Gustavo Lopez (fighter)

Gustavo Lopez
Born	Gustavo Hernandez Lopez [1] (1989-06-27) June 27, 1989 (age 35) Wapato, Washington, United States
Height	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) [2]
Weight	135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
Division	Bantamweight
Reach	67.0 in (170 cm) [3] [2]
Stance	Orthodox
Fighting out of	Las Vegas, Nevada
Team	Yakima MMA (until 2015) [4] Xtreme Couture (2015–present) [4] 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu Las Vegas
Rank	Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [5] [2]
Years active	2012–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	22
Wins	13
By knockout	5
By submission	7
By decision	1
Losses	8
By knockout	5
By decision	3
Draws	1
Other information
University	Yakima Valley College [6] Menlo College [6]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Gustavo Hernandez Lopez ^[1] (born June 27, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional since 2012, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background

Lopez was raised in Wapato, Washington, along with two brothers. ^[6] As a freshman in 2004, Lopez started his wrestling career at Wapato High School after his friends “tricked” him into trying out for the team. ^[6] Four seasons, three state appearances and two medals at Mat Classic initially led to a full athletic scholarship to Stanford University. ^[4] Nevertheless, Gustavo didn't want to leave his recently-widowed mother and move to California, so he resorted to turn the offer down and attend local Yakima Valley College. ^[4] While competing there, he qualified for the NJCAA tournament twice while earning an associate’s degree in business accounting. ^[6]

While in community college, Gustavo began training at Yakima MMA and after a friend asked Lopez to corner a fight and a fighter on the card dropped out on the day of the event, Lopez agreed to step in and knocked out his opponent in seven seconds. He won his next eight amateur fights, turning pro in 2009 after it became difficult to find challengers. During the same time period, he became a nationally ranked NAIA wrestler at 141 pounds and earned his bachelor's degree in finance at Menlo College in 2014. ^{[6] [4]}

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Starting his professional career in 2012, Lopez started out with Cagesport, where he went 2–1, before fighting for Bellator MMA at Bellator 2014 Monster Energy Cup against Sean Cantor, who he beat by first round rear-naked choke. ^[7]

After this, he signed with Combate Americas, where he would mostly fight for the next 4 years. During this run, he fought for the Bantamweight title 3 times, losing the first two times to John Castañeda and José Alday, before winning on the third time in a rematch against José Alday at Combate 33 via TKO in the first round. He then defended the title against Joey Ruquet at Combate 42 on August 23, 2019. He won the fight via KOing Ruquet in a first round. ^[8]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On June 11, 2020, news broke that Lopez had signed with the UFC and would be replacing Ray Borg on short notice against Merab Dvalishvili on June 13, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo. ^[9] However, Combate Americas' CEO Campbell McLaren claimed they were not given a right to match UFC's offer and Lopez is still under the contract matching period. ^[10] However, the contract dispute was eventually sorted out and Lopez was allowed to join the UFC. ^{[10] [11]} He lost the bout via unanimous decision. ^[12]

Lopez faced Anthony Birchak, replacing Felipe Colares, on November 7, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. ^[13] He won the fight via a submission in round one. ^[14]

Lopez faced Adrian Yañez on March 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 21. ^[15] He lost the fight via knockout in round three. ^[16]

Lopez faced Alateng Heili on September 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 192. ^[17] The fight ended up with a draw. ^[18]

After the draw, it was announced that Lopez was no longer on the UFC roster. ^[19]

Post UFC

In his first bout after his UFC release, Lopez faced Filip Macek on December 30, 2022, at Oktagon 38 for the Interim OKMMA Bantamweight Championship, winning the bout and the title via guillotine choke at the end of the first round. ^[20]

He would face reigning champion Jonas Mågård on April 15, 2023 at Okatgon 41, losing the bout in the second round via TKO stoppage. ^[21]

He would attempt to rebound against Beno Adamia on October 7, 2023 at Oktagon 47, however he would end up losing the bout via unanimous decision. ^[22]

Championships and accomplishments

• Oktagon MMA
  • OKMMA Interim Bantamweight Championship (one time)
• Combate Americas
  • Combate Americas Bantamweight Championship (one time; former)
    • One successful defense

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

22 matches	13 wins	8 losses
By knockout	5	5
By submission	7	0
By decision	1	3
Draws	1

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	13–8–1	Beno Adamia	Decision (unanimous)	OKTAGON 47	October 7, 2023	3	5:00	Bratislava, Slovakia
Loss	13–7–1	Jonas Mågård	TKO (punches)	OKTAGON 41	April 15, 2023	2	0:31	Liberec, Czech Republic	For the OKMMA Bantamweight Championship.
Win	13–6–1	Filip Macek	Submission (guillotine choke)	OKTAGON 38	December 30, 2022	1	4:44	Prague, Czech Republic	Won the Interim OKMMA Bantamweight Championship.
Draw	12–6–1	Alateng Heili	Draw (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann	September 18, 2021	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Alateng was deducted one point in round 3 due to repeatedly grabbing the cage.
Loss	12–6	Adrian Yañez	KO (punch)	UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland	March 20, 2021	3	0:27	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	12–5	Anthony Birchak	Submission (rear-naked choke)	UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira	November 7, 2020	1	2:43	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss	11–5	Merab Dvalishvili	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo	June 13, 2020	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States	Catchweight (140 lb) bout.
Win	11–4	Joey Ruquet	KO (punch)	Combate 42	August 23, 2019	1	1:45	Lake Tahoe, Nevada, United States	Defended the CAMMA Bantamweight Championship.
Win	10–4	José Alday	TKO (punches)	Combate 33	March 29, 2019	1	2:19	Tucson, Arizona, United States	Won the CAMMA Bantamweight Championship
Win	9–4	Vicente Marquez	Submission (shoulder choke)	Combate 29	December 7, 2018	1	0:50	Fresno, California, United States	Featherweight bout.
Loss	8–4	José Alday	Decision (split)	Combate 24	September 14, 2018	3	5:00	Phoenix, Arizona, United States	For the vacant CAMMA Bantamweight Championship.
Loss	8–3	Andre Ewell	KO (punch)	KOTC: Energetic Pursuit	February 24, 2018	1	4:44	Ontario, California, United States
Win	8–2	Chris Dempsey	Submission (armbar)	ExciteFight: Conquest of the Cage	June 10, 2017	1	1:19	Airway Heights, Washington, Washington
Win	7–2	Steve Swanson	Submission (guillotine choke)	Combate Americas 10	January 19, 2017	1	2:34	Mexico City, Mexico
Loss	6–2	John Castañeda	TKO (punches)	Combate Americas 9: Empire Rising	October 14, 2016	4	2:24	Verona, New York, United States	For the vacant CAMMA Bantamweight Championship. Castañeda missed weight (137.5 lb) and was ineligible to win the title.
Win	6–1	Saul Elizondo	TKO (punches)	Combate 7	May 9, 2016	2	4:07	Los Angeles, California, United States
Win	5–1	Joey Ruquet	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 2	December 16, 2015	2	4:06	Hollywood, California, United States	Featherweight bout.
Win	4–1	Mauricio Diaz	Decision (unanimous)	Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 1	September 17, 2015	3	5:00	Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win	3–1	Sean Cantor	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Bellator 2014 Monster Energy Cup	October 18, 2014	1	4:39	Whitney, Nevada, United States
Win	2–1	Dylan Atkinson	TKO (punches)	CageSport 25	July 6, 2013	2	1:12	Tacoma, Washington, United States	Bantamweight debut.
Loss	1–1	Kasey White	Decision (unanimous)	CageSport 24	April 27, 2013	3	5:00	Tacoma, Washington, United States	Featherweight debut.
Win	1–0	Jorey Taylor	TKO (punches)	CageSport 20	July 14, 2012	1	1:47	Tacoma, Washington, United States	Catchweight (140 lb) bout.

^[23]

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. Mixed martial arts show results Date: June 13, 2020
2. "Gustavo Lopez | UFC". UFC.com. June 11, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
3. "Stats | UFC". ufcstats.com. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
4. Alberto Pérez (April 17, 2017). "Gustavo López, peleador de MMA, se repuso a la pérdida de su padre usando el deporte". dailypress.com.^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
5. Ryan Dorfman. "Gustavo Lopez: Combate's Champion". mymmanews.com.
6. "Wapato's Lopez thankful for MMA success, community support". Yakima herald. February 1, 2020. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
7. "Bellator MMA 'Monster Energy Cup' results from Oct. 18 at Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas". mmamania. August 18, 2014. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
8. "Combate Tahoe: Gustavo Lopez unleashes hellacious first-round KO on Joey Ruquet to retain bantamweight title". sportingnews. August 24, 2019. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
9. Nolan King and John Morgan (June 11, 2020). "Ray Borg out of UFC on ESPN 10, Dvalisvhili now fights Combate Americas champ Lopez (UPDATE)". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
10. Amy Kaplan (June 11, 2020). "Campbell McLaren says Gustavo Lopez is still under contract with Combate Americas". fansided.com.
11. Riley Kontek (January 25, 2021). Shootin' the Shit Ep. 39: Gustavo Lopez – via YouTube.
12. Bitter, Shawn (June 13, 2020). "UFC on ESPN 10 Results: Merab Dvalishvili's Pace Too Much for Gustavo Lopez". Cageside Press. Retrieved June 14, 2020.
13. DNA, MMA (November 4, 2020). "Anthony Birchak keert terug in de UFC, treft Gustavo Lopez aanstaande zaterdag in Las Vegas". MMA DNA. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
14. Evanoff, Josh (November 7, 2020). "UFC Vegas 13 Results: Gustavo Lopez Finishes Anthony Birchak". Cageside Press. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
15. Dorff, Marcel (December 8, 2020). "Adrian Yanez treft Gustavo Lopez tijdens UFC evenement op 20 maart 2021". MMA DNA. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
16. Behunin, Alex (March 20, 2021). "UFC Vegas 22 Results: Adrian Yanez KO's Gustavo Lopez In Third Round". Cageside Press. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
17. Boussenaf, Jamal (July 21, 2021). "Gustavo Lopez en Heili Alateng treffen elkaar op 18 september". MMA DNA. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
18. Behunin, Alex (September 18, 2021). "UFC Vegas 37 Results: Gustavo Lopez vs. Heili Alateng Ends In A Draw". Cageside Press. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
19. Tabuena, Anton (February 10, 2022). "Report: 11 more fighters removed from UFC roster". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
20. Head, Simon (December 30, 2022). "Oktagon 38 results: Gustavo Lopez crowned interim bantamweight champion on spectacular night in Prague". Fighters Only. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
21. Head, Simon (April 18, 2023). "Oktagon 41: Jonas Magard unifies bantamweight titles with TKO finish in Liberec". Fighters Only. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
22. Staff (October 7, 2023). "Oktagon 47: Vemola vs. Langer Full Results". Cageside Press. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
23. Sherdog.com. "Gustavo Lopez". Sherdog. Retrieved August 7, 2020.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Gustavo Lopez from Sherdog
• Gustavo Lopez at UFC