Érik Pérez
Érik Gregorio Pérez Ruvalcaba (born November 19, 1989) is a Mexican mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division of the Bellator MMA promotion. A professional competitor since 2008, he has competed for Shark Fights, BAMMA, UFC and Combate Americas. Personal life. Érik Pérez was born in México. Pérez grew from a family of sportsmen; his older brother Jorge Pérez is a professional boxer, while his brothers Iván Pérez, and Jair Pérez both are fellow mixed martial artists. Érik, Iván, and Jair all three fought together in Combate Americas. Mixed martial arts career. Ultimate Fighting Championship. Upon  his permanent move to United States, Érik Pérez established a full-time training camp at Jackson's MMA in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Érik Pérez is managed by VFD Sports Marketing Pérez faced John Albert on June 1, 2012 at replacing Byron Bloodworth who was removed from the bout. Pérez won the fight via controversial armbar submission as Albert did not appear to verbally submit or tap out but the fight was stopped by referee Kim Winslow. Pérez next faced Ken Stone on August 11, 2012 at UFC 150. He won via first-round KO in 17 seconds. With this win , Pérez obtained the fastest Bantamweight knockout in UFC and WEC Bantamweight history, beating Damacio Page's 18-second KO over Marcos Galvao. Pérez fought Byron Bloodworth on December 29, 2012 at UFC 155. He won the fight via TKO in the first round. Pérez was expected to face Johnny Bedford on April 27, 2013 at UFC 159. However, Pérez pulled out of the bout just days before the event citing an injury and was replaced by Bryan Caraway. Pérez faced Takeya Mizugaki on August 28, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 27 He lost the fight via split decision. Pérez next  faced Edwin Figueroa at UFC 167. He won the fight via unanimous decision. Pérez faced Bryan Caraway on June 7, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 42. He lost the fight via rear-naked choke submission in the second round. Pérez was expected to face Marcus Brimage on November 15, 2014 at UFC 180. However, Pérez pulled out of the bout in mid-October citing a shoulder injury. Pérez was briefly linked to a fight with Damian Stasiak on November 21, 2015 at . However, Stasiak was removed from the bout and replaced by Taylor Lapilus. He won the fight by unanimous  decision. Pérez next faced Francisco Rivera on July 30, 2016 at UFC 201. He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Pérez faced Felipe Arantes on November 5, 2016 at . He was awarded a split decision victory. Perez signed with Combate Americas on October 31, 2017 after fighting out his contract with the UFC. Combate Americas. After being released by the UFC, finishing his contract and not being resigned by the promotion, Erik signed a multi-fight exclusive contract with Combate Americas. On March 15, it was announced that Pérez would be fighting against top-ranked fighter in  Texas, David "DJ" Fuentes. The fight took place on April 20, and Erik won the fight by knockout. Pérez was expected to headline Combate Americas Mexico vs. USA against John Castañeda on October 13, 2018, but the bout was postponed to a later date because Castaneda caught staph infection. Pérez then headlined Combate Americas Combate Monterrey on November 17, 2018 against Andres Ayala. He won the fight via rear-naked choke in the first round. Bellator MMA. Following a two-fight stint at Combate Americas, Pérez signed a multi-fight deal with Bellator MMA. Pérez made his promotional debut against  Toby Misech at Bellator 236 on December 20, 2019. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round. Pérez faced Josh Hill at Bellator 244 on August 21, 2020. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. Pérez was expected to face Brian Moore at Bellator 258 on May 7, 2021. However, Moore tested positive for COVID and pulled out of the bout. He was replaced by Blaine Shutt. Pérez won the bout via unanimous decision. Pérez was scheduled to face Brett Johns on October 16, 2021 at Bellator 268. However on October 5, it was announced that Perez was  injured and the bout was scrapped. Pérez, replacing Jared Scoggins, was scheduled to face Cee Jay Hamilton on April 22, 2022 at Bellator 278. Pérez in turn pulled out of the bout and Hamilton was not debooked, instead being paid his show money, despite not weighing in or fighting.