Claudio Puelles

Claudio Puelles is a 29-year-old Peruvian lightweight and submission specialist competing in the UFC. He turned professional in 2013 and fought primarily in Peru before earning his shot on The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America 3 in 2016, where he made it to the finale. His official UFC debut came that November, and although he lost to Martin Bravo, Puelles quickly recovered, stringing together submission victories over Felipe Silva, Chris Gruetzemacher, and Clay Guida. Two of those wins earned him Performance of the Night bonuses, establishing him as one of the promotion's most dangerous grapplers, especially with the kneebar - he holds three of them in the UFC, tied for the most in promotion history.

Puelles' career hit a wall at UFC 281 in November 2022 when he faced Dan Hooker, then riding high as a dangerous prospect. Hooker dropped Puelles with a front kick to the body in the second round and finished him via TKO. The loss was not only a defeat but a mental hurdle; Puelles has since admitted it took him a long time to recover psychologically from that setback. An extended layoff, a broken hand sustained in a split-decision loss to Fares Ziam in February 2024, and limited fighting opportunities left him sidelined for nearly three years, hearing criticism and doubting himself.

Now back in action, Puelles presents as a grappler pure and simple. He controls fights from top position, lands nearly 40% of his strikes from the mat, and hunts leg locks with surgical precision. However, his losses against strikers like Hooker and recent split-decision defeats to Ziam and Joaquim Silva have exposed a vulnerability: when opponents stuff his takedowns and dictate the pace standing, his lack of elite striking output can leave judges' scorecards in doubt. At 29, with a 13-5 record and five UFC fights under his belt since 2016, Puelles is fighting to snap a two-fight losing streak and prove that the gap between him and the division's upper tier is closeable.