Julio Arce (born October 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 ...

. He was the former Ring of Combat bantamweight and featherweight champion. He also won the Golden Gloves 2011 Championship. Arce competed 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 in 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 ...

Background

Arce was born in Florida but moved to

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

as a child, returning stateside around the age of ten. He graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo High School and got his

associate degree An associate degree or associate's degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of academic qualification above a high school diploma and below a bachelor's degree ...

in business afterwards. At fourteen and weighing 200 pounds, Arce joined Team Tiger Schulmann combat gym to lose weight. He started training, competed in kickboxing, and won the New York Golden Gloves championship in 2011 in boxing prior to transitioning to MMA in 2012.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Arce started his professional MMA career in 2012 and fought most of his fights in Ring of Combat promotion and he was the bantamweight and featherweight champion. He amassed a record of 8–1 before signed by UFC.

Dana White's Contender Series

Arce appeared in Dana White's Contender Series 5 web series program. He faced Peter Petties and won the fight via technical knockout. Even with the win, Arce was not awarded a UFC contract at that event. However, he was later signed by the UFC on short notice to replace an injured

Charles Rosa Charles Rosa (born August 24, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. A professional since 2012, he is most notable for his time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background ...

UFC 220 ''UFC 220: Miocic vs. Ngannou'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on January 20, 2018, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship bout between curren ...

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Arce made his UFC debut on January 20, 2018, against

Dan Ige Daniel Alexander Ige ( ; born August 6, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional since 2014, he has also competed for ...

, replacing an injured

. He won the fight via unanimous decision with the scoreboard of (30-27, 30–27, 29–28). His next fight came on June 1, 2018, at UFC Fight Night 131 against

Daniel Teymur Daniel Teymur (born February 3, 1988) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist in the lightweight (MMA), lightweight division. He was the Nordic champion in Thai boxing and he competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background ...

. He won the fight via a rear-naked choke in the third round. Arce faced

Sheymon Moraes Sheymon da Silva Moraes (born October 11, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Featherweight division. A professional mixed martial artist since 2012, Moraes has also competed in the UFC and Professional Fighters ...

on November 3, 2018, at UFC 230. He lost the fight via split decision. Arce faced

Julian Erosa Julian Ricardo Dulican Erosa (born July 31, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Erosa is also a former CageSport Featherweight and Lightweight Champ ...

on May 18, 2019, at

UFC Fight Night 152 ''UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 152'' or ''UFC on ESPN+ 10'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on May 18, 2019 at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, Ne ...

. He won the fight via knockout in the third round. Arce faced

Hakeem Dawodu Hakeem Tyrone Dawodu (born July 2, 1991) is a Canadian mixed martial artist who competed in the Featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He also competed for the World Series of Fighting. Early life Dawodu was born in Calgar ...

on November 2, 2019, at

UFC 244 ''UFC 244: Masvidal vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 2, 2019, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. It was the UFC's 5 ...

. He lost the fight by a split decision. Arce was expected to face Timur Valiev on a bantamweight bout on February 6, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 184 ''UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Volkov'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 184'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 42'' and ''UFC Vegas 18'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 6, 2021 at the UF ...

. However, Arce was removed from the event in late January due to undisclosed reasons and replaced by Martin Day. Arce faced

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 ...

on July 24, 2021, at UFC on ESPN: Sandhagen vs. Dillashaw. He won in the second round via technical knockout. Arce faced

Song Yadong Song Yadong (; born December 2, 1997) is a Chinese professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 6, 2025, he is #5 in the UFC bantamweight rankings. ...

on November 13, 2021, at UFC Fight Night 197. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two. As the first fight of his new four-fight contract, Arce faced Daniel Santos on April 9, 2022, at UFC 273. At the weigh-ins, Arce weighed in at 136.5 pounds, half a pound over the bantamweight non-title fight limit. The bout proceed at a catchweight and he will forfeit 20% of his purse which will go to his opponent Daniel Santos. He won the bout via unanimous decision. Arce faced

Montel Jackson Montel Samuel Jackson (born April 24, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of May 6, 2025, he is #14 in the ...

on November 12, 2022, at

UFC 281 ''UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Middle ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Arce was scheduled to face

Cody Garbrandt Cody Ray Allen Garbrandt (born July 7, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Bantamweight Champion. Backg ...

on March 4, 2023, at UFC 285. However, Arce withdrew in late January due to a knee injury and was replaced by

Trevin Jones Trevin Jones (born August 4, 1990) is a Guamanian mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.(UFC) Background Jones started his MMA career when he first enrolled in an amateur fi ...

. Arce faced Herbert Burns on March 30, 2024, at UFC on ESPN 54. At the weigh ins, Arce weighed in at 147.25 pounds, one and a quarter pounds over the featherweight non-title fight limit. His bout proceeded at catchweight and he was fined 20 percent of his purse which went to his opponent Burns. Arce won the fight via technical knockout in round two.

Global Fight League

On January 24, 2025, it was announced that Arce had parted ways with the UFC and signed with the Global Fight League. However, in April 2025, it was reported that all GFL events were cancelled indefinitely.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

*Ring of Combat **Ring of Combat Bantamweight Champion (one time; former) ***Three successful title defenses **Right of Combat Featherweight Champion (one time; former) ***Two successful title defenses

Boxing

*Golden Gloves **Golden Gloves 2011 Champion

Personal life

Arce is a head instructor at the Tiger Schulmann’s Bayside location in

Queens, NY Queens is the largest by area of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn and by Nassau County to ...

Mixed martial arts record

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Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

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New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

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Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

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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 ...

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Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

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Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

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Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Tim Dooling , Decision (unanimous) , ROC 59 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Francisco Isata , Submission (rear-naked choke) , CFFC 60 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:16 ,

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Brian Kelleher Brian Matthew Kelleher (born August 19, 1986) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Kelleher competed in the Bantamweight (MMA), Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor from ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arce, Julio 1995 births Living people American male mixed martial artists Bantamweight mixed martial artists Lightweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists from Florida Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male boxers Boxers from Florida American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Martial artists from Miami American sportspeople of Colombian descent 21st-century American sportsmen

Background

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Dana White's Contender Series

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Global Fight League

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Boxing

Personal life

Mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links