Matthew Lopez (fighter)

Matthew Lopez (born December 12, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).[1][2]

Matthew Lopez
Born (1987-01-21) January 21, 1987
Safford, Arizona, United States
NationalityAmerican
Height5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight61 kg (134 lb; 9 st 8 lb)
DivisionBantamweight
Reach69 in (175 cm)
StyleWrestling, Boxing, BJJ
Fighting out ofDenver, Colorado, United States
TeamGenesis Training Centre
Years active2013–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total14
Wins10
By knockout4
By submission4
By decision2
Losses4
By knockout2
By submission1
By decision1
UniversityCal State Fullerton
Arizona State University
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Background

Lopez was born in Safford, Arizona, United States. Lopez's father was the kid wrestling coach at Safford and he started training wrestling when he was young.[3] He was a four time state champion wrestler at Sunnyside High School.[4] He competed in wrestling in college at Arizona State University and Cal State Fullerton. After his collegiate wrestling career was over, he moved to MMA after seeing some of the wrestlers did well in MMA competitions.[5]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Lopez competed most of his fights in King of the Cage (KOTC) and Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) MMA promotions prior joining UFC.[6]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On Dana White's Looking for a Fight (Season 1 Ep.6) web series show at Sioux Falls,[7] White was impressed with Lopez's performance and signed Lopez into UFC.[8][9][10]

Lopez made his promotional debut against Rani Yahya on July 13, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker.[11] He lost the fight via submission (arm-triangle choke) in the third round.[12]

On his second appearance in UFC, Lopez faced Mitch Gagnon on December 10, 2016 at UFC 206.[13] He won the fight by unanimous decision.[14]

On June 3, 2017, Lopez faced Johnny Eduardo at UFC 212.[15] He won the fight via TKO in the first round.[16] In the post fight interview, Lopez thought referee Mario Yamasaki was biased and believed Yamasaki should have stopped the fight much earlier.[8]

Lopez faced Raphael Assunção on November 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis.[17] At the weigh-ins, Lopez missed weight, weighing in at 138.5 lbs., two and a half pounds over the bantamweight limit. As a result, he forfeited 20% of his purse to Assunção and the bout proceeded at a catchweight.[18] He lost the fight via knockout in the third round.[19]

Lopez faced Alejandro Pérez on April 14, 2018 at UFC on Fox 29.[20] He lost the fight via TKO in the second round.[21]

Lopez faced Brad Katona on December 8, 2018 at UFC 231.[22] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[23]

On March 19, 2020, it was reported that Lopez was no longer part of the UFC's roster.[2]

Personal life

The journey from wrestling to fighting in UFC was a tough one. Lopez was broke during his college years and forced to stay in a house without water and electricity for some time as he could not afford to pay the rent.[5]

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
14 matches 10 wins 4 losses
By knockout 4 2
By submission 4 1
By decision 2 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 10–4 Brad Katona Decision (unanimous) UFC 231 December 8, 2018 3 5:00 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Loss 10–3 Alejandro Pérez TKO (knees and punches) UFC on Fox: Poirier vs. Gaethje April 14, 2018 2 3:42 Glendale, Arizona, United States
Loss 10–2 Raphael Assunção KO (punch) UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs. Pettis November 11, 2017 3 1:50 Norfolk, Virginia, United States Catchweight (138.5 lbs) bout; Lopez missed weight.
Win 10–1 Johnny Eduardo TKO (punches) UFC 212 June 3, 2017 1 2:57 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Win 9–1 Mitch Gagnon Decision (unanimous) UFC 206 December 10, 2016 3 5:00 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Loss 8–1 Rani Yahya Submission (arm-triangle choke) UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker July 13, 2016 3 4:19 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Win 8–0 Eli Finn Submission (elbows and punches) RFA 37 April 15, 2016 1 3:15 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Win 7–0 Justin Linn Submission (face lock) RFA 31 October 9, 2015 1 2:16 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 6–0 Kevin Clark Submission (rear-naked choke) RFA 29 August 21, 2015 1 0:36 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States
Win 5–0 Devin Turner Submission (rear-naked choke) RFA 25 April 10, 2015 1 2:46 Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States Catchweight (140 lbs) bout.
Win 4–0 John Robles TKO (punches) RFA 21 December 5, 2014 1 1:35 Costa Mesa, California, United States
Win 3–0 Miguelito Marti TKO (punches) Gladiator Challenge: Iron Fist June 28, 2014 1 1:13 San Jacinto, California, United States
Win 2–0 Sammy Silva Decision (unanimous) KOTC: Heated Fury July 20, 2013 3 5:00 Scottsdale, Arizona, United States
Win 1–0 Imani Jackson TKO (punches) KOTC: World Championships May 25, 2013 1 4:05 Scottsdale, Arizona, United States

[24]

See also

References
  1. "Matthew Lopez". UFC. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  2. Jay Pettry (March 19, 2020). "14 Fighters No Longer Part of UFC Roster Following Cuts, Free Agency". sherdog.com.
  3. MMAFightingonSBN (2017-06-04), UFC 212: Matthew Lopez Thinks Referee Mario Yamasaki was Biased in Johnny Eduardo Bout, retrieved 2017-06-12
  4. "BIO Preview for /Sports/M-wrestl/MTT/Lopez_matt00.HTML".
  5. "How Matthew Lopez went from 'flat broke'". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  6. "Matthew Lopez | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology". Tapology. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  7. UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship (2016-06-28), Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight – Season 1 Ep.6, retrieved 2017-06-30
  8. MMAjunkie (2017-06-03), UFC 212: Matthew Lopez full post fight interview, retrieved 2017-06-12
  9. "RFA 37 highlights: It was 'insanity – the whole night,' and here's why (clue: Dana White)". MMAjunkie. 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  10. "Matthew Lopez talked to UFC President Dana White after RFA 37 win". MMAjunkie. 2016-04-30. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  11. Staff (2016-05-17). "Rani Yahya meets RFA standout Matthew Lopez at UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  12. "UFC Fight Night 91 results: Rani Yahya scores arm-triangle submission of Matthew Lopez". MMAjunkie. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  13. Dana Becker (2016-10-26). "Mitch Gagnon returns to octagon in December". mmanews.com. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
  14. "UFC 206 results: Matthew Lopez rallies through rough first round to top Mitch Gagnon". MMAjunkie. 2016-12-11. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  15. Staff (2017-03-09). "Three fights added to UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-03-09.
  16. "UFC 212 results: Matthew Lopez pounds his way to TKO win over Johnny Eduardo". MMAjunkie. 2017-06-04. Retrieved 2017-06-12.
  17. Themistoklis Alexis (2017-09-19). "Assuncao draws Lopez, Northcutt to meet Quinones at UFC Norfolk". thescore.com. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  18. "UFC Fight Night 120 weigh-in results: One fighter heavy, but Pettis, Poirier official". MMAjunkie. 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-10.
  19. "UFC Fight Night 120 results: Raphael Assuncao chops down, lays out Matthew Lopez". MMAjunkie. 2017-11-12. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
  20. Greg Moore (2018-02-15). "Matt Lopez vs. Alejandro Perez added to UFC on Fox 29 at Gila River Arena". azcentral.com. Retrieved 2018-02-15.
  21. "UFC on FOX 29 results: Alejandro Perez survives early takedowns to TKO Matthew Lopez". MMAjunkie. 2018-04-14. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  22. Canadian Press (2018-09-28). "Winnipeg's Brad Katona to fight in bantamweight bout at UFC 231 in Toronto". canoe.com. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  23. "UFC 231: Brad Katona remains unbeaten with close win over Matthew Lopez". FanSided. 2018-12-08. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  24. Sherdog.com. "Matthew Lopez MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com". Sherdog. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
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