10, 2021 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, N ...

. He won the bout via controversial unanimous decision. 16 out of 18 media scores gave it to Griffin. In his sophomore performance, Saldaña faced

Austin Lingo Austin Lingo (born July 10, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Lingo began training in martial arts at a young age after his father found out he� ...

on August 21, 2021 at UFC on ESPN: Cannonier vs. Gastelum. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Saldaña faced Bruno Souza on March 26, 2022 at

UFC on ESPN 33 ''UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 33'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on March 26, 2022 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Ba ...

. He won the fight by unanimous decision. Saldaña faced

Sean Woodson Sean Woodson (born June 7, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Growing up in North County, Sean Woodson’s dad was the driving in ...

on August 20, 2022 at

UFC 278 ''UFC 278: Usman vs. Edwards 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 20, 2022, at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Background The event marked the promotion' ...

. The bout was scored a split draw.

Championships and accomplishments

*Ascendancy FC **Ascendancy FC Featherweight Championship (One time) ***Two successful title defenses *The Fight Series **TFS Featherweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–7 , Bruno Souza , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Blaydes vs. Daukaus , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

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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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Clive, Iowa Clive is a city in Dallas and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 18,601. It is part of the Des Moines–West Des Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Clive is known for its Greenbelt Park and ...

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West Des Moines, Iowa West Des Moines is a city in Polk County, Iowa, Polk, Dallas County, Iowa, Dallas, Warren County, Iowa, Warren, and Madison County, Iowa, Madison counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. A majority of the city is located in Polk County, a minority of ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–6 , Alex Wiggs Jr. , Decision (unanimous) , Brutaal Genesis Iowa: Fight Night at Hy-Vee Hall , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

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Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area, and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. First settled in the mid-19th century, it is one of the oldest cities of northern Lake County. As of the ...

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 , Anthony Baccam , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MCC 61 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:31 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Damien Childress , Decision (unanimous) , Pinnacle Combat 17 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

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Justin Lawrence Justin Ray Lawrence (born May 15, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional MMA competitor since 2010, Lawrence has also formerly competed for the UF ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Prentiss Wolf , TKO (submission to punches) , MCC 48 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:51 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Mitch Parker , Submission (triangle choke) , MCC 47 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:15 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Nic Cox , TKO (submission to punches) , MCC 45 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Tom Ahrens , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MCC 41 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Zakk Smith , TKO (punches) , MCC 38 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:15 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jose Colon , KO (punch) , MCC 36 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:58 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Orlando Peace , Submission (rear-naked choke) , MCC 34 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:56 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Daraughn Canada , Submission (armbar) , MCC 32 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:13 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saldana, Luis 1991 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Sportspeople from Des Moines, Iowa Mixed martial artists from Iowa American male boxers