Andrew Alirez

Andrew Michael Alirez (born August 19, 2000) is an American mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. He competes at Bantamweight in MMA and 65 kilograms in wrestling.

Alirez was a four-time CHSAA champion in high school wrestling. He was a NCAA Champion in collegiate wrestling (2023). At the national level, Alirez was a two-time champion in freestyle. Internationally, he was a winner of the Poland Open (2023).

Career

Wrestling

2015–2019 Alirez attended Greeley Central High School, where he was a four-time state champion, multiple-time US freestyle All-American and a U20 Pan American champion.

The top-recruit in the country, Alirez committed to the University of Northern Colorado.

2019–2020 At the beginning of the year, Alirez recorded a fourth-place finish at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in freestyle, with a notable win over two-time NCAA champion Dean Heil . Back to folkstyle, Alirez, a true freshman, took first at the Northern Colorado and the Cowboy Open tournaments, as well as second at the Southern Scuffle, during regular season.

After a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, it was announced that the NCAA National Championships had been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting his season short to end it with a 23–4 record.

2020–2021 Before the season, Alirez claimed the US National Championship at 65 kilograms in freestyle, recording wins over US Open runner-up Joseph McKenna and veteran Evan Henderson. Back to folkstyle, Alirez went 4–0 during the season before surrendering to an injury, but still qualified for the NCAA tournament.

2021–2022 After dropping down from 149 to 141 pounds, Alirez placed second and third respectively at the CKLV Invitational and the Southern Scuffle during regular season. Alirez then claimed his first Big 12 Championship title with wins over highly ranked wrestlers, but fell short of All-American honors at the NCAA National Championships, ending his season with a 24–5 record.

2022–2023 During regular season, Alirez compiled an undefeated record and racked up titles from the Cougar Clash Invite and the Southern Scuffle. He then earned his second-straight Big 12 Championship before the National tournament.

At the NCAA tournament, Alirez became the first NCAA Division I National champion in UNC's history, with hard-fought wins over Lachlan McNeil from North Carolina, Beau Bartlett from Penn State and Real Woods from University of Iowa, to close out an undefeated season with 28 wins and no losses. After the season, he was named the Big 12 Wrestler of the Year, and was a Dan Hodge Trophy finalist.

In July, Alirez went back to freestyle to compete at the Poland Open, where he notably took out three-time World Champion Haji Aliyev in the first round to advance and defeat All-American Josh Finesilver, and lastly, took a forfeit over Mikyay Naim to claim the title.

In September, Alirez announced he would be using an Olympic redshirt for the 2023–2024 season. On December, Alirez became a two-time US National champion in freestyle with wins over All-Americans Beau Bartlett and Austin DeSanto, and US Open champion Alec Pantaleo, qualifying for the 2024 US Olympic Team Trials.

2024 In April, Alirez competed at the US Olympic Team Trials, where after defeating NCAA finalist Beau Bartlett, he fell to US National champion and top-seeded Nick Lee in a tight loss, and subsequently forfeited out of the tournament. In June, he fell to fellow NCAA champion Jesse Mendez at Beat the Streets.

2026 Alirez debuted for Real American Freestyle at RAF 06 on February 28, 2026, defeating Bryce Meredith by technical fall.

He defeated Jaydin Eierman by decision at RAF 10 on June 13, 2026.

Mixed martial arts

In April 2026, Alirez announced that he would not attempt qualifying for the 2028 Summer Olympics in wrestling, and would instead pursue a career in mixed martial arts.

Alirez won his mixed martial arts debut at Sparta Sports and Entertainment's AVM 17 event on April 25, 2026, defeating Bruce Martin by technical knockout.

Mixed martial arts record Win

Bruce Martin TKO (punches) Sparta: Army vs. Marines 17

Loveland, Colorado, United States Freestyle record

Res. Record Opponent Score Date Event Location Win 19–4

Win 18–4

Loss 17–4

Loss

Loss 17–3

Win 17–2

Win 16–2

Fort Worth, Texas Win 15–2

Win 14–2

Win 13–2

Win

Warsaw, Poland Win 12–2

Win 11–2

Win 10–2

Coralville, Iowa Win 9–2

Win 8–2

Win 7–2

Win 6–2

Win 5–2

Loss 4–2

Colorado Springs, Colorado Win 4–1

Win 3–1

Win 2–1

Loss 1–1

Win 1–0

NCAA stats Season Year School Rank Weigh Class Record Win Bonus 2025 Senior

9 (DNP)

17-3 85.00% 55.00% 2024 Olympic RS 2023 Senior 1 (1st)

28–0 100.00% 71.43% 2022 Junior 13 (DNP) 23–5 82.14% 35.71% 2021 Sophomore 6 (DNQ)

4–0 100.00% 75.00% 2020 Freshman 11 23–4 85.19% 55.56%