Miguel Baeza (born August 23, 1992) is an American 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 the ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC).

Background

Baeza was born in

Davie, Florida Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately north of Miami. The town's population was 110,320 at the 2020 census. Davie is a principal town of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,198,782. ...

to a Puerto Rican family. Baeza grew up a boxing fan, and he lists

Félix Trinidad Félix Juan Trinidad García (born January 10, 1973), popularly known as "Tito" Trinidad, is a Puerto Rican former professional boxer who competed from 1990 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes and is said to b ...

as one of his all-time favorites. Baeza first dabbled in mixed martial arts in 2011 as an amateur, compiling a record of 4–0 before turning professional in 2015. Baeza holds a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt.

Mixed martial arts career

Dana White's Contender Series

After going 6–0 on the regional circuit, Baeza was invited to compete on Dana White's Contender Series 18. He faced Victor Reyna and won the bout via unanimous decision, a victory that earned him a UFC contract.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Baeza made his UFC debut at

UFC Fight Night 161 ''UFC Fight Night: Joanna vs. Waterson'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 161'' or '' UFC on ESPN+ 19'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 12, 2019 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, F ...

on October 12, 2019, facing Hector Aldana. Baeza was victorious via second-round technical knockout. Baeza then faced veteran Matt Brown on May 16, 2020, at UFC on ESPN 8. Baeza rallied back after being dropped in the first round, finishing Brown via technical knockout in the second round. This win earned Baeza his first ''Performance of the Night'' award. Baeza was set to face

Mickey Gall Mickey Gall (born January 22, 1992) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Early life Gall was born in Green Brook, New Jersey. He began training in boxin ...

UFC Fight Night 178 ''UFC Fight Night: Covington vs. Woodley'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 178'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 36'' and ''UFC Vegas 11'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on September 19, 2020 at th ...

. However, on September 11, Gall pulled out due to an injury. He was replaced by Jeremiah Wells. On September 17, it was announced that the bout was canceled due to undisclosed reasons. Baeza faced

Takashi Sato is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional since 2013, he currently competes in the Welterweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life Born to a Japanese father and Taiwanese mother, Sato grew up in Shinjuku ...

on November 28, 2020, 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 ...

. He won via second round arm-triangle choke, thus earning his first career win by submission. He earned a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus for the win. Baeza faced

Santiago Ponzinibbio Santiago Ponzinibbio (born September 26, 1986) is an Argentine mixed martial artist competing as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background He was born in Argentina to parents of Italian heritage, with paternal grandpa ...

on June 5, 2021, at UFC Fight Night: Rozenstruik vs. Sakai. He lost the back-and-forth fight via unanimous decision. This bout earned him the'' Fight of the Night'' award. Baeza faced

Khaos Williams Kalinn "Khaos" Williams (born March 30, 1994) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Williams got his first taste of knockouts in 2008 when he floored anoth ...

on November 13, 2021, at

UFC Fight Night 197 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 Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round three. Baeza was scheduled to face

Dhiego Lima Dhiego Lima (born January 31, 1989) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who competed in the welterweight division of the UFC. Mixed martial arts career Lima was born and spent his early childhood in the Brazilian city of Goiânia and b ...

on April 16, 2022, at UFC on ESPN: Luque vs. Muhammad 2. However, Lima announced his retirement from competition in MMA in early February 2022 and was subsequently replaced by

André Fialho André Fialho Mensurado (born April 7, 1994) is a Portuguese mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the former UAE Warriors champion and has also competed for the PFL, ...

. Baeza lost the fight via technical knockout in round one.

Championships and accomplishments

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(Two times) ** Fight of the Night (One Time) *

MMAjunkie.com MMA Junkie is a news website that covers the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA). It was founded in 2006, and is owned by Gannett Company since 2011. The site and its content have been featured in ''Time'' magazine'', ''ESPN The Magazine'', ''The N ...

**2021 June Fight of the Month vs.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

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Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

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Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Matthew Colquhoun , KO , XFN 22 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

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Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baeza, Miguel 1992 births Living people American male mixed martial artists American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent People from Davie, Florida Mixed martial artists from Florida Welterweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida