Antonio Banuelos

Juan Antonio Banuelos (born September 23, 1979) is an American former mixed martial artist who competed in the Bantamweight division.

Mixed martial arts career Banuelos made his professional mixed martial arts debut in June 2001, knocking out Daniel Garlets at IFC Warriors Challenge 13. Following the impressive win, Banuelos would compile a record of 3–1 before signing with World Extreme Cagefighting in 2002.

World Extreme Cagefighting Banuelos is perhaps best known for being a longtime competitor for World Extreme Cagefighting, making his debut at WEC 5: Halloween Havoc. He fought a record 14 times under the promotion, compiling a record of 9–5. His 9 WEC wins are also a promotional record, which he shares with Urijah Faber and Poppies Martinez.

Banuelos was defeated by Eddie Wineland for the first ever WEC Bantamweight Championship at WEC 20.

After the Wineland bout, Banuelos defeated Cole Escovedo, Mike French and Justin Robbins while dropping contests against Charlie Valencia and a controversial decision to Manny Tapia at WEC 32.

Banuelos defeated Scott Jorgensen via split decision at WEC 41 in a fight that many, including WEC general manager Reed Harris has speculated is a candidate for fight of the year.

Banuelos improved to 8–4 in the WEC after defeating Kenji Osawa via unanimous decision on November 18, 2009, at WEC 44.

Banuelos was scheduled to face Damacio Page on April 24, 2010, at WEC 48, but Page was forced off the card with an injury. Banuelos instead faced Jorgensen in a rematch of their bout from WEC 41 which Banuelos won via split decision. Banuelos lost the rematch by unanimous decision.

Banuelos faced Chad George on September 30, 2010, at WEC 51. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Ultimate Fighting Championship On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.

Banuelos made his promotional debut against the former WEC Bantamweight Champion Miguel Torres on February 5, 2011, at UFC 126. Banuelos struggled with the height and reach advantage of Torres and was unable to mount any significant offense until the latter half of the final round. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Legacy Fighting Championship After going 2–1 outside of the UFC, Banuelos signed with Texas based promotion Legacy FC. He faced Josh Sampo in his flyweight debut at Legacy FC 14 on September 14, 2012. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

In his second fight within the promotion, Banuelos faced Rafael de Freitas at Legacy FC 18 on March 1, 2013. After three hard fought rounds, the bout was ruled a split draw. Banuelos faced Alptekin Ozkilic at Legacy FC 20 on May 31, 2013. He lost the fight via first round TKO, dropping his third straight fight in the process.

Championships and accomplishments World Extreme Cagefighting WEC North American Bantamweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Joby Sanchez TKO (corner stoppage) Tachi Palace Fights 20

Lemoore, California, United States Loss

Alp Ozkilic TKO (punches) Legacy Fighting Championship 20

Corpus Christi, Texas, United States Draw

Rafael De Freitas Draw (split) Legacy Fighting Championship 18

Houston, Texas, United States Loss

Joshua Sampo Decision (unanimous) Legacy Fighting Championships 14

Houston, Texas, United States Loss

Bibiano Fernandes TKO (punches)

Win

Masakazu Imanari Decision (split)

Win

Hideo Tokoro Decision (split) Dream 17

Saitama, Japan Loss

Miguel Torres Decision (unanimous) UFC 126

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Chad George Decision (unanimous) WEC 51

Broomfield, Colorado, United States Loss

Scott Jorgensen Decision (unanimous) WEC 48

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Kenji Osawa Decision (unanimous) WEC 44

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Scott Jorgensen Decision (split) WEC 41

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Bryan Goldsby KO (punch) PFC 10: Explosive

Lemoore, California, United States Loss

Manny Tapia Decision (split) WEC 32: Condit vs. Prater

Rio Rancho, New Mexico, United States Win

Justin Robbins Decision (unanimous) WEC 29

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Loss

Charlie Valencia KO (punch) WEC 26: Condit vs. Alessio

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Mike French Decision (unanimous) WEC 25

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Cole Escovedo Decision (unanimous) WEC 23: Hot August Fights

Lemoore, California, United States Loss

Eddie Wineland KO (head kick and punches) WEC 20: Cinco de Mayhem

Lemoore, California, United States Win

James Cottrell Decision (unanimous) WEC 19: Undisputed

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Kimihito Nonaka TKO (punches) FFCF 5: Unleashed

Mangilao, Guam Win

Justin Tavernini Decision (unanimous) Ultimate Cage Wars 3

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Win

Ed Tomaselli TKO (cut) WEC 17

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Mike Lindquist Submission (rear naked choke) WEC 14

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Brandon Shuey TKO (punches) SF 6: Battleground in Reno

Reno, Nevada, United States Win

Yobie Song TKO (cut) Rumble on the Rock 4

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Jim Kikuchi Decision (unanimous) Rumble on the Rock 2

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Loss

Jeff Bedard Submission (guillotine choke) WEC 5: Halloween Havoc

Lemoore, California, United States Win

Steve Hecht Decision (unanimous) UAGF 1: Ultimate Cage Fighting 1

Los Angeles, California, United States Loss

Stephen Palling Submission (triangle choke) Warriors Quest 2: Battle of Champions

Honolulu, Hawaii, United States Win

Brian Peterson KO IFC Warriors Challenge 14

Fresno, California, United States Win

Daniel Garlets TKO (punches) IFC Warriors Challenge 13

Oroville, California, United States