Jesse Juarez (born May 8, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist currently competing in the

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term ''welterweight'' was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

division of the Absolute Championship Berkut. A professional competitor since 2006, Juarez has also formerly competed for Strikeforce,

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 ...

, the MFC, and Shark Fights. He holds a win at Welterweight over former UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Background

Originally from

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

, Juarez is of French, Italian, and Tongan descent. Juarez attended North Torrance High School where he competed in

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 ...

, football, and track and field, earning High School All-American honors for wrestling after being the California state runner-up. Juarez later continued his wrestling career at Golden West College where he was a JUCO All-American and California JC state champion before transferring to Montana State University-Northern. Juarez was a two-time NAIA All-American and was a 2005 NAIA National Champion at Montana State University-Northern. Juarez had been introduced to

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 ...

while wrestling in high school and later transitioned into

after college.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Juarez started his professional career in 2006. He fought mainly for California-based promotions as Strikeforce, ''Gladiator Challenge'' and ''Invincible''. He faced Luke Stewart on September 20, 2008, at Strikeforce: At The Mansion II. He lost via submission due to an armbar in the first round.

Bellator MMA

Juarez made his promotional debut against Mikey Gomez on April 10, 2009, at Bellator 2. He won via TKO in the first round. Juarez next faced Deray Davis on May 15, 2009, at Bellator 7–8. Once again he won via TKO in round one. Juarez did a rematch against Mikey Gomez on June 5, 2009, at Bellator 10. He won via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

Maximum Fighting Championship and Cage Fighting Championship

Juarez made his promotional debut in MFC against Joe Christopher on December 4, 2009, at MFC 23. He won via unanimous decision. Juarez faced Nathan Gunn on February 26, 2010, at MFC 24. He won via knockout with a head kick at 11 seconds of round one. Juarez made his promotional debut in Cage Fighting Championship against Justin Murray on April 16, 2010, at ''CFC 13'' for the welterweight title. Juarez defeated Murray via majority decision (49–47, 48–48, 48–47) after five rounds and became the CFC welterweight title holder. Juarez faced Douglas Lima on November 12, 2010, at MFC 27 for the MFC Welterweight Championship. He lost via submission due to a triangle armbar in the third round. Juarez defended his CFC Welterweight Championship against Manuel Rodriguez on August 26, 2011, at ''CFC 18''. He defeated Rodriguez via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 49–47) after five rounds to retain his belt. Juarez defended the CFC Championship against Robert Whittaker on May 18, 2012, at ''CFC 21''. He defeated Whittaker via unanimous decision (49–46, 48–47, 48–47) after five rounds to retain the title.

Return to Bellator MMA

In 2013, Juarez returned to

. He faced Jordan Smith on February 21, 2013, at Bellator 90. He won via split decision (30–27, 29–28, 28–29) after a hard-fought match. Juarez faced Joe Williams on November 2, 2013, at Bellator 106. He won via submission due to a guillotine choke in the very first round. Juarez was scheduled to face Andrey Koreshkov in the quarterfinal match of Bellator season ten welterweight tournament on March 14, 2014, at Bellator 112. However, after the removal of other tournament competitors citing injuries, the tournament line-up was shifted and Juarez instead faced Adam McDonough. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Juarez faced Ron Keslar on September 19, 2014, at Bellator 125. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Juarez was expected to face Brennan Ward at Bellator 134 on February 27, 2015. However, Ward was moved up to the main card to face

Curtis Millender Curtis Millender (born December 1, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2013, Millender has formerly competed in Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator MMA ...

after Millender's opponent, Michael Page, pulled out of the fight due to a cut over his left eye. Juarez was removed from the fight card as a result. Juarez faced Ricky Rainey at Bellator 137 on May 15, 2015. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round. In June 2015, it was revealed that Juarez and 7 other fighters were released from the promotion.

Absolute Championship Berkut

Juarez faced Beslan Isaev on May 6, 2016, at ACB 35. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

** NAIA

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

(2004, 2005) ** NAIA National Championship 184 lb: Champion (2005) ** NAIA National Championship 174 lb: 5th place (2004) ** NAIA North Region Championship 174 lb: Champion (2004) * California Community College Athletic Association ** CCCAA State Championship 184 lb: Champion (2001) * National High School Coaches Association ** NHSCA

(2000) ** NHSCA Senior Nationals 171 lb: 7th place (2000)

Mixed martial arts

* Cage Fighting Championship ** CFC Welterweight Championship (One time) ** Two successful title defenses * Invincible ** Invincible Middleweight Championship (One time) ** Invincible Welterweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center , 23–13 , Alexei Ivanov , TKO (punches) , League S-70: Plotforma 7th , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:30 ,

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, Krasnodar krai, Russia , Catchweight (181 lbs) bout. , - , Loss , align=center , 23–12 , Beslan Isaev , Submission (armbar) , , ACB 35: In Memory of Guram Gugenishvili , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:44 ,

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, Georgia , , - , Win , align=center , 23–11 , Frank Schuman , Submission (arm triangle choke) , KOTC: Title At The Torch , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 3:47 , Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 22–11 , Ricky Rainey , KO (knee) , Bellator 137 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 1:13 , Temecula, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 22–10 , Khusein Khaliev , Submission (choke) , Battle in Grozny , , align=center , 1 , align=center , N/A ,

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, Russia , , - , Win , align=center , 22–9 , Ron Keslar , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 125 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 20–8 , Daniel McWilliams , TKO (punches) , BAMMA USA: Badbeat 10 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:24 , Commerce, California, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 19–8 , Jordan Smith , Decision (split) , Bellator 90 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, Utah, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 18–8 , Robert Whittaker , Decision (unanimous) , Cage Fighting Championship 21 , , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center , 17–8 , Leandro Silva , TKO (doctor stoppage) , EFWC: The Untamed 2 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 17–7 , Gadji Zaipulaev , Submission (rear-naked choke) , FEFoMP: Battle of Empires 1 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 2:15 , Khabarovsk, Russia , , - , Win , align=center , 16–7 , Manuel Rodriguez , Decision (unanimous) , CFC 18: Juarez vs. Rodriguez , , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5:00 , Sydney, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center , 15–7 , Josh Neer , TKO (injury) , Shark Fights 16: Neer vs. Juarez , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 15–6 , Douglas Lima , Submission (triangle armbar) , MFC 27 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 2:37 , Enoch, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center , 15–5 , Justin Murray , Decision (majority) , Cage Fighting Championships 13 , , align=center , 5 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, Australia , , - , Win , align=center , 14–5 , Mauro Chimento Jr. , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Collision in the Cage , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 1:42 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 13–5 , Nathan Gunn , KO (head kick) , MFC 24 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:11 , Enoch, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center , 12–5 , Joe Christopher , Decision (unanimous) , MFC 23 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 , Enoch, Alberta, Canada , , - , Win , align=center , 11–5 , Mikey Gomez , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 10 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 10–5 , Deray Davis , TKO (punches) , Bellator 7–8 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 4:47 , Chicago, Illinois, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 9–5 , Mikey Gomez , TKO (punches) , Bellator 2 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:23 , Uncasville, Connecticut, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 8–5 , John Fleming , Submission (guillotine choke) , Colosseo Championship Fighting , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:46 ,

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, Canada , , - , Win , align=center , 7–5 , Thomas Kenney , Submission (punches) , Long Beach Fight Night 3 , , align=center , 2 , align=center , 2:07 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 6–5 , Luke Stewart , Submission (armbar) , Strikeforce: At The Mansion II , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:55 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 6–4 , John Walsh , TKO , Long Beach Fight Night 1 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:14 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 5–4 , Bret Bergmark , Decision (unanimous) , Iroquois MMA Championships 3 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 5:00 , Iroquois, Ontario, Canada , , - , Win , align=center , 5–3 , Erik Meaders , Submission (verbal) , Invincible MMA , , align=center , 4 , align=center , 0:51 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 4–3 , Casey Ryan , Submission (triangle choke) , TC 25: Fight Club , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 2:27 , San Diego, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 4–2 , Fabio Nascimento , Submission (punches) , EFWC: The Untamed , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 4:50 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 4–1 , Robert Sarkozi , N/A , GC 69: Bad Intentions , , align=center , 1 , align=center , N/A ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 3–1 , Jaime Fletcher , Decision (unanimous) , Invincible 4: It's All About the Action , , align=center , 5 , align=center , N/A ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 2–1 , Jacob Nudel , Submission (armbar) , Total Fighting Alliance 6 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 1:02 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center , 1–1 , Bryan Baker , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Chaos in the Cage 2 , , align=center , 3 , align=center , 1:38 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center , 1–0 , Guillermo Smith , KO , Extreme Full Contact 3 , , align=center , 1 , align=center , 0:43 , Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico ,

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juarez, Jesse 1981 births Living people Montana State University–Northern alumni American male sport wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from California Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Martial artists from Torrance, California