Jesse Juarez

Jesse Juarez (born May 8, 1981) is an American former mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Juarez has also formerly competed for Absolute Championship Berkut, Strikeforce, Bellator MMA, Maximum Fighting Championship, and Shark Fights. He holds a win at Welterweight over former UFC Middleweight champion Robert Whittaker.

Background Originally from Torrance, California, Juarez is of French, Italian, and Tongan descent. Juarez attended North Torrance High School where he competed in wrestling, football, and track and field, earning NHSCA High School All-American honors for wrestling after being the California state runner-up. Juarez later continued his wrestling career at Golden West College where he was a JUCO All-American and California JC state champion before transferring to Montana State University-Northern. Juarez was a two-time NAIA All-American and was a 2005 NAIA National Champion at Montana State University-Northern. Juarez had been introduced to mixed martial arts while wrestling in high school and later transitioned into mixed martial arts after college.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career Juarez started his professional career in 2006. He fought mainly for California-based promotions as Strikeforce, Gladiator Challenge and Invincible.

He faced Luke Stewart on September 20, 2008, at Strikeforce: At The Mansion II. He lost via submission due to an armbar in the first round.

Bellator MMA Juarez made his promotional debut against Mikey Gomez on April 10, 2009, at Bellator 2. He won via TKO in the first round.

Juarez next faced Deray Davis on May 15, 2009, at Bellator 7–8. Once again he won via TKO in round one.

Juarez did a rematch against Mikey Gomez on June 5, 2009, at Bellator 10. He won via unanimous decision (30–27, 30–27, 30–27).

Maximum Fighting Championship and Cage Fighting Championship Juarez made his promotional debut in MFC against Joe Christopher on December 4, 2009, at MFC 23. He won via unanimous decision.

Juarez faced Nathan Gunn on February 26, 2010, at MFC 24. He won via knockout with a head kick at 11 seconds of round one.

Juarez made his promotional debut in Cage Fighting Championship against Justin Murray on April 16, 2010, at CFC 13 for the welterweight title. Juarez defeated Murray via majority decision (49–47, 48–48, 48–47) after five rounds and became the CFC welterweight title holder.

Juarez faced Douglas Lima on November 12, 2010, at MFC 27 for the MFC Welterweight Championship. He lost via submission due to a triangle armbar in the third round.

Juarez defended his CFC Welterweight Championship against Manuel Rodriguez on August 26, 2011, at CFC 18. He defeated Rodriguez via unanimous decision (50–45, 50–45, 49–47) after five rounds to retain his belt.

Juarez defended the CFC Championship against Robert Whittaker on May 18, 2012, at CFC 21. He defeated Whittaker via unanimous decision (49–46, 48–47, 48–47) after five rounds to retain the title.

Return to Bellator MMA In 2013, Juarez returned to Bellator MMA. He faced Jordan Smith on February 21, 2013, at Bellator 90. He won via split decision (30–27, 29–28, 28–29) after a hard-fought match.

Juarez faced Joe Williams on November 2, 2013, at Bellator 106. He won via submission due to a guillotine choke in the very first round.

Juarez was scheduled to face Andrey Koreshkov in the quarterfinal match of Bellator season ten welterweight tournament on March 14, 2014, at Bellator 112. However, after the removal of other tournament competitors citing injuries, the tournament line-up was shifted and Juarez instead faced Adam McDonough. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Juarez faced Ron Keslar on September 19, 2014, at Bellator 125. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Juarez was expected to face Brennan Ward at Bellator 134 on February 27, 2015. However, Ward was moved up to the main card to face Curtis Millender after Millender's opponent, Michael Page, pulled out of the fight due to a cut over his left eye. Juarez was removed from the fight card as a result.

Juarez faced Ricky Rainey at Bellator 137 on May 15, 2015. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round.

In June 2015, it was revealed that Juarez and 7 other fighters were released from the promotion.

Absolute Championship Berkut Juarez faced Beslan Isaev on May 6, 2016, at ACB 35. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.

Championships and accomplishments Amateur wrestling National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics NAIA All-American (2004, 2005) NAIA National Championship 184 lb: Champion (2005) NAIA National Championship 174 lb: 5th place (2004) NAIA North Region Championship 174 lb: Champion (2004) National High School Coaches Association NHSCA All-American (2000) NHSCA Senior Nationals 171 lb: 7th place (2000)

Mixed martial arts Cage Fighting Championship CFC Welterweight Championship (One time) Invincible Welterweight Championship (One time)

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Alexei Ivanov TKO (punches) League S-70: Plotforma 7th

Sochi, Krasnodar krai, Russia Catchweight (181 lbs) bout. Loss

Beslan Isaev Submission (armbar) |ACB 35: In Memory of Guram Gugenishvili

Tbilisi, Georgia Win

Frank Schuman Submission (arm triangle choke) KOTC: Title At The Torch

Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, United States Loss

Ricky Rainey KO (knee) Bellator 137

Temecula, California, United States Loss

Khusein Khaliev Submission (choke) Battle in Grozny

Grozny, Russia Win

Ron Keslar Decision (unanimous) Bellator 125

Fresno, California, United States Loss

Adam McDonough Decision (unanimous) Bellator 112

Hammond, Indiana, United States Win

Joe Williams Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 106

Long Beach, California, United States Win

Daniel McWilliams TKO (punches) BAMMA USA: Badbeat 10

Commerce, California, United States Win

Jordan Smith Decision (split) Bellator 90

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States Win

Robert Whittaker Decision (unanimous) Cage Fighting Championship 21

Sydney, Australia Loss

Leandro Silva TKO (doctor stoppage) EFWC: The Untamed 2

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Gadji Zaipulaev Submission (rear-naked choke) FEFoMP: Battle of Empires 1

Khabarovsk, Russia Win

Manuel Rodriguez Decision (unanimous) CFC 18: Juarez vs. Rodriguez

Sydney, Australia Loss

Josh Neer TKO (injury) Shark Fights 16: Neer vs. Juarez

Odessa, Texas, United States Loss

Douglas Lima Submission (triangle armbar) MFC 27

Enoch, Alberta, Canada Win

Justin Murray Decision (majority) Cage Fighting Championships 13

Southport, Queensland, Australia Win

Mauro Chimento Jr. Submission (rear-naked choke) Collision in the Cage

Irvine, California, United States Win

Nathan Gunn KO (head kick) MFC 24

Enoch, Alberta, Canada Win

Joe Christopher Decision (unanimous) MFC 23

Enoch, Alberta, Canada Win

Mikey Gomez Decision (unanimous) Bellator 10

Ontario, California, United States Win

Deray Davis TKO (punches) Bellator 7–8

Chicago, Illinois, United States Win

Mikey Gomez TKO (punches) Bellator 2

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Win

John Fleming Submission (guillotine choke) Colosseo Championship Fighting

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Win

Thomas Kenney Submission (punches) Long Beach Fight Night 3

Long Beach, California, United States Loss

Luke Stewart Submission (armbar) Strikeforce: At The Mansion II

Beverly Hills, California, United States Win

John Walsh TKO Long Beach Fight Night 1

Long Beach, California, United States Loss

Bret Bergmark Decision (unanimous) Iroquois MMA Championships 3

Iroquois, Ontario, Canada Win

Erik Meaders Submission (verbal) Invincible MMA

Ontario, California, United States Loss

Casey Ryan Submission (triangle choke) TC 25: Fight Club

San Diego, California, United States Loss

Fabio Nascimento Submission (punches) EFWC: The Untamed

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Robert Sarkozi N/A GC 69: Bad Intentions

Sacramento, California, United States Win

Jaime Fletcher Decision (unanimous) Invincible 4: It's All About the Action

Ontario, California, United States Win

Jacob Nudel Submission (armbar) Total Fighting Alliance 6

Santa Monica, California, United States Loss

Bryan Baker Submission (rear-naked choke) Chaos in the Cage 2

San Bernardino, California, United States Win

Guillermo Smith KO Extreme Full Contact 3

Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico