Quick Facts
Biography
Matthew Lopez (born (1987-12-21) December 21, 1987 ) is an American mixed martial artist and he currently competes in bantamweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
Background
Lopez was born in Safford, Arizona, United States. Lopez's father was the kid wrestling coach at Safford and he started training wrestling when he was young. He competed in wrestling in college at Arizona State University and Cal State Fullerton. After his collegiate wrestling career was over, he moved to MMA after seeing some of the wrestlers did well in MMA competitions.
Mixed martial arts career
Prior to Ultimate Fighting Championship
Lopez competed most of his fights in King of the Cage (KOTC) and Resurrection Fighting Alliance (RFA) MMA promotions prior joining UFC.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
On Dana White Looking for a Fight (Season 1 Ep.6) web series show at Sioux Falls, Dana was impressed with Lopez's performance and signed Lopez into UFC.
Lopez made his promotional debut against Rani Yahya on July 13, 2016 at UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker. He lost the fight via submission (arm-triangle choke) in the third round.
On his second appearance in UFC, Lopez faced Mitch Gagnon on December 10, 2016 at UFC 206. After three rounds, judges awarded the win to Lopez with the scores of (29-28, 29-28, 29-27).
On June 3, 2017, Lopez faced Johnny Eduardo at UFC 212. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. On the post fight interview, Lopez thought referee Mario Yamasaki was biased and believed Yamasaki should have stopped the fight much earlier.
Lopez is expected to face Raphael Assunção on November 11, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 120.
Personal life
The journey from wrestling to fighting in UFC was a tough one. Lopez was broke during his college years and forced to stay in a house without water and electricity for some time as he could not afford to pay the rent.
Mixed martial arts record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 11 matches | 10 wins | 1 loss |
| By knockout | 4 | 0 |
| By submission | 4 | 1 |
| By decision | 2 | 0 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 10-1 | Johnny Eduardo | TKO (punches) | UFC 212 | 000000002017-06-03-0000June 3, 2017 | 1 | 2:57 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |
| Win | 9-1 | Mitch Gagnon | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 206 | 000000002016-12-10-0000December 10, 2016 | 3 | 5:00 | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
| Loss | 8-1 | Rani Yahya | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | UFC Fight Night: McDonald vs. Lineker | 000000002016-07-13-0000July 13, 2016 | 3 | 4:19 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 8-0 | Eli Finn | Submission (elbows and punches) | RFA 37 | 000000002016-04-15-0000April 15, 2016 | 1 | 3:15 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 7-0 | Justin Linn | Submission (face lock) | RFA 31 | 000000002015-10-09-0000October 9, 2015 | 1 | 2:16 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 6-0 | Kevin Clark | Submission (rear-naked choke) | RFA 29 | 000000002015-08-21-0000August 21, 2015 | 1 | 0:36 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 5-0 | Devin Turner | Submission (rear-naked choke) | RFA 25 | 000000002015-04-10-0000April 10, 2015 | 1 | 2:46 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | |
| Win | 4-0 | John Robles | TKO (punches) | RFA 21 | 000000002014-12-05-0000December 5, 2014 | 1 | 1:35 | Costa Mesa, California, United States | |
| Win | 3-0 | Miguelito Marti | TKO (punches) | Gladiator Challenge: Iron Fist | 000000002014-06-28-0000June 28, 2014 | 1 | 1:13 | San Jacinto, California, United States | |
| Win | 2-0 | Sammy Silva | Decision (unanimous) | KOTC: Heated Fury | 000000002013-07-20-0000July 20, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States | |
| Win | 1-0 | Imani Jackson | TKO (punches) | KOTC: World Championships | 000000002013-05-25-0000May 25, 2013 | 1 | 4:05 | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States |