Markus Perez

This article is about the Brazilian martial artist. For the Argentine footballer, see Marcos Pérez.

Markus Perez Echeimberg
Born	(1990-06-22) June 22, 1990 (age 34) São Paulo, Brazil
Other names	Maluko
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Division	Middleweight Welterweight
Reach	73 in (185 cm)
Fighting out of	São Paulo, Brazil
Team	Viscardi Andrade Team Veras TK American Top Team [1]
Teacher(s)	Viscardi Andradre [2]
Rank	Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [3] Black prajiad in Muay Thai [3]
Years active	2013–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	21
Wins	14
By knockout	3
By submission	8
By decision	3
Losses	7
By knockout	1
By decision	6
Occupation	software developer [4]
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Markus Perez Echeimberg ^[5] (born June 22, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division. A professional since 2013, he has also fought for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Jungle Fight and the Legacy Fighting Alliance, where he is the former Middleweight Champion.

Background

Echeimberg started training Kung-Fu style Eagle Claw in 2008 to impersonate Bruce Lee ^[6] and later transitioned to mixed martial arts (MMA) after his brother took him to a jiu-jitsu class. ^[3] Prior competing full-time in MMA, Markus worked as an information technology engineer at technology school and he was also a freelanced software developer, and he quit his job and college to teach Muay Thai and competed in Brazilian jiu-jitsu to make a living so he could pursue MMA full-time. After made it to the preliminary round of The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3, he gained his parents support as they realized his seriousness of his MMA career choice. ^[4]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Echeimberg fought in the Brazilian-based promotions and amassed of a record of 9–0 prior joining UFC after winning the Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) middleweight championship. ^{[7] [8]}

The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil

Echeimberg was chosen to be a fighter on The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 3 . In the opening elimination round, he lost to Guilherme Vasconcelos via submission (rear-naked choke) in the first round. ^[5]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Less than two months after winning the vacant Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA), Echeimberg was signed by UFC. Perez made his UFC debut on December 9, 2017, against Eryk Anders, replacing John Phillips, at UFC Fight Night 123. ^[8] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. ^[9]

His next fight came on May 12, 2018, against James Bochnovic at UFC 224. ^[10] He won the fight via a submission. ^[11]

On August 25, 2018, Perez faced Andrew Sanchez, replacing Antonio Braga Neto, at UFC Fight Night 135. ^[12] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. ^[13]

Perez faced promotional newcomer Anthony Hernandez on February 2, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 2. ^[14] He won the fight via technical submission in the second round. ^[15]

Perez was scheduled to face promotional newcomer Deron Winn on June 22, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 11 ^[16] However, it was reported on May 9, 2019, that Perez pulled out of the fight due to injury. ^[17]

Perez was scheduled to face Jack Marshman on November 16, 2019, at UFC on ESPN+ 22. ^[18] However, Marshman was pulled from the event for undisclosed reason and he was replaced by Wellington Turman. ^[19]

Perez faced Wellington Turman on November 16, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré. ^[20] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. ^[21]

Perez was scheduled to face Alessio Di Chirico, replacing Abu Azaitar, on April 11, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris. ^[22] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was eventually cancelled. ^[23]

Perez was scheduled to face Eric Spicely on August 1, 2020, at UFC Fight Night: Brunson vs. Shahbazyan. ^[24] However, Spicely was removed from the fight on the day of the event's weigh-in for health issues related to his weight cut. Perez will now face Charles Ontiveros ^[25]

Perez was scheduled to face Rodolfo Vieira on October 11, 2020 at UFC Fight Night 179, ^[26] However, on September 21, Vieira pulled out due to undisclosed reasons, ^[27] and he was replaced by promotional newcomer Dricus du Plessis. ^[28] Perez lost the fight via knockout in round one. ^[29]

Perez faced Dalcha Lungiambula, replacing Isi Fitikefu, on January 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 20. ^[30] He lost the fight via unanimous decision. ^[31]

On February 4, 2021, it was announced that Perez was released from his UFC contract. ^[32]

Post-UFC career

Perez was scheduled to face Shane O'Shea at Titan FC 68 on March 26, 2021. ^[33] However, the bout was cancelled due to an unknown reason.

Perez was scheduled to face Christiano Frohlich on July 2, 2021, at LFA 110. ^[34] The bout was scratched days before the event for unknown reasons. ^[35]

Perez faced Zac Pauga on October 17, 2021, at Cage Warriors 130. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. ^[36]

Perez faced Filipe Moitinho on December 19, 2021, at Thunder Fight 33. He won the bout via guillotine submission 33 seconds into the bout. ^[37]

Perez faced Emiliano Sordo at Gamebred FC 4 in a bare-knuckle MMA bout on May 5, 2023, ^[38] losing the bout via unanimous decision. ^[39]

Global Fight League

On December 11, 2024, it was announced that Perez was signed by Global Fight League. ^[40]

Championships and achievements

• Legacy Fighting Alliance
  • Legacy Fighting Alliance Middleweight Champion (One time) vs. Ian Heinisch ^[41]
• Thunder Fight
  • Thunder Fight Middleweight Champion ^[42]

Personal life

Echeimberg's moniker "Maluko", an adaptation of the word "maluco" which means "crazy" in Portuguese, was given by his teammates, who thought he was crazy after he asked his coach if he could wear Kung Fu pants and shoes while he was boxing training to impersonate Bruce Lee. ^[6]

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

21 matches	14 wins	7 losses
By knockout	3	1
By submission	8	0
By decision	3	6

Res.	Record	Opponent	Method	Event	Date	Round	Time	Location	Notes
Loss	14–7	Emiliano Sordi	Decision (unanimous)	Gamebred Fighting Championship 4	May 5, 2023	3	5:00	Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States	Bare Knuckle MMA.
Win	14–6	Chase Gamble	Submission (rear-naked choke)	AFL: Invincible 2023	January 20, 2023	1	2:10	Hollywood, Florida, United States
Win	13–6	Filipe Moitinho	Submission (guillotine choke)	Thunder Fight 33	December 19, 2021	1	0:33	São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil	Return to Middleweight.
Loss	12–6	Zac Pauga	Decision (unanimous)	Cage Warriors 130	October 17, 2021	3	5:00	San Diego, California, United States	Light Heavyweight debut.
Loss	12–5	Dalcha Lungiambula	Decision (unanimous)	UFC on ESPN: Magny vs. Chiesa	January 20, 2021	3	5:00	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Loss	12–4	Dricus du Plessis	KO (punches)	UFC Fight Night: Moraes vs. Sandhagen	October 11, 2020	1	3:22	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Loss	12–3	Wellington Turman	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Jacaré	November 16, 2019	3	5:00	São Paulo, Brazil
Win	12–2	Anthony Hernandez	Technical Submission (anaconda choke)	UFC Fight Night: Assunção vs. Moraes 2	February 2, 2019	2	1:07	Fortaleza, Brazil
Loss	11–2	Andrew Sanchez	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Gaethje vs. Vick	August 25, 2018	3	5:00	Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Win	11–1	James Bochnovic	Submission (rear-naked choke)	UFC 224	May 12, 2018	1	4:28	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Loss	10–1	Eryk Anders	Decision (unanimous)	UFC Fight Night: Swanson vs. Ortega	December 9, 2017	3	5:00	Fresno, California, United States
Win	10–0	Ian Heinisch	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	LFA 22	September 8, 2017	1	2:14	Broomfield, Colorado, United States	Won the vacant LFA Middleweight Championship.
Win	9–0	Ildemar Alcântara	Decision (unanimous)	Arzalet Fighting Globe Championship 1	February 10, 2017	1	2:14	São Paulo, Brazil
Win	8–0	Paulo Thiago	Decision (unanimous)	Thunder Fight 7	June 25, 2016	5	5:00	São Paulo, Brazil	Won the vacant TF Middleweight Championship.
Win	7–0	Fabricio Almeida Gonçalves	KO (spinning back elbow)	Aspera Fighting Championship 38	May 27, 2016	3	0:34	São Paulo, Brazil
Win	6–0	Anderson Melo	TKO (punches)	Battle of Kings	December 5, 2015	1	1:27	Ilhéus, Brazil	Welterweight bout.
Win	5–0	Rafael Silva	Submission (rear-naked choke)	Thunder Fight 2	December 19, 2014	1	2:42	São Paulo, Brazil	Middleweight debut.
Win	4–0	Giovani Colombo	Submission (arm-triangle choke)	Interior Fight: Fight For Your Destiny	October 26, 2013	1	0:30	São Paulo, Brazil
Win	3–0	Bruno da Silva	Submission (kneebar)	Jungle Fight 58	September 14, 2013	1	3:17	São Paulo, Brazil	Welterweight bout.
Win	2–0	Marcelo Matias	Decision (unanimous)	RSF 5	August 24, 2013	3	5:00	São Paulo, Brazil
Win	1–0	Rene Pessoa	TKO (punches)	Pegada Magazine: Desafio Revista Pegada	April 18, 2013	2	3:29	São Paulo, Brazil

^[43]

Professional boxing record

1 fight	1 win	0 losses
By knockout	1	0

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
3	Win	1-0	Joe Riggs	TKO (ankle injury)	3 (6), 1:19	Apr 1st, 2023	Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.	—

See also

• List of male mixed martial artists

References

1. Guilherme Cruz (September 22, 2020). "Rib injury knocks Rodolfo Vieira out of Fight Island bout with Markus Perez". mmafighting.com.
2. "Welcome to the UFC: Benito Lopez and Markus Perez". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
3. "Markus Perez - Official UFC Profile". UFC.com. 14 September 2018. Archived from the original on October 17, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
4. "Markus Perez's mom didn't support his career switch to MMA. Now, she's his nutritionist". MMAjunkie. 2018-08-22. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
5. "TUF Brazil 3: Episode 2 Recap". UFC. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
6. "'Crazy' Markus Perez has bold plan for MMA career: win two UFC belts". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
7. Sherdog.com. "Markus". Sherdog. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
8. "LFA champion Markus Perez signs with the UFC, meets Eryk Anders in Fresno". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
9. "UFC Fight Night 123 results: Eryk Anders dominates Markus Perez, calls out Lyoto Machida". MMAjunkie. 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
10. "Markus Perez vs. James Bochnovic added to UFC 224". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
11. "UFC 224 results: Markus Perez taps out James Bochnovic for first UFC win". MMAjunkie. 2018-05-12. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
12. "Antonio Braga Neto Out, Markus Perez In To Face Andrew Sanchez at UFC Lincoln ⋆ MMA TakeOver". MMA TakeOver. 2018-08-02. Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
13. "UFC Fight Night 135 results: Andrew Sanchez tops animated Markus Perez by decision". MMAjunkie. 2018-08-26. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
14. "Multiple UFC 233 fights get new dates, locations after Jan. 26 card scratched". MMAjunkie. 2018-12-12. Retrieved 2018-12-13.
15. "UFC Fortaleza results: Markus Perez stuns, chokes out Anthony Hernandez". MMAjunkie. 2019-02-03. Retrieved 2019-02-03.
16. "UFC debuut voor ongeslagen Deron Winn tegen Markus Perez tijdens UFC Greenville". MMA DNA. 18 April 2019. Retrieved 2019-04-19.
17. MMA Fighting Newswire (2019-05-09). "Markus Perez out of UFC Greenville bout vs. Deron Winn due to injury". mmfighting. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
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19. Redactie (11 October 2019). "Wellington Turman replaces Jack Marshman against Markus Perez during UFC São Paulo" . Retrieved 2019-10-12.(in Dutch)
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21. McClory, Mike (2019-11-16). "UFC Sao Paulo Results: Wellington Turman Takes Decision Against Markus Perez". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
22. Redactie (26 December 2019). "Azaitar vs. Di Chirico and Avila vs. Rosa added to UFC event on April 11". mmadna.com. Retrieved 2019-12-27.(in Dutch)
23. Nolan King and John Morgan (2020-03-15). "UFC postpones three events amid growing coronavirus outbreak". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
24. fightful.com, EliteGuy101 | 6/3/2020 Filed Under: "UFC" Source (2020-06-03). "Markus Perez Will Take On Eric Spicely At The UFC Fight Night Event On August 1". TheRingReport.com. Archived from the original on 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
25. Nolan King (2020-07-31). "Eric Spicely out of UFC on ESPN+ 31 bout vs. Markus Perez; replacement found". mmajunkiecom. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
26. Cruz, Guilherme (2020-08-04). "Rodolfo Vieira vs. Markus Perez added to Oct. 10 UFC event". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
27. Nolan King (2020-09-21). "Markus Perez dares Khamzat Chimaev to step in after Rodolfo Vieira withdraws from Oct. 10 fight". mmajunkie.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
28. Raphael Marinho (2020-09-24). "UFC sets former KSW champion as opponent of Markus Maluko, October 10". globoesporte.com. Retrieved 2020-09-24.(in Portuguese)
29. Bitter, Shawn (2020-10-10). "UFC Fight Island 5 Results: Dricus Du Plessis Impresses in Debut With KO". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
30. "Short notice partij voor Markus Perez in Abu Dhabi tegen Dalcha Lungiambula op 20 januari". MMA DNA. 2021-01-02. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
31. "UFC Fight Island 8 Results: Dalcha Lungiambula Outlasts Markus". 20 January 2021.
32. Guillherme Cruz, Damon Martin (2021-02-04). "TUF Brazil winner Antonio Carlos Junior, 11 others no longer under contract with UFC". MMAFighting.com. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
33. Bryan Henderson (March 24, 2021). "Out of Obscurity: Babilon MMA 20, Titan FC 68 and LFA 103". combatpress.com.
34. "LFA starts the 4th of July Weekend Fireworks with Championship Doubleheader at LFA 110 : Legacy Fighting Alliance News". news.lfa.com. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
35. Sherdog.com. "LFA 110 Weigh-in Results: Interim Flyweight Title Bout Set". Sherdog. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
36. "Cage Warriors 130 Results". MMA Sucka. 2021-10-18. Retrieved 2021-10-19.
37. "Thunder Fight 33 consagra Marcos Babuíno, Markus Maluco e ex-campeão do TUF Brasil". Terra (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-12-23.
38. Heck, Mike (2023-04-21). "Roy Nelson vs. Dillon Cleckler headlines Jorge Masvidal's Gamebred Bareknuckle event on May 5". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
39. "Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA live stream, results: Roy Nelson vs. Dillon Cleckler". MMA Junkie. 6 May 2023.
40. "Global Fight League reveals massive list of signings, including 8 ex-UFC champs, for new team-based MMA organization". Yahoo Sports. 2024-12-11. Retrieved 2024-12-12.
41. "LFA 22 results: Markus Perez claims title with slick first-round choke". MMAjunkie. 2017-09-09. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
42. "Welcome to the UFC: Markus Perez". MMA Today. 2017-11-03. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
43. Sherdog.com. "Markus". Sherdog. Retrieved 2019-09-23.

External links

• Professional MMA record for Markus Perez from Sherdog
• Markus Perez at UFC