Claudio Puelles Martinez (born April 21, 1996) is a Peruvian professional

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, he currently competes in the

Lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

Background

Puelles started training

Muay Thai Muay Thai or Muaythai (, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, the Art of Eight Limbs or the Science of Eight Limbs, is a Thai martial art and full-contact combat sport that uses stand-up striking, sweeps, and various clinch fighting, cl ...

around the age of 13, quickly picking up grappling also before transitioning to mixed martial arts in his adolescent years.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Puelles started his professional MMA career in 2013 and fought primarily in Peru. He amassed a record of 7–1 prior to participating in The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3.

''The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3''

In 2016 Puelles competed on the third season of The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 series under Team

Chuck Liddell Charles David Liddell (born December 17, 1969) is an American former professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1998 to 2018, Liddell is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion (from 2005 to 2007) and i ...

. In the elimination round, Puelles defeated José David Flores via a technical knockout in the first round. In the quarterfinals, Puelles defeated Pablo Sabori via a submission. In the semifinals, he defeated Marcelo Rojo by a unanimous decision. This win earned him a spot in the finale against Martín Bravo on November 5, 2016, in Mexico City, Mexico at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Puelles made his official UFC debut against

Martin Bravo Martín Bravo (born 21 September 1993) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Combate Global. He has previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career Br ...

on November 5, 2016, in Mexico City, Mexico at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. On May 19, 2018, Puelles faced Felipe Silva at UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman. He won the fight via a submission in round three. The submission gained him a '' Performance of the Night'' bonus award. Puelles faced Marcos Mariano on September 21, 2019, at UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Puelles faced

Jordan Leavitt Jordan Leavitt (; born June 2, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Leavitt's MMA journey began in high school as part of the wrestling team. Initial ...

on June 5, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Puelles faced

Chris Gruetzemacher Chris Gruetzemacher (born June 16, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2008, he has also competed for Strikeforce, the Wor ...

on December 4, 2021, at

UFC on ESPN 31 ''UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo'' (also known as ''UFC on ESPN 31'' and ''UFC Vegas 44'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 4, 2021, at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Neva ...

. He won the fight via a kneebar in round three. Puelles faced

Clay Guida Clayton Charles Guida (; born December 8, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist, who competed in the UFC in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2003, Guida also formerly competed for Strikeforce, the WEC, King of the ...

on April 23, 2022, at UFC Fight Night 205. He won the fight via a kneebar in round one. This win earned him a Performance of the Night award. Puelles faced

Dan Hooker Daniel Preston Hooker (born 13 February 1990) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Hooker was the King in the Ring ...

on November 12, 2022, at

UFC 281 ''UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Middle ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in round two after being dropped by a front kick to the body, Puelles was condemned for the strategies he employed. Puelles faced

Farès Ziam Farès Ziam (born March 21, 1997) is a French professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Born into a Franco-Algerian family in 1997, he was a f ...

on February 24, 2024, at

UFC Fight Night 237 ''UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 237'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 95'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 24, 2024, at Arena CDMX, in Mexico ...

. Despite having a career high of seven takedowns, Puelles only landed four significant strikes and ended up losing the bout by split decision.

Championships and accomplishments

** Performance of the Night (Two times) **Most kneebar submissions in UFC history (3) **UFC.com Awards ***2018: Ranked #8 Submission of the Year ***2022: Ranked #5 Submission of the Year

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 12–4 ,

, Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, Mexico , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 ,

, TKO (body kick) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:06 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 ,

, Submission (kneebar) , UFC Fight Night: Lemos vs. Andrade , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:01 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 ,

, Submission (kneebar) , UFC on ESPN: Font vs. Aldo , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:26 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Marcos Mariano , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Stephens , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Felipe Silva , Submission (kneebar) , UFC Fight Night: Maia vs. Usman , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:23 ,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Chile , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale: dos Anjos vs. Ferguson , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:55 ,

, Mexico , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Alvaro Sugasti , KO (head kick) , 300 Sparta 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

, Peru , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Edimar Martins Rayol , Submission (kneebar) , Inka FC: Inka Warriors 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:36 ,

, Peru , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–1 , David Cubas , Decision (unanimous) , Inka FC: Inka Warriors 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Peru , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Lander Duarte Alves , Decision (unanimous) , Inka FC 25 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Peru , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Guile Calvete , Submission (rear-naked choke) , 300 Sparta 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,

, Peru , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Manuel Meza , TKO (cut) , 300 Sparta 4 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Peru , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Renzo Mendez , Submission (arm-triangle choke) , Inka FC 23 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:00 ,

, Peru , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Angel Alvarez , Submission (armbar) , 300 Sparta 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, N/A ,

, Peru , , -

Mixed martial arts exhibition record

, - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Marcelo Rojo , Decision (unanimous) , rowspan=3, The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=3,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Pablo Sabori , Submission (kneebar) , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , , - , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , José David Flores , TKO (punches) , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Puelles, Claudio 1996 births Living people Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Luta Livre Martial artists from Lima Peruvian male mixed martial artists Peruvian Muay Thai practitioners Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters