Gustavo Hernandez Lopez (born June 27, 1989) is an American

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 ...

who competes in the

Bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

division. A professional since 2012, he has competed for 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 ( ...

. He is the current Bantamweight Champion in the Czech fighting promotion Real Fight Arena (RFA).

Background

Lopez was raised in

Wapato, Washington Wapato () is a town in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 4,607 at the 2020 census. It has a Hispanic majority. History Origins The town was founded in 1885 by Indian Postmaster Alexander McCredy as a railroad stop on ...

, along with two brothers. 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. Four seasons, three state appearances and two medals at Mat Classic initially led to a full

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. 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 Yakima Valley College (YVC) is a public college in Yakima, Washington. It was founded as Yakima Valley Community College in 1928 with Elizabeth Prior serving as the institution's first president. The college offers 5 Bachelor of Applied Science d ...

. While competing there, he qualified for the NJCAA tournament twice while earning an associate’s degree in business accounting. 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 Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and located in Atherton, California, United States. Campus Menlo College is situated on a 45-acre (0.18 km2) campus in Atherton, California, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco an ...

in 2014.

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 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 ...

at Bellator 2014 Monster Energy Cup against Sean Cantor, who he beat by first round rear-naked choke. After this, he signed with

Combate Americas Combate Global (formerly known as Combate Americas) is an Hispanic America, Hispanic American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company founded in 2011 by current-CEO Campbell McLaren and based in New York City, New Yor ...

, 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 John Castañeda (born December 18, 1991) is an American mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2012, he formerly competed for Combate Global. Ba ...

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.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

On June 11, 2020, news broke that Lopez had signed with the UFC and would be replacing

Ray Borg Ray Borg (born August 4, 1993), is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor until 2023, Borg is best known for his 12–fight tenure in the Ultima ...

on short notice against

Merab Dvalishvili Merab Dvalishvili ( ka, მერაბ დვალიშვილი ; born January 10, 1991) is a Georgian and American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championsh ...

on June 13, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo. However, Combate Americas' CEO

Campbell McLaren Campbell McLaren (born June 18, 1956) is an American entrepreneur and media executive. He is the co-creator of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC. ESPN said he is the 10th most influential person in UFC history and that "his influence on th ...

claimed they were not given a right to match UFC's offer and Lopez is still under the contract matching period. However, the contract dispute was eventually sorted out and Lopez was allowed to join the UFC. He lost the bout via unanimous decision. Lopez faced

Anthony Birchak Anthony Birchak (born May 16, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2009. he formerly competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Legacy Fighting Alliance, ...

, replacing

Felipe Colares Luis Felipe Dias Colares (31 March 1994 – 1 May 2023) was a Brazilian mixed martial artist in the bantamweight division. A professional since 2013, he most notably competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Growing up ...

, on November 7, 2020, at UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira. He won the fight via a submission in round one. Lopez faced

Adrian Yañez Adrian Yañez (born November 29, 1993) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Adrian Yañez was born in Houston and grew up in L ...

on March 20, 2021, at UFC on ESPN 21. He lost the fight via knockout in round three. Lopez faced

Alateng Heili Alateng Heili (; born December 14, 1991) is a Chinese mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Following his father's footsteps, Alateng started wrestling in school. Eventual ...

on September 18, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 192. The fight ended up with a draw. After the draw, it was announced that Lopez was no longer on the UFC roster.

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

Championships and accomplishments

*Oktagon MMA ** OKMMA Interim Bantamweight Championship (one time) *

** Combate Americas Bantamweight Championship (one time; former) *** One successful defense

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 16–8–1 , Petr Stříž , Submission (guillotine choke) , Real Fight Arena 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 ,

Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 15–8–1 , Šimon Bruknar , TKO (punches) , Professional Muaythai League 15 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:14 ,

Žilina Žilina (; ; ; ; Names of European cities in different languages: U-Z#Z, names in other languages) is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the List of cities ...

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 14–8–1 , Denis Tripšanský , TKO (leg injury) , Professional Muaythai League 13 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:37 ,

Hlohovec Hlohovec (, Hungarian ''Galgóc''), is a town in southwestern Slovakia, with a population of 21,508. Name The name comes from ''*Glogovec'', the Old Slavic name for a place densely overgrown by hawthorn. The Hungarian form ''Galgóc'' was ado ...

, Slovakia , , - , Loss , align=center, , Beno Adamia , Decision (unanimous) , Oktagon 47 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, Slovakia , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–7–1 , Jonas Mågård , TKO (punches) , Oktagon 41 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:31 ,

Liberec Liberec (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 108,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse River, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preserved and is pr ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 13–6–1 , Filip Macek , Submission (guillotine choke) , Oktagon 38 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:44 ,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Draw , align=center, 12–6–1 ,

, Draw (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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 , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–6 ,

, KO (punch) , UFC on ESPN: Brunson vs. Holland , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 0:27 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC on ESPN: Santos vs. Teixeira , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:43 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC on ESPN: Eye vs. Calvillo , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Joey Ruquet , KO (punch) , Combate 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:45 ,

Lake Tahoe, Nevada Lake Tahoe (; Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America, ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , José Alday , TKO (punches) , Combate 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:19 ,

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 , Vicente Marquez , Submission (shoulder choke) , Combate 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Fresno, California Fresno (; ) is a city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County, California, Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley (California), Central Valley region. It covers a ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 , José Alday , Decision (split) , Combate 24 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 ,

Andre Ewell Andre Eugene Ewell (born January 21, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist. He competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He also competed for Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES MMA) and is a former ...

, KO (punch) , KOTC: Energetic Pursuit , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:44 ,

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County, California, United States, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, it lies ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Chris Dempsey , Submission (armbar) , ExciteFight: Conquest of the Cage , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:19 ,

Airway Heights, Washington Airway Heights is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, just west of Spokane. It is part of the Spokane metropolitan area and had a population of 10,757 at the 2020 census. The city's name was taken from its close proximity to the ...

, Washington , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Steve Swanson , Submission (guillotine choke) , Combate Americas 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:34 ,

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, 6–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , Combate Americas 9 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 2:24 ,

Verona, New York Verona (called ''Te-o-na-ta-le'', "''pine forest''" by the Haudenosaunee The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenos ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Saul Elizondo , TKO (punches) , Combate 7 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:07 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 , Joey Ruquet , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 2 , , align=Center, 2 , align=center, 4:06 ,

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Mauricio Diaz , Decision (unanimous) , Combate Americas: Road to the Championship 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–1 , Sean Cantor , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 2014 Monster Energy Cup , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:39 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 , Dylan Atkinson , TKO (punches) , CageSport 25 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:12 ,

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Kasey White , Decision (unanimous) , CageSport 24 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Jorey Taylor , TKO (punches) , CageSport 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 ,

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Gustavo Living people 1989 births American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Mixed martial artists from Washington (state) American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers People from Wapato, Washington