Juan Archuleta (born September 13, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist 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 ...

divisions of

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 ...

and

Rizin Fighting Federation Rizin Fighting Federation (stylised in all caps and also known as Rizin FF) is a Japanese mixed martial arts organization created in 2015 by the former Pride Fighting Championships and Dream Stage Entertainment president Nobuyuki Sakakibara. ...

, where in the latter promotion, he is the former Rizin Bantamweight Champion. A professional MMA competitor since 2013, he has also previously fought for

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 the

World Series of Fighting The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promot ...

. Archuleta is also a former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion.

Background

Archuleta was born in

Hesperia, California Hesperia () is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. It is located north of downtown San Bernardino in Victor Valley and surrounded by the Mojave Desert. Because of its relatively high elevation and the unique and moderat ...

, and is of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and Mexican descent. Archuleta's background is in

folkstyle wrestling Collegiate wrestling, commonly referred to as folkstyle wrestling, is the form of amateur wrestling, wrestling practiced at the Tertiary education, post-secondary level in the United States. This style of wrestling is also practiced at the Secon ...

. In high school, he was a state championship qualifier at Sultana High School. He moved on to

Sacramento City College Sacramento City College (SCC) is a public community college in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. It is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community ...

where he became a junior college All-American, and finally he transferred to

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

where he wrestled at the NCAA Division I level. In January 2021, he was promoted to purple belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by his teacher Philipe Furão.

Mixed martial arts career

King of the Cage

After going 12–1 on the regional circuit, Archuleta then began fighting for the

promotion. In his first fight with the promotion, Archuleta claimed the KOTC featherweight title when he finished former UFC fighter Chris Tickle in the second round via technical knockout. Archuleta also went on to become KOTC bantamweight, lightweight, and light welterweight champion.

Bellator MMA

After a successful run in King of the Cage, Archuleta signed with

. He made his promotional debut at Bellator 195 against William Joplin. He won the bout via unanimous decision. His next bout came against Robbie Peralta at Bellator 201 on June 29, 2018. He won the bout via knockout in the third round. Archuleta next faced Jeremy Spoon at Bellator 210 on November 30, 2018. He won via unanimous decision. Archuleta's next bout took place on January 26, 2019, against Ricky Bandejas at Bellator 214. He won via unanimous decision. In his next bout, Archuleta faced former Bellator Bantamweight World Champion Eduardo Dantas at Bellator 222 on June 14, 2019. Archuleta was victorious via knockout at 4:59 of round 2. For his next fight, Archuleta entered the Bellator Featherweight World Grand Prix and in the opening round, he received a

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, ...

title shot against champion

Patrício Freire Patricio in Spanish, or Patrício in Portuguese, is a male given name equivalent to Patrick in English. The Spanish name is pronounced with the stress on the same first i as Portuguese, but an accent is not needed because this follows normal ru ...

at Bellator 228 on September 28, 2019. He lost via unanimous decision. Archuleta then faced Henry Corrales at Bellator 238 on January 25, 2020. He was victorious via unanimous decision.

Bellator MMA Bantamweight World Champion

Archuleta returned to the bantamweight division to face Patchy Mix for the vacant Bellator Bantamweight World Championship on September 12, 2020, at Bellator 246. He won the bout via unanimous decision to become Bellator Bantamweight world champion. Archuleta made his first title defense against Sergio Pettis at Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021. He lost the bout and the title via unanimous decision.

Bellator Bantamweight World Grand Prix

Archuleta, replacing the injured Sergio Pettis, faced Raufeon Stots for the Interim Bellator Bantamweight World Championship on April 23, 2022, at Bellator 279. Archuleta lost the bout after getting knocked out by a head kick and then finished on the ground with elbows at the beginning of the third round.

Post Grand Prix; Rizin FF

Archuleta faced Enrique Barzola on October 1, 2022, at Bellator 286. At weigh ins, the bout was moved to a catchweight of 141 pounds. In a fast paced bout, Archuleta won the bout via unanimous decision. Archuleta faced former Road FC and ONE Championship Bantamweight Champion Soo Chul Kim at

Bellator MMA vs. Rizin ''Bellator MMA vs. Rizin FF'' and ''Rizin 40'' (also known as '' Bellator MMA x Rizin 1'') was a mixed martial arts event being co-promoted by Bellator MMA and the Rizin Fighting Federation that took place on December 31, 2022, at the Saitama Supe ...

on December 31, 2022. In a close back and forth bout, Archuleta came out of it with a split decision victory. Archuleta was booked to face

Naoki Inoue Naoki Inoue (; born 14 June 1997) is a Japanese mixed martial artist competing in the bantamweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation, where he is the current Rizin Bantamweight champion. A professional mixed martial artist since 2014, Ino ...

at Rizin 42 on May 6, 2023. He won the fight by unanimous decision.

Rizin Bantamweight World Champion

Archuleta was next expected to face former Rizin Bantamweight Champion

Kai Asakura is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in Rizin Fighting Federation, where he was the Rizin Bantamweight Champion. A professional si ...

for the vacant Rizin Bantamweight Championship as part of the Bellator MMA x Rizin 2 card on July 30, 2023. However on July 18 it was announced that Asakura withdrew due to injury and was replaced by Hiromasa Ougikubo. Archuleta won the bout via unanimous decision. For his first title defense, Archuleta faced

on December 31, 2023, at Rizin 45. At the weigh-ins, Archuleta weighed in at 140.65 pounds, 5.65 pounds over the limit. As a result, Archuleta was stripped of the title and only Asakura was eligible to win it. Archuleta lost the bout via TKO in the second round. In his next bout, Archuleta faced former Rizin Featherweight Champion

Kleber Koike Erbst is a Brazilian-born Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation, where he is the current Rizin Featherweight Champion. He has also competed in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), where is ...

in a featherweight bout at Rizin 47 on June 9, 2024. He lost the bout via an inverted heel hook submission in the first round. Archuleta faced Razhabali Shaydullaev at Rizin 48 on September 29, 2024, and lost the bout via armbar submission in the first round.

Personal life

After being deemed academically ineligible to continue wrestling at

, Archuleta succumbed to alcohol addiction and crime. He eventually served a prison stint prior to becoming a mixed martial artist.

Championships and awards

** Bellator Bantamweight World Championship (One time) *

** RIZIN Bantamweight Championship (One time) *

** KOTC Lightweight Championship (One time) ** KOTC Featherweight Championship (One time) ***Three successful title defenses ** KOTC Bantamweight Championship (One time) ** KOTC Light Welterweight Championship (One time) *California Fight League **CFL Featherweight Championship (One time) *Tru-Form Entertainment **TFE Featherweight Championship (One time) *Gladiator Challenge **GC Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Archuleta, Juan 1987 births Living people American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American male mixed martial artists American mixed martial artists of Mexican descent American people of Spanish descent Bellator MMA champions Rizin Fighting Federation champions Bantamweight mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People from Tulare County, California Mixed martial artists from California Bellator male fighters American male sport wrestlers Purdue Boilermakers wrestlers