Luis Javier Vazquez (born April 27, 1977) is a retired

Cuban-American Cuban Americans ( or ) are Americans who immigrated from or are descended from immigrants from Cuba. As of 2023, Cuban Americans were the fourth largest Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic and Latino American group in the United States aft ...

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 ...

. A professional from 1998 until 2011, he competed for the

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 ...

, WEC,

Shooto is a combat sport and mixed martial arts organization that is governed by the Shooto Association and the International Shooto Commission (ISC). Shooto was originally formed in 1985, first as a particular fighting system and then in 1989 as a ...

ShoXC ''ShoXC'' is a mixed martial arts series produced by the mixed martial arts organization EliteXC, Showtime and Proelite.com. The series was announced on July 11, 2007. The purpose of the show is to highlight up and coming MMA fighters. On Octo ...

EliteXC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States–based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decem ...

, 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 ...

. He is the former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion.

Early life

Born in

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 ...

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

, on April 27, 1977, Javier Vazquez came to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the age of four. He grew up in

El Monte, California El Monte is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles. El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically known as "The End of the San ...

, and started wrestling as a sophomore at Arroyo High School at the age of 15. In 1994, he placed 3rd at the

CIF CIF, c.i.f. or Cif may refer to: Finance * Climate Investment Funds, in international climate change agreements * Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF), a method of UK government funding for transport infrastructure * Cost, Insurance and Freight, ...

wrestling tournament and continued his stellar high school career by placing 4th in the Southern Section Masters tournament. He was just one match away from placing in the high school state wrestling championships, ending up in the top 12 in the state at 130 lbs. He was voted team captain in both his junior and senior years. Vazquez continued his wrestling career at Mt. San Antonio College where he again proved himself to be one of "the best of the best" by finishing 7th in the state and being voted team captain for his leadership on and off the mat.Javier Vazquez Biography
. URL accessed on March 21, 2010. In 1997, Vazquez started learning

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( , or ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu (both ), is a Japanese martial art and a system of close combat that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdue one or more weaponless or armed and armored opponent ...

with the renowned Carlson Gracie Team. He competed in every jiu-jitsu and submission tournament he could and eventually found himself participating in mixed martial arts (MMA). His first no-holds-barred matches were at Neutral Grounds 5 in 1998. Several more fights in smaller venues followed, and he then took time off from fighting to train and compete in jiu-jitsu. After only five years of training, he earned his black belt from the Carlson Gracie Team. In 2005, Vazquez won the North American trials for the

ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship is an international submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). ADCC is considered one of the most prestigious No-Gi submission grappling tournaments in the world ...

, but dropped out before competition due to a groin injury.

MMA career

Early career

In December 2009, Vazquez was named the "most inspirational performance of the decade" in MMA by

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

magazine for his fight against

Alberto Crane Alberto Lewis Crane (born July 14, 1976) is an American former mixed martial artist, submission grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor. He has fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and is a former King of the Cage and Ring ...

where he fought three rounds with a torn ACL. He went on to fight for

Elite XC Elite Xtreme Combat, also known as EliteXC, was a United States–based mixed martial arts (MMA) organization owned and operated by ProElite. It was founded as a partnership between Showtime Networks and ProElite and officially announced on Decem ...

and was able to break free from his contract before the company folded. He signed to fight against

LC Davis La Carvas Rashad Davis (born October 28, 1980) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Bantamweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2006, Davis has also formerly competed for the Quad Citie ...

at Affliction: Trilogy, but the event folded 10 days before the fight was supposed to take place.

World Extreme Cagefighting

Vazquez then signed with WEC and made his promotional debut against Davis at

WEC 42 ''WEC 42: Torres vs. Bowles'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on August 9, 2009, at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background Kenji Osawa was originally scheduled to face Rani Yahya at th ...

, In a major upset, Vazquez lost a controversial split decision to Davis. Vazquez rebounded quickly as he replaced an injured

Mark Hominick Mark Hominick (born July 22, 1982) is a Canadian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship where he was the inaugural Featherweight title challenger, the WEC, and Affliction. ...

against

Deividas Taurosevicius Deividas is a Lithuanian masculine given name. Individuals with the name Deividas include: * Deividas Česnauskis (born 1981), Lithuanian footballer * Deividas Dulkys (born 1988), Lithuanian basketball player * Deividas Gailius (born 1988), Lithu ...

WEC 43 ''WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on October 10, 2009, at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. Background The event was scheduled to take place on September 2, 2009, at the Co ...

but lost another split decision. Vazquez faced and defeated former

UFC Lightweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight class ...

and former WEC featherweight title challenger

Jens Pulver Jens Johnnie Pulver (born December 6, 1974) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist and undefeated boxer and kickboxer. In 2023, Pulver was inducted into the UFC hall of fame. Pulver was the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion in ...

via armbar on March 6, 2010, at

WEC 47 ''WEC 47: Bowles vs. Cruz'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on March 6, 2010. It was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio Background The only WEC event held in Ohio, WEC 47 coincided with the Arnold ...

. He defeated decorated grappler

Mackens Semerzier Mackens Semerzier (born November 3, 1980) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor from 2008 until 2012, he competed for the UFC and WEC. Background In ...

via second round submission on August 18, 2010, at

WEC 50 ''WEC 50: Cruz vs. Benavidez 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting that took place on August 18, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Background This event marked WEC's first visit to Las Vegas since WEC ...

. Vazquez was defeated by

Chad Mendes Chad Eduardo Mendes (born May 1, 1985)Archived
from th ...

via unanimous decision on November 11, 2010, at

WEC 52 ''WEC 52: Faber vs. Mizugaki'' was a mixed martial arts event held by World Extreme Cagefighting on November 11, 2010 at The Pearl at The Palms in Las Vegas. Background Urijah Faber made his bantamweight debut against Japanese striker Takeya ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In October 2010, WEC merged with 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 ( ...

(UFC). As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC. Vazquez defeated

The Ultimate Fighter 2 ''The Ultimate Fighter 2'' was the second season of the mixed martial arts reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter''. The season featured a heavyweight and a welterweight division, with 9 fighters initially in each division. The UFC coa ...

winner and former lightweight title contender

Joe Stevenson Joseph Christopher Stevenson (born June 15, 1982) is a retired American mixed martial artist fighting out of Hesperia, California. Coached by (UFC Hall of Famer) Matt Hughes, Stevenson rose to prominence by becoming The Ultimate Fighter 2 Welt ...

via unanimous decision on June 26, 2011, at

UFC on Versus 4 ''UFC Live: Kongo vs. Barry'' (also known as ''UFC on Versus 4'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 26, 2011, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny Coun ...

. On January 13, 2013, Vazquez announced on

Sherdog Sherdog is an American website devoted to the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It also has many forums and discussion pages on the many topics of MMA like records, promotions, etc. The site is a member of the CraveOnline network and provides MM ...

Radio Network's ''Rewind'' show that he has officially retired from MMA competition.

Personal life

In 2005, Vazquez married Rose Gracie, the daughter of

Rorion Gracie Rorion Gracie (; born January 10, 1952) is a Brazilian-born Gracie jiu-jitsu Grand Master, a prominent member of the Gracie family, writer, publisher, producer, lecturer, lawyer and the co-founder of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is th ...

and granddaughter of

Hélio Gracie Hélio Gracie (October 1, 1913 – January 29, 2009) was a Brazilian martial artist who together with his brothers Oswaldo, Gastao Jr, George and Carlos Gracie founded and developed the self-defense martial art system of Gracie jiu-jitsu, als ...

. They had two children together. In 2017, they subsequently filed for divorce. Vazquez was concurrently diagnosed with stage 3

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...

. After undergoing

Gerson therapy Max Gerson (October 18, 1881 – March 8, 1959) was a German-born American physician who developed the Gerson therapy, a pseudoscientific dietary-based alternative cancer treatment that he falsely claimed could cure cancer and most chronic, ...

and defeating cancer, Vazquez opened Javier Vazquez Jiu-Jitsu Academy in

Rancho Cucamonga, California Rancho Cucamonga ( ) is a city located just south of the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest in San Bernardino County, California, United States. About east of Downtown Los Angeles, Rancho Cucamonga is the List ...

. He has recently taken up cycling.

Instructor lineage

Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda →

Carlos Gracie Sr. Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist who is credited with being one of the primary developers of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Along with his younger brother Hélio Gracie and fellow students Luis França an ...

→ Carlson Gracie Sr. →

Rodrigo Medeiros Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros (born January 11, 1977) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and submission grappler. Medeiros is a two-time openweight World Jiu-Jitsu Champion. Medeiros has been a Jiu-Jitsu instructor to many notable mixed martia ...

→ Javier Vazquez

Championships and accomplishments

** KOTC Lightweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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Las Vegas 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 ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–2 , Adriano Pereira , Decision (split) , EliteXC: Destiny , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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Rob Emerson Robert Michael Emerson (born July 30, 1981) is an American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2002, Emerson is also a veteran of Bellator MMA, the UFC, Pancrase, and was a cast member of '' The Ultimate Fighter 5'' ...

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Rumina Sato (, kanji for given name: 留美奈) is a Japanese retired mixed martial artist, famous for his career in the Shooto organization. In the past he fought mostly in the 155 lb division, but he moved down to the 145 lb division. Mixed mar ...

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References

External links

Official SiteOfficial UFC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vazquez, Javier Living people 1977 births American male mixed martial artists American mixed martial artists of Cuban descent Cuban male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male sport wrestlers Cuban male sport wrestlers Amateur wrestlers American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Cuban practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Cuban emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from El Monte, California Sportspeople from Pomona, California Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters