Steven Timothy Peterson (born May 29, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist. Peterson currently 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 for 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). A professional competitor since 2010, Peterson has also competed for Bellator Fighting Championships and the

Legacy Fighting Alliance Legacy Fighting Alliance is an American mixed martial arts promotion, created as a result of the ''Legacy Fighting Championship'' and ''Resurrection Fighting Alliance'' merger in early 2017. History Resurrection Fighting Alliance On October 11, ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Peterson made his Bellator Fighting Championships debut on September 2, 2010 at Bellator 27 against Ernest de la Cruz, winning via unanimous decision. Peterson made his second and final appearance in Bellator on March 23, 2012 against Chris Jones at

Bellator 62 2012 in Bellator MMA was the sixth installment of the Bellator Fighting Championships, which began on March 9, 2012. The sixth season of Bellator was originally scheduled to begin on March 2, 2012. However, the debut was pushed back a week so i ...

, losing via split decision. Peterson competed extensively in both Legacy FC and

, winning the Legacy FC

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 MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class is derived from bantam chickens. B ...

title at Legacy FC 56 vs. Manny Vasquez via rear-naked choke. He lost a title unification bout at LFA 1 against Leandro Higo via unanimous decision.

Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series

Peterson competed on Dana White's Contender Series 7 for a chance at a

UFC 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 ...

contract on August 22, 2017 against

Benito Lopez Benito Francisco Lopez (born 6 April 1994) is an American mixed martial artist. He most competed in the Bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Combat career Mixed martial arts career Early career In April 201 ...

, losing via split decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Peterson made his UFC debut at

UFC Fight Night 126 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Medeiros'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 126'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on February 18, 2018, at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, United State ...

on February 18, 2018 against

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 ...

. However, due to a visa issue for Bandenay, he was replaced by

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 ...

. Peterson lost the fight via unanimous decision. This fight earned him the Fight of the Night award. Peterson’s next bout was at The Ultimate Fighter: Undefeated Finale on July 6, 2018 against

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 ...

. He won the fight via split decision. Peterson faced Luis Peña on March 23, 2019 at

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 ...

. At the weigh-ins, Peña weighed in at 148.5 lbs, 2.5 pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit of 146 lbs. Peña was fined 30% of his fight purse and the bout proceed at catchweight. Peterson lost the fight via unanimous decision. Peterson signed a new, four-fight contract with the UFC after the fight. Peterson faced

Alex Caceres Alex Caceres (born June 20, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the featherweight division of the UFC. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Caceres mostly competed in his regional circuit, before signing with the Ultim ...

on July 20, 2019 at

UFC on ESPN 4 UFC on ESPN: dos Anjos vs. Edwards (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 4'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on July 20, 2019 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event ma ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Peterson faced Martín Bravo on September 21, 2019 at UFC on ESPN+ 17. Peterson won the fight by knockout via a spinning back fist in the second round. This win earn him the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

'' award. Peterson said of his knockout, "I went to evade his spinning backfist and it just naturally came because I made the same step and it was right after I jabbed when he did it. The jab was the perfect setup. I was just in a flow state when I did it. Everything came natural when I landed that backfist." Peterson was expected to face Aalon Cruz on February 29, 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 169 ''UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 169'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 27'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 29, 2020 at Chartway Arena in ...

. However, Peterson was pulled from the event for an undisclosed reason, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Spike Carlyle. Peterson was scheduled to meet

Seung Woo Choi Choi Seung-woo ( ko, 최승우; born November 3, 1992), often anglicized Seung Woo Choi, is a Korean mixed martial artist (MMA). Choi was the former Top Fighting Championship Featherweight Champion (Two times) and 2010 Bronze medalist at Muay ...

on February 6, 2021 at

UFC Fight Night 184 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 184'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 42'' and ''UFC Vegas 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 6, 2021 at the UF ...

. However, Peterson pulled out of the fight on January 15 due to an injury, and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Collin Anglin. Peterson faced

Chase Hooper Chase Alan Hooper (born September 13, 1999) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Hooper began his amateur MMA career while he wa ...

on June 12, 2021 at

UFC 263 ''UFC 263: Adesanya vs. Vettori 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 12, 2021, at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona, United States. Background The event was the second ...

. At the weigh-ins, Peterson weighed in at 148.5 pounds, two and a half pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20% of his purse, which went go to his opponent Hooper. Peterson won the fight via unanimous decision. Peterson faced

Julian Erosa Julian Ricardo Dulican Erosa (born July 31, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Erosa is also a former CageSport Featherweight and Lightweight Champ ...

on February 5, 2022 at UFC Fight Night 200. At the weigh-ins, Peterson weighed in at 149 pounds, three pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceededed at catchweight and Peterson was fined 30% of his purse, which went to his opponent. He lost the fight via split decision. 13 out of 18 media scores gave it to Erosa. This fight earned him the '' Fight of the Night'' award, but Peterson was unable to collect the bonus due to his weight miss. As a result, his award was given to Erosa. Peterson is expected to return on March 25, 2023 at UFC on ESPN 43 in San Antonio, Texas against Lucas Alexander.

Championships and achievements

(One time) ** Fight of the Night (Two times) * MMAJunkie.com **2019 September Knockout of the Month vs. Martín Bravo

Mixed martial arts record

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 , Ryan Hollis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , LFA 16 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:43 ,

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Matt Hobar Matthew Hobar (born January 7, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC's bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Hobar also formerly competed for Legacy Fighting Championship and Shark Fights. He is ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Steven American male mixed martial artists 1990 births Living people Featherweight mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Mixed martial artists from Texas Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American Muay Thai practitioners American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu