Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico

Ultimate Warrior Challenge Mexico (UWC Mexico) is a Mexican mixed martial arts promotion based in Tijuana, Baja California. The company was founded in 2009, making it one of the longest-running in the country.^[1][2]

Ultimate Warrior Challenge México

Company type	Private
Industry	Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded	2009; 16 years ago (2009)
Founder	Alejandro Islas
Headquarters	Tijuana, Baja California , Mexico
Website	uwc.com.mx

As the longest-running MMA company in the country, UWC has produced names such as Gabriel Benítez, Raul Rosas Jr.,^[3] Brandon Moreno, Henry Briones, among others.^[4]

History

Founded in 2009, UWC Mexico held its first event on February 28th at the Tijuana Municipal Auditorium, titled UWC: Baja California vs. California, featuring talent from the Baja California Peninsula and Southern California.^[5][6]

On May 30th, 2009, at the UWC: Furia Cachanilla event, the inaugural UWC champion was revealed. In the main event, Akbarh Arreola defeated Adam Lehman in 49 seconds to become the company's welterweight champion.^[7] The aforementioned event also marked the first time a women's fight took place in the history of Mexican MMA. There, Margarita De La Cruz Ramírez and Cristina Marks, making their professional debut, faced off in a close fight, with Ramírez winning by submission in the first round.^[8]

In 2015, shortly after UWC Mexico 14, the promotion discontinued its sporting activities for unknown reasons, causing its fighters to move to other national promotions such as Xtreme Fighters Latino; some of them would later sign with LUX Fight League. Four years passed before UWC returned, with UWC Mexico 20: Legacy held on August 24, 2019.^[9][10]

In 2021, UWC announced an exclusive multi-year streaming agreement with UFC Fight Pass.^[11] In January 2024, UWC CEO Alejandro Islas announced the renewal of contract with them.^[12]

Current champions

Division	Upper weight limit	Champion	Since	Title Defenses
Heavyweight	120 kg (264.6 lb)	Jesús Navarrete	July 3, 2020 (UWC 22)	1
Middleweight	84 kg (185.2 lb)	Nayib López	July 28, 2024 (UWC 54)	0
Welterweight	77 kg (169.8 lb)	Adrián Oviedo	February 25, 2024 (UWC 51)	0
Lightweight	70 kg (154.3 lb)	Adriano Nunes	July 28, 2023 (UWC 46)	0
Featherweight	66 kg (145.5 lb)	Dorian Ramos	October 28, 2022 (UWC 39)	3
Bantamweight	61 kg (134.5 lb)	Adrián Luna Martinetti	February 25, 2024 (UWC 51)	1
Flyweight	57 kg (125.7 lb)	Braián González	February 24, 2023 (UWC 41)	4
Women's Strawweight	52 kg (114.6 lb)	Vacant	/	-

UWC Mexico title history

Men's Heavyweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Jesús Navarrete def. Eliezer Ortega	UWC Mexico 22 Tijuana, Mexico	Jul 3, 2020		1. def. Enrique Lara at UWC Mexico 24 on Nov 24, 2020

Men's Middleweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Gary Padilla def. David Mariscal	UWC Mexico 9 Tijuana, Mexico	Mar 25, 2011	?
Padilla vacated the title.
2	Antonio Gordillo def. Ricardo Chávez Villaseñor	UWC Mexico 45 Tijuana, Mexico	Jul 2, 2023	392	1. def. Victor de Paula at UWC Mexico 48 on Sept 23, 2023
3	Nayib López	UWC Mexico 34 Tijuana, Mexico	Jul 28, 2024

Men's Welterweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Akbarh Arreola def. Adam Lehman	UWC Mexico 2 Tijuana, Mexico	May 30, 2009	?	1. def. Matt Lagler at UWC Mexico 6 on Apr 24, 2010 2. def. Jorge López at UWC Mexico 8 on Oct 16, 2010
Arreola vacated the title.
2	Jesús Sánchez def. Christopher Ortega	UWC Mexico 11 Tijuana, Mexico	Oct 1, 2011	1113	1. def. Christopher Ortega at UWC Mexico 13 on Mar 2, 2013
3	Iván Castillo	UWC & EVT: Sánchez vs. Castillo Tijuana, Mexico	Oct 18, 2014	?
During Castillo's reign, the title was deactivated due to the promotion's temporary closure.
4	Iván Castillo (2) def. Leonardo Blasco	UWC Mexico 26 Tijuana, Mexico	Apr 30, 2021	?
Castillo vacated the title.
5	Adrián Oviedo def. Carlos Camargo	UWC Mexico 51 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 25, 2024

Men's Lightweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	David Mariscal def. Miguel Pardinas	UWC Mexico 3 Tijuana, Mexico	Jul 18, 2009	?	1. def. Leobardo López Caloca at UWC Mexico 4 on Nov 29, 2009
Mariscal vacated the title and it was later deactivated due to the temporary closure of the promotion.
2	Akbarh Arreola def. Gammaliel Escarrega	UWC Mexico 20 Tijuana, Mexico	Aug 24, 2019	?
Arreola vacated the title.
3	Edgar Escarrega def. Fabian Quintanar	UWC Mexico 21 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 29, 2020	?
Escarrega vacated the title.
4	José Luis Verdugo def. Carlos Cañada	UWC Mexico 24 Tijuana, Mexico	Nov 13, 2020	?	1. def. Alexander Barahona at UWC Mexico 26 on Apr 30, 2021
Verdugo vacated the title.
5	Pablo Sabori def. Ángel Rodríguez	UWC Mexico 33 Tijuana, Mexico	Apr 29, 2022	?	1. def. Alberto Sánchez at UWC Mexico 40 on Nov 25, 2022
Sabori vacated the title.
6	Adriano Nunes def. Marco Antonio Elpidio	UWC Mexico 46 Tijuana, Mexico	Jul 28, 2023

Men's Featherweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Antonio Duarte def. Rafael Salomão	UWC Mexico 3 Tijuana, Mexico	Jul 18, 2009	?	1. def. Juan Manuel Torres at UWC Mexico 4 on Nov 28, 2009
Duarte vacated the title.
2	Gabriel Benítez def. Manuel Ramos Gallareta	UWC Mexico 5 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 13, 2010	?	1. def. Raúl Bellereza at UWC Mexico 9 on Mar 25, 2011 2. def. Jorge Alberto Bustamante at UWC Mexico 12 on Mar 24, 2012
During Benítez's reign, the title was deactivated due to the promotion's temporary closure.
3	Luis Meraz def. Miguel Enrique Torres	UWC Mexico 21 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 29, 2020	1000
4	Dorian Ramos	UWC Mexico 39 Tijuana, Mexico	Oct 28, 2022		1. def. Mauricio Eguiluz at UWC Mexico 41 on Feb 24, 2023 2. def. José Peñaloza at UWC Mexico 43 on Apr 28, 2023 3. def. Esteban Sedano at UWC Mexico 52 on Apr 7, 2024

Men's Bantamweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Alex Soto def. Rafael Salomão	UWC Mexico 6 Tijuana, Mexico	Apr 24, 2010	?	1. def. Brady Harrison at UWC Mexico 9 on Mar 25, 2011
Soto vacated the title.
2	Walel Watson def. Ismael León	UWC Mexico 10 Tijuana, Mexico	Jun 25, 2011	?
Watson vacated the title.
3	Antonio Barajas def. Brady Harrison	UWC Mexico 13 Tijuana, Mexico	Mar 2, 2013	?
Barajas vacated the title.
4	Antonio Duarte def. Marcos Beristain	UWC & EVT: Duarte vs. Beristaín Tijuana, Mexico	May 17, 2014	?
During Duarte's reign, the title was deactivated due to the promotion's temporary closure.
5	Antonio Duarte (2) def. Erik Radleim	UWC Mexico 20 Tijuana, Mexico	Aug 29, 2019	?
Duarte vacated the title.
6	Christian Quiñónez def. Donny Matos	UWC Mexico 25 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 26, 2021	?
Quiñónez vacated the title.
7	Adrián Luna Martinetti def. Brandon Uruchurtu	UWC Mexico 31 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 25, 2022	?	1. def. Juan Campos at UWC Mexico 35 on Jun 24, 2022 2. def. Donny Matos at UWC Mexico 42 on Mar 31, 2023
Luna Martinetti vacated the title.
8	Mahatma García def. Juan Pablo González	UWC Mexico 50 Tijuana, Mexico	Nov 24, 2023	93
9	Adrián Luna Martinetti (2)	UWC Mexico 51 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 25, 2024

Men's Flyweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Iván López def. Kevin Amador	UWC & EVT: Duarte vs. Beristaín Tijuana, Mexico	May 17, 2014	1930
2	Antoine Hidrio	UWC Mexico 20 Tijuana, Mexico	Aug 29, 2019	184
3	Jesús Santos Aguilar	UWC Mexico 21 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 29, 2020	607	1. def. Edgar Chairez at UWC Mexico 23 on Sept 4, 2020
Aguilar vacated the title.
4	Sóslenis Carvalho def. Paulino Siller	UWC Mexico 29 Tijuana, Mexico	Oct 1, 2021	238
5	João Camilo	UWC Mexico 34 Tijuana, Mexico	May 27, 2022	273
6	Braián González	UWC Mexico 41 Tijuana, Mexico	Feb 24, 2023

Women's Strawweight Championship

No.	Name	Event	Date	Reign (total)	Defenses
1	Yazmin Jauregui def. Annely Jiménez García	UWC Mexico 24 Tijuana, Mexico	Nov 13, 2020	272
Jauregui vacated the title.

List of events

#	Event	Date	Venue	Location
58	UWC México 57: Villegas vs. Zapien	June 29, 2025	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
57	UWC México 56: Leyva vs. Chavez	April 6, 2025	Auditorio Municipal de Tijuana	Tijuana, Mexico
56	UWC México 55: Lavado vs. Muñoz	February 23, 2025	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
55	UWC México 54: Gordillo vs. López	July 28, 2024	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
54	UWC México 53: Elías vs. Meza	May 19, 2024	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
53	UWC México 52: Ramos vs. Sedano	April 7, 2024	Zonkeys Arena	Tijuana, Mexico
52	UWC México 51: García vs. Luna	February 25, 2024	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
51	UWC México 50: González vs. García	November 24, 2023	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
50	UWC México 49: Oviedo vs. Zadruzynski	October 27, 2023	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
49	UWC México 48: Gordillo vs. De Paula	September 29, 2023	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
48	UWC México 47: El Hazoume vs. Ramos	August 25, 2023	Auditorio Municipal	Tijuana, Mexico
47	UWC México 46: Elpidio vs. Nunes	July 28, 2023	Auditorio Municipal	Tijuana, Mexico
46	UWC México 45: Chávez vs. Gordillo 2	July 2, 2023	Auditorio Municipal	Tijuana, Mexico
45	UWC México 44: Prototipo vs. El Rey	May 26, 2023	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
44	UWC México 43: Ramos vs. Peñaloza	April 28, 2023	Auditorio Municipal	Tijuana, Mexico
43	UWC México 42: Luna vs. Matos	March 31, 2023	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
42	UWC México 41: Mascarado vs. Prototipo	February 24, 2023	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
41	UWC México 40: Sabori vs. Sánchez	November 25, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
40	UWC México 39: Meráz vs. Ramos	October 28, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
39	UWC México 38: Neto vs. Barez	September 30, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
38	UWC México 37: Sánchez vs. Granados	August 26, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
37	UWC México 36: Díaz vs. García	July 29, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
36	UWC México 35: Luna vs. Campos	June 24, 2022	El Foro	Tijuana, Mexico
35	UWC México 34: Carvalho vs. Camilo	May 27, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
34	UWC México 33: Sabori vs. Rodríguez	April 29, 2022	El Foro	Tijuana, Mexico
33	UWC México 32: Sánchez vs. Valencia	March 25, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
32	UWC México 31: Luna vs. Uruchurtu	February 25, 2022	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
31	UWC México 30: Leyva vs. Galera	November 26, 2021	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
30	UWC México 29: Meráz vs. Rivero	October 1, 2021	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
29	UWC México 28: Luna vs. Benitez	August 13, 2021	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
28	UWC México 27: Torres vs. Canada	June 11, 2021	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
27	UWC México 26: Verdugo vs. Barahona	April 30, 2021	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
26	UWC México 25: Quinóñez vs. Matos	February 26, 2021	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
25	UWC México 24: Friday The 13th	November 13, 2020	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
24	UWC México 23: Supremacy	September 4, 2020	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
23	UWC México 22: Total War	July 3, 2020	Entram Gym	Tijuana, Mexico
22	UWC México 21: Bloody Valentine Part Deux	February 29, 2020	Auditorio Municipal	Tijuana, Mexico
21	UWC México: New Blood 3	October 23, 2019	Colegio de Ingenieros Civiles (CICTAC)	Tijuana, Mexico
20	UWC México 20: Legacy	August 24, 2019	Auditorio Municipal	Tijuana, Mexico
19	UWC México 14: Bravo vs. Suruy	June 27, 2015	ONIXEUS	Tijuana, Mexico
18	UWC & EVT: Sánchez vs. Castillo	October 18, 2014	ONIXEUS	Tijuana, Mexico
17	UWC & EVT: Duarte vs. Beristaín	May 17, 2014	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
16	UWC México: New Blood 2	April 28, 2013	ONIXEUS	Tijuana, Mexico
15	UWC México: Benítez vs. Oropeza	March 2, 2013	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
14	UWC México 12: Never Tap	March 24, 2012	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
13	UWC México: New Blood 1	January 29, 2012	Score Sports Bar	Tijuana, Mexico
12	UWC México 11: Born Again	October 1, 2011	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
11	UWC México 10: To the Edge	June 25, 2011	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
10	UWC México 9.5: Iguana	April 30, 2011	Restaurante Iguana Rana	Tijuana, Mexico
9	UWC México 9: They're Back	March 25, 2011	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
8	UWC México 8: Mexican Championships	October 16, 2010	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
7	UWC México 7: Evolution	June 26, 2010	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
6	UWC México 6: Hecho en México	April 24, 2010	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
5	UWC México 5: Bloody Valentine	February 13, 2010	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
4	UWC México 4: Renacimiento	November 28, 2009	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
3	UWC México 3: Tijuana vs. Brazil	July 18, 2009	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
2	UWC México 2: Furia Cachanilla	May 30, 2009	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico
1	UWC México 1: Baja California vs. California	February 28, 2009	Auditorio Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno	Tijuana, Mexico