Roger Huerta

Roger Huerta (born May 20, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the lightweight division. He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Bellator Fighting Championships and later ONE Championship. The adversity of his childhood and early years, including his parents leaving him in two foreign countries, once during the Salvadoran Civil War, have been the subject of several publications.

Early life Huerta had an arduous childhood with life continuing to be difficult throughout his teen years. Despite adversity, he has overcome many challenges, ultimately living what has been described as a "life that Hollywood producers make movies about".

Born in Los Angeles, California on May 20, 1983 to Lydia, a Salvadoran, and Rogelio Huerta, a Mexican, he spent the first six years of his life in Dallas, Texas. He had a happy childhood until his father became heavily involved in drugs and alcohol and began an affair with another woman that led to a separation with Lydia.

Huerta's mother became physically abusive following her separation from Rogelio, and when Huerta came to school with bruises covering his body, Child Protective Services intervened, placing him in a foster home for a short time. For one of the first times in his life he found himself in a stable environment and became quite popular in school and joined many of the school's sports teams including football and wrestling. Ashford coached Huerta and with the help of Ramirez, aided him in applying for a collegiate wrestling scholarship. Huerta attended and graduated from Augsburg University based in Minneapolis, Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in business management, and at one point, resided in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Huerta worked for a time as a bouncer and construction worker.

Career In Huerta's pre-UFC career, his first loss came as a result of a dislocated jaw early in the finals of the SuperBrawl 36 tournament against Ryan Schultz on June 18, 2004, his third match of the day.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Huerta was originally slated to make his UFC debut against Hermes Franca at UFC 61, but was forced to withdraw from the fight as the result of an elbow injury. He won his first six fights in the UFC, the first at UFC 63 against Jason Dent, which was declared Fight of the Night.

His next fight was against UFC newcomer John Halverson at UFC 67. The fight ended by TKO after 19 seconds of round one after Huerta landed a knee to the shoulder/head area of a grounded Halverson, knocking him down and finishing him with punches. The end of the bout was controversial as knees to the head of grounded opponents are illegal under UFC rules. It was later shown in a replay that Huerta's knee was actually to the shoulder rather than to the head.

Next he fought in a three-round war with Leonard Garcia at UFC 69. winning via unanimous decision. This fight earned him another Fight of the Night award. After the fight, in May 2007, Huerta became the first mixed martial artist to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine, for a story on the rising popularity of mixed martial arts.

Huerta won his next two fights against Doug Evans and Alberto Crane. He then faced Clay Guida in the 2007's The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale. Huerta was visibly frustrated at losing in the grappling exchanges from Guida's wrestling offensive, spending a large part of the bout on his back fending off "ground and pound" from his opponent. Late in the second round, Huerta was stunned by a punch to the face while trying to get to his feet, but managed to survive until the end of the round. Early in the third round, Huerta looked to engage Guida on his feet, connecting with a knee to the face while attempting a kick Guida. After a brief flurry, Huerta took his back and submitted Guida by rear naked choke very late in the fight for an impressive come-from-behind win. This fight earned him another Fight of the Night award.

Huerta then lost his next fight by unanimous decision at UFC 87 against Kenny Florian.On January 9, 2009, Huerta announced an indefinite hiatus from MMA to further pursue opportunities in acting. In order to complete his UFC contract, After a back-and-forth fight, he would end up losing a split decision in his bout against Maynard.

Bellator Fighting Championships Despite having previously announced on his personal Twitter account that he was in talks with Strikeforce, Huerta eventually signed with Bellator Fighting Championships. He was one of eight men to compete in the second season lightweight tournament, with the winner receiving a title shot against Eddie Alvarez.

His first fight in the tournament took place at Bellator 13. Huerta defeated opponent Chad Hinton via submission (kneebar) at 0:56 of the third round.

His second fight in the tournament took place at Bellator 17. Huerta lost the semi-final to Pat Curran by a controversial unanimous decision (29-28 from all three judges).

However, on August 12 it was announced that Huerta would be fighting Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, after Curran had to pull out of the fight due to a slap tear in his right shoulder. The Lightweight belt was not on the line when the two met on October 21, 2010 at Bellator 33 in Philadelphia. He lost the fight via doctor stoppage at the end of the 2nd round.

Post-Bellator Huerta fought against War Machine in a welterweight bout in the main event of Ultimate Warrior Fighting 1. Huerta lost the fight via TKO after he suffered a fractured rib during the final scramble in the third round where he rolled out of War Machine's submission armbar attempts to claim side control. From there, War Machine escaped from Huerta's side mount to directly take full mount with ease. Machine then rained down punches for the referee stoppage at three minutes and nine seconds.

ONE Championship Huerta signed with the Asian-based promotion ONE Championship in 2012. He was scheduled to fight Phil Baroni in a welterweight bout at ONE FC: Destiny of Warriors on June 23 but Baroni was pulled from the fight after suffering a TKO loss in a fight 3 weeks before the event. Huerta instead fought Zorobabel Moreira at the event, and was defeated via KO (soccer kick) in the second round.

After two years away from the sport, Huerta returned to One FC on August 29, 2014. He faced undefeated Christian Holley at ONE FC: Reign of Champions and won the fight via TKO in the first round.

Bellator return After seven-and-a-half years away from the promotion, Huerta re-signed with Bellator MMA for one fight in 2018. He faced Benson Henderson in the main event at Bellator 196 on April 6, 2018. Huerta lost the bout via submission in the second round.

Subsequently, in May 2018, Huerta signed a new, multi-fight contract with Bellator.

Huerta faced Patricky Freire on September 21, 2018 at Bellator 205. He lost the fight via knockout in the second round.

Huerta faced Sidney Outlaw at Bellator 234 on November 14, 2019. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Huerta faced Chris Gonzalez at Bellator 255 on April 2, 2021. He lost the bout after tapping due to strikes in the third round.

On April 19, 2021, it was announced that Huerta was released by Bellator.

Professional Fighters League Huerta would next fight fellow UFC veteran Robert Whiteford at PFL Europe 3 on September 28, 2024. He would lose the fight via unanimous decision.

Training Huerta trained for his UFC fight against Kenny Florian with Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting. For his Bellator debut, he spent time in Thailand and put together a training camp with MMA fighters such as Yves Edwards (UFC), Shad Lierley (Bellator), Jared Hess (Bellator), Dave Menne, and Jeff Clark out of the Phil Cardella / Relson Gracie Academy in Austin, Texas.

Film Huerta made his acting debut as Miguel Caballero Rojo in the live action motion picture Tekken. He also starred alongside Kimbo Slice, Frank Mir, and Heath Herring in Circle of Pain, a 2010 direct-to-video film.

Personal life Huerta previously dated actress Laura Prepon from 2008 to 2009.

In August 2010, Huerta engaged in a street fight outside of a bar at approximately 2 A.M. CST in Austin, Texas. Video footage provided by TMZ shows a man alleged to be Huerta is seen exchanging words with and defending himself against a man, Rashad Bobino, a former Texas Longhorns linebacker, who had just assaulted a woman.

Championships and accomplishments Ultimate Fighting Championship Fight of the Night (Three times) UFC.com Awards 2007: Fight of the Year vs. Clay Guida, Ranked #3 Submission of the Year , Ranked #8 Fight of the Year & Ranked #8 Fighter of the Year International Sport Karate Association ISKA MMA Welterweight Championship (One time) International Fighting Championship IFC World Lightweight Championship (One time) FIGHT! Magazine 2007 Fight of the Year

Mixed martial arts record Loss

Rob Whiteford Decision (unanimous) PFL Europe 3 (2024)

Glasgow, Scotland Loss

Chris Gonzalez TKO (submission to punches) Bellator 255

Uncasville, Connecticut, United States Loss

Sidney Outlaw Decision (unanimous) Bellator 234

Tel Aviv, Israel Loss

Patricky Pitbull KO (punch) Bellator 205

Boise, Idaho, United States Loss

Benson Henderson Submission (guillotine choke) Bellator 196

Budapest, Hungary Win

Hayder Hassan DQ (elbows to back of head) Phoenix FC 4

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Win

Adrian Pang Decision (split) ONE: Defending Honor

Kallang, Singapore Loss

Ariel Sexton TKO (submission to punches) ONE: Dynasty of Champions 6

Anhui, China Loss

Koji Ando Decision (unanimous) ONE: Odyssey of Champions

Jakarta, Indonesia Win

Christian Holley TKO (knees and punches) ONE FC: Reign of Champions

Dubai, United Arab Emirates Loss

Zorobabel Moreira KO (soccer kick) ONE FC: Destiny of Warriors

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Loss

War Machine TKO (punches) Ultimate Warrior Fighting 1

Pharr, Texas, United States Loss

Eddie Alvarez TKO (doctor stoppage) Bellator 33

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Loss

Pat Curran Decision (unanimous) Bellator 17

Boston, Massachusetts, United States Win

Chad Hinton Submission (kneebar) Bellator 13

Hollywood, Florida, United States Loss

Gray Maynard Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States Loss

Kenny Florian Decision (unanimous) UFC 87

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Win

Clay Guida Submission (rear-naked choke) The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Alberto Crane TKO (punches) UFC 74

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Doug Evans TKO (punches) The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Leonard Garcia Decision (unanimous) UFC 69

Houston, Texas, United States Win

John Halverson TKO (punches) UFC 67

Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Win

Jason Dent Decision (unanimous) UFC 63

Anaheim, California, United States Win

Joe Camacho TKO (punches) Raze MMA: Fight Night

San Diego, California, United States Win

Dan Swift TKO (punches) Extreme Challenge 66

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Lee King Submission (rear-naked choke) IFC: Rumble on the Rio 2

Texas, United States Win

Matt Wiman Decision (unanimous) Freestyle FC 15

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Brad Blackburn TKO (corner stoppage) IFC: Rock N' Rumble

Texas, United States NC

Melvin Guillard NC (result overturned by commission)

Win

Kenny Jerrell TKO (punches)

Win

Steve Kinnison Submission (rear-naked choke)

Win

Naoyuki Kotani TKO (punches) XFO 4

Lakemoor, Illinois, United States Win

Jake Short Submission (rear-naked choke) Extreme Challenge 60

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Matt Brady TKO (punches) Extreme Challenge 59

Medina, Minnesota, United States Loss

Ryan Schultz TKO (jaw injury)

Win

Mike Aina Decision (split)

Win

Harris Sarmiento TKO (punches)

Draw

Joe Jordan Draw Extreme Challenge 56

Medina, Minnesota, United States Win

Jeff Carlson DQ (headbutt)

Win

Shane Lavafor TKO (punches)