Javier "Javy" Ayala (born August 22, 1988) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

division. A professional competitor since 2011, he has competed for Bellator and Tachi Palace Fights.

Background

Born and raised in Porterville, California, Ayala began wrestling in the seventh grade. Ayala continued with the sport at Porterville High School, where he also competed in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. running the 100-meter dash, as well as throwing the discus and shot put. Ayala began his MMA career around 12 years old.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Ayala made his professional

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

debut in 2011 and compiled a record of 5-3, while competing on the regional circuit in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

for promotions such as Tachi Palace Fights.

Bellator MMA

Ayala signed a three-fight contract with Bellator and made his promotional debut at Bellator 102 in Visalia, California on October 4, 2013, against Thiago dos Santos. Ayala won in an upset, knocking out the Brazilian fighter with a series of punches as the first round ended, causing referee John McCarthy to call off the fight. After the fight, Ayala's contract was updated to six fights and he faced off against Eric Prindle at

Bellator 111 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 ...

on March 7, 2014. Ayala won via TKO due to a doctor stoppage in the third round, after dominating the first two rounds. Ayala faced undefeated Raphael Butler on September 19, 2014, at Bellator 125. He won the fight via submission in the first round. Ayala faced Alex Huddleston at Bellator 139 on June 26, 2015. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. Ayala faced Carl Seumanutafa at Bellator 148 on January 29, 2016. He lost the fight via TKO in the second round. Ayala returned to face Roy Boughton at Bellator 156 on June 17, 2016. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. In his highest profile bout to date, Ayala faced Sergei Kharitonov at Bellator 163 on November 4, 2016. Despite being a significant underdog, Ayala won the fight via knockout just sixteen seconds into the first round. Ayala faced debuting heavyweight Roy Nelson at Bellator 183 on September 23, 2017. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Ayala faced Cheick Kongo at Bellator 199 on May 12 in San Jose, CA. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. In his highest profile match to date, Ayala faced former UFC Heavyweight champion Frank Mir at Bellator 212 on December 14, 2018. After being taken down and controlled on the ground in the first round, Ayala rallied in the second round to win via TKO after Mir tapped to punches. Ayala was to face former Bellator Heavyweight champion Vitaly Minakov at Bellator 225 on August 24, 2019. However, on the day of the fight, it was announced that Ayala was pulled from the fight by the Connecticut Boxing Commission due to an undisclosed medical reason and was replaced by Tim Johnson. Ayala was rescheduled to meet Minakov at Bellator 232 on October 26, 2019. However, Minakov was unable to obtain visa for the bout, leading to Ayala being pulled from the card also. Ayala faced Valentin Moldavsky at Bellator 239 on February 21, 2020. After being taken down and dominated on the ground, he lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Personal life

Ayala is married and has two children. He is the cousin of former UFC Bantamweight fighter Joe Soto.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

** Tied (with Tyrell Fortune) for most stoppage wins in Bellator heavyweight division history (six)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–8 , Valentin Moldavsky , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 239 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–7 , Frank Mir , TKO (submission to punches) , Bellator 212 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:30 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–7 , Cheick Kongo , KO (punches) , Bellator 199 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:29 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–6 , Roy Nelson , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 183 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–5 , Sergei Kharitonov , KO (punch) , Bellator 163 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:16 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–5 , Roy Boughton , TKO (punches) , Bellator 156 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:02 ,

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, 8–5 , Carl Seumanutafa , TKO (punches) , Bellator 148 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:46 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–4 , Alex Huddleston , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 139 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:12 , Mulvane, Kansas, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–3 , Raphael Butler , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 125 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:03 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 , Eric Prindle , TKO (doctor stoppage) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:05 , Thackerville, Oklahoma, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–3 , Thiago dos Santos , KO (punches) , Bellator 102 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 , Visalia, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 5–3 , Carl Seumanutafa , TKO (punches) , DH: Dragon House 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Mike Cook , Submission (rear-naked choke) , TWC 16: The Condemned , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:34 , Porterville, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Freddie Aquitania , Decision (split) , TPF 15: Collision Course , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–1 , Brandon Cash , KO (punch) , UPC Unlimited: Up and Comers 12: Turning Point , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 , Coarsegold, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , C.J. Leveque , Submission (kneebar) , CCFC: The Return , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Freddie Aquitania , Decision (split) , TPF 11: Redemption , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Lemoore, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Ray Castaneda , TKO (punches) , TWC 11: Inferno , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:33 , Porterville, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Gary LaFranchi , TKO (submission to punches) , TWC 10: Beatdown , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:41 , Porterville, California, United States ,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Javy Living people 1988 births American male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists from California Sportspeople from Porterville, California Porterville High School alumni