Francisco Derek Campos (born April 1, 1988) is an American 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 ...

currently competing in the

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division. A professional competitor since 2009, Campos has competed for

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

Shark Fights Shark Fights was a mixed martial arts promotion based in Amarillo, Texas. It made its debut on October 24, 2008. On September 11, 2010 Shark Fights had its biggest card in Shark Fights history by having past and present UFC fighters Jorge Masv ...

and

King of the Cage King of the Cage (KOTC) is a mixed martial arts promotion based in Southern California, United States. History KOTC was founded in 1998 by Terry Trebilcock Jr. KOTC features mostly amateur as well as up and coming MMA stars and former mainstre ...

, and is the former King of the Cage Light Welterweight Champion.

Background

Originally from

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

, Campos competed in

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

and first began training in

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

and

wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

at the age of 19.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

After a 2–0 amateur career, Campos started his professional career in 2009, fighting exclusively for Texas and Louisiana-based promotions. In 2012, with a record of 9–2, Campos signed with

Bellator Bellator, warrior in Latin, may refer to: * Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States * Bishop Bellator of Sufetula (5th century) Taxonomy * ''Bellator'' (fish), a fish genus in the family Triglidae (sea robins) ** ...

Bellator MMA

Campos made his promotional debut against

Rich Clementi Richard Thomas Clementi (born March 31, 1977) is a former American mixed martial artist. Clementi has fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championships, Bellator, K-1 Hero's DREAM, King of the Cage, and Titan FC. Background Clementi was born in ...

on May 25, 2012, at Bellator 70. He lost via submission due to a guillotine choke in the first round. Campos faced Brandon Girtz on June 19, 2013, at

Bellator 96 2013 in Bellator MMA was the eighth installment of the Bellator MMA, which began on January 17, 2013 and ended on April 4, 2013. Mixed martial arts tournaments were held in five weight classes and all of the champions, except the heavyweight ch ...

. He won via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28). Campos faced Martin Stapleton on November 8, 2013, at Bellator 107. Once again he won via unanimous decision. Campos was expected to rematch Brandon Girtz in the quarterfinal match of Bellator Season Ten Lightweight Tournament on March 21, 2014, at Bellator 113. However, his opponent was changed and he faced Tim Welch. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Campos faced

Patricky Freire Patricky Freire (born January 21, 1986), known professionally as Patricky Pitbull, is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in Lightweight division. He most notably competed for Bellator MMA, where he was a former Bellator Lightwe ...

in the semifinals at

Bellator 117 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight ...

and lost the bout via TKO in the second round. Campos faced Estevan Payan on September 26, 2014, at

Bellator 126 2014 in Bellator MMA was the tenth season for Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion. It began on February 28, 2014 and aired on Spike TV. The season included tournaments for the Heavyweight, Welterweight, Featherweight, Light Heavyweight ...

. He won the fight via knockout just 31 seconds into the first round. Stepping in for a recently retired

John Gunderson John Gunderson (born May 1, 1980) is an American former mixed martial artist who used to fight with the UFC. He was once a top-ten lightweight outside the UFC. Gunderson is also an International Fight League veteran who fought out of Ken Shamroc ...

, Campos was expected to face

Alexander Sarnavskiy Alexander Sarnavskiy (, born January 17, 1989) is a Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the lightweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Sarnavskiy has mostly competed in his native Russia, where he is an M-1 Global v ...

at Bellator 128 on October 10, 2014. However, an injury forced Campos out of the bout.

Dakota Cochrane Dakota Galen Cochrane (born May 1, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who fights in the Lightweight and Welterweight divisions. He has competed for Bellator MMA, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, Legacy Fighting Championship, Titan Fighting ...

stepped in as a replacement. Campos faced former Bellator Lightweight Champion

Michael Chandler Michael Chandler Jr. (born April 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Chandler previously competed for Bellator MMA from 2010 ...

on June 19, 2015, at Bellator 138. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Campos finally rematched Brandon Girtz at

Bellator 146 2015 in Bellator MMA was the seventh year in the history of Bellator MMA, a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. Bellator held 16 events in 2015. Background In June 2014, Founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney parted with the company. ...

on November 20, 2015. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Campos next faced

Melvin Guillard Melvin Guillard (born March 30, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. Guillard most notably competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA and World S ...

on February 19, 2016, at Bellator 149. He won the fight via a flurry of punches in the second round, resulting in a TKO victory. Campos faced up-and-coming Djamil Chan at Bellator 161 on September 16, 2016. In the first round, Campos was almost finished by a series of punches after absorbing a punch on the feet. However, he survived the onslaught and went on to win the fight via unanimous decision. Campos faced Derek Anderson at Bellator 170 on January 21, 2017. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Campos was expected to face

at Bellator 181 on July 14, 2017. The pair previously met at

on April 18, 2014, in the quarter-final round of the Bellator season ten lightweight tournament, in which Campos was defeated via second-round TKO. The rematch was originally scheduled to take place at Bellator 167 on December 3, 2016, however an injury forced Freire out of the bout. During the Bellator 180 fight card, it was revealed by the promotion that Campos would instead face Brandon Girtz in a third fight at the event. Campos won the rubber match by TKO via doctor stoppage at the end of the second round due to cut on Girtz's forehead caused by a Campos knee. Campos faced Patricky Freire in a rematch at Bellator 194 on February 16, 2018. He lost the fight via TKO in round one. In his next fight, Campos moved down to Featherweight and faced

Sam Sicilia Samuel Travis Sicilia (born February 1, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division for Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2007, Sicilia formerly competed for the UFC, an ...

at Bellator 212 on December 14, 2018. He lost the back-and-forth fight by split decision. Campos next faced Pedro Carvalho at Bellator: Birmingham on May 4, 2019. He lost the bout by way of first round knockout.

Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix

In the opening round of the Featherweight Grand Prix, Campos faced former two-time Bellator Featherweight world champion Daniel Straus at Bellator 226 on September 7, 2019. Campos went on to defeat Straus in a dominant unanimous decision win, with the judges scores reading 30–26, 30–25, 30–25. In the quarterfinals, Campos faced A.J. McKee at Bellator 236 on December 21, 2019. He lost the bout via third round submission.

Post grand-prix

Campos was expected to face

Roger Huerta Roger Huerta (born May 20, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the lightweight division. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator Fighting Ch ...

at Bellator 246 on September 12, 2020. However, he ultimately faced Keoni Diggs at the event. At the weigh-ins, Diggs weighed in at 157 pounds, 1 pound over the non-title lightweight limit of 156 pounds. The bout proceeded at a catchweight with a percentage of Diggs' purse going to Campos. He lost the bout via a rear-naked choke submission in the third round. On October 27, 2020, it was announced that Campos had been released from Bellator.

Post-Bellator career

After almost a decade in Bellator, Campos was scheduled to face

Kyle Bochniak Kyle Bochniak (born February 5, 1987) is an Americans, American mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight (MMA), Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2014, he has competed in the Ultimat ...

at XMMA² on July 30, 2021. However, Campos withdrew from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by

Marcus Brimage Marcus Clyde Brimage (born April 6, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2007, he has formerly competed for the UFC and was a competitor on The Ultimate Figh ...

. Campos faced

Diego Brandão Diego Brandão (born 27 May 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional since 2005, he formerly competed for the UFC, RIZIN, and Fight Nights Global. He was the winner of Spike TV ...

at Peak Fighting 29 on June 10, 2023, losing the bout via unanimous decision.

Bare-knuckle boxing

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

Campos was scheduled to make his debut against former

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

fighter

Michael Trizano Michael Charles Trizano (born December 31, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Featherweight division of Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2016, Trizano was the w ...

in a lightweight bout at BKFC 61 on May 11, 2024. However, in early May 2024, the bout was removed for unknown reasons. Campos is scheduled to face Jake Heffernan on June 21, 2025 at BKFC 76.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** KOTC Light Welterweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 20–12 ,

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, Decision (split) , Bellator 212 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 19–6 , Brandon Girtz , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Bellator 181 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6 ,

, KO (punches) , Bellator 149 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:32 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Brandon Girtz , KO (punches) ,

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, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 138 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:17 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 15–4 , Estevan Payan , KO (punch) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Tim Welch , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 113 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mulvane, Kansas Mulvane is a city in Sedgwick and Sumner counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 6,286. History Mulvane was laid out in 1879 at the junction of five Santa Fe rail lines. It is named for ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Martin Stapleton , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 107 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–3 , Brandon Girtz , Decision (unanimous) ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–3 , Derrick Krantz , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Ascend Combat: Mayhem 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:15 ,

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–3 , Joe Condon , TKO (punches) , KOTC: Stranglehold , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:56 ,

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, Submission (guillotine choke) , Bellator 70 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:18 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Kota Okazawa , Submission (neck crank) , G1 Fights: Sovereign Valor , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:46 ,

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Scott Cleve Scott Cleve (born July 22, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in Bellator's Featherweight division and the MFC. Background Cleve was born in Long Beach, California and raised in Escondido, California, attending Escondido ...

, Decision (split) , Ultimate Warrior Fighting 1: Huerta vs. War Machine , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Gilbert Jimenez , Decision (unanimous) , Triple A Promotions , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

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Cody Pfister Cody Pfister (born August 7, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the UFC, Bellator, Shark Fights, King of the Cage, and the Resurrection Fig ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Undisputed MMA 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:55 ,

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, Decision (split) , King of Kombat 8: The Uprising , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Yosdenis Cedeno Yosdenis Cedeno (born February 12, 1985) is a Cuban-American mixed martial artist who formerly fought in the Lightweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Mixed martial arts career Early career A professional since 2009, Cedeno beg ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Adam Schindler , Decision (unanimous) , King of Kombat 6: Fists of Fury , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Clay Shackleford , KO (punch) , Global Fighting Alliance: Mardi Gras Mayhem , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:27 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Brandon Crick , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Xtreme Knockout 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:35 ,

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campos, Derek 1988 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Texas Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Sportspeople from Lubbock, Texas