American MMA fighter (born 1987)
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]
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
^ "Matthew Lopez" . UFC . Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ a b Jay Pettry (March 19, 2020). "14 Fighters No Longer Part of UFC Roster Following Cuts, Free Agency" . sherdog.com.
^ MMAFightingonSBN (June 4, 2017), UFC 212: Matthew Lopez Thinks Referee Mario Yamasaki was Biased in Johnny Eduardo Bout , retrieved June 12, 2017
^ "BIO Preview for /Sports/M-wrestl/MTT/Lopez_matt00.HTML" .
^ a b "How Matthew Lopez went from 'flat broke' " . ESPN.com . Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ "Matthew Lopez | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology" . Tapology . Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ UFC - Ultimate Fighting Championship (June 28, 2016), Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight – Season 1 Ep.6 , retrieved June 30, 2017
^ a b MMAjunkie (June 3, 2017), UFC 212: Matthew Lopez full post fight interview , retrieved June 12, 2017
^ "RFA 37 highlights: It was 'insanity – the whole night,' and here's why (clue: Dana White)" . MMAjunkie . April 16, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ "Matthew Lopez talked to UFC President Dana White after RFA 37 win" . MMAjunkie . April 30, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ Staff (May 17, 2016). "Rani Yahya meets RFA standout Matthew Lopez at UFC Fight Night 91 in Sioux Falls" . mmajunkie.com. Retrieved May 17, 2016 .
^ "UFC Fight Night 91 results: Rani Yahya scores arm-triangle submission of Matthew Lopez" . MMAjunkie . July 13, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ Dana Becker (October 26, 2016). "Mitch Gagnon returns to octagon in December" . mmanews.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016 .
^ "UFC 206 results: Matthew Lopez rallies through rough first round to top Mitch Gagnon" . MMAjunkie . December 11, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ Staff (March 9, 2017). "Three fights added to UFC 212 in Rio de Janeiro" . mmajunkie.com. Retrieved March 9, 2017 .
^ "UFC 212 results: Matthew Lopez pounds his way to TKO win over Johnny Eduardo" . MMAjunkie . June 4, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2017 .
^ Themistoklis Alexis (September 19, 2017). "Assuncao draws Lopez, Northcutt to meet Quinones at UFC Norfolk" . thescore.com. Retrieved September 19, 2017 .
^ "UFC Fight Night 120 weigh-in results: One fighter heavy, but Pettis, Poirier official" . MMAjunkie . November 10, 2017. Retrieved November 10, 2017 .
^ "UFC Fight Night 120 results: Raphael Assuncao chops down, lays out Matthew Lopez" . MMAjunkie . November 12, 2017. Retrieved November 12, 2017 .
^ Greg Moore (February 15, 2018). "Matt Lopez vs. Alejandro Perez added to UFC on Fox 29 at Gila River Arena" . azcentral.com. Retrieved February 15, 2018 .
^ "UFC on FOX 29 results: Alejandro Perez survives early takedowns to TKO Matthew Lopez" . MMAjunkie . April 14, 2018. Retrieved April 15, 2018 .
^ Canadian Press (September 28, 2018). "Winnipeg's Brad Katona to fight in bantamweight bout at UFC 231 in Toronto" . canoe.com. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018 .
^ "UFC 231: Brad Katona remains unbeaten with close win over Matthew Lopez" . FanSided . December 8, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2018 .
^ Sherdog.com. "Matthew Lopez MMA Stats, Pictures, News, Videos, Biography - Sherdog.com" . Sherdog . Retrieved April 15, 2018 .
External links