Inspired by his brother's death, Cleburne's Jesus Lopez chases UFC dreams
Mar. 18—Cleburne's Jesus "Chuy" Lopez has always been a fighter. But it wasn't until the past couple of years that he realized fighting was his God-given talent, and now Lopez is out to make a name for himself in the world of mixed martial arts.
Through his first three appearances, Lopez boasts a 3-0 record and has worked his way to a flyweight championship bout April 7 as part of Xtreme Knockout Fight Night 60 at Texas Live! in Arlington.
Lopez, a 2017 Cleburne High School graduate, said it was his late brother, Felipe Lopez, who encouraged him to give MMA a shot.
"Right before my brother passed away, I got into a fight with my neighbor," Lopez said. "Throughout my whole life, I would get into fights. But I would only fight when I had to fight. One time my brother was popping off and he told me that my fighting is a talent and I should give fighting in MMA a try because we need to use our talents and try to accomplish our dreams."
Lopez, 24, tried balancing a job to make money while also working out to begin his fighting career, but when his brother passed away in June 2021 in a plane crash, that tragedy inspired him to put everything he had into his fighting.
"At first, I focused on my training for like a month and just ran out of money," Lopez said. "So I went and got a job and worked out of town. I was making some good money. I thought, I'm going to work out on the side while I'm making money and hopefully save enough money to train full time.
"But then my brother passed away a month after that. And that kind of make me realize that no one is promised tomorrow. So I quit my job and everything. I quit working to follow my dream and right now I'm 3-0 and I have a title shot. We all have a talent from God and once we find it, it's kind of like a diamond in the rough."
Unlike many in the sport of MMA, Lopez didn't grow up with a background in boxing or martial arts. He grew up playing soccer but that was it.
"Every time they announce opponents, they say if you have a wrestling background or boxing background or stuff like that," Lopez said. "My only background is soccer."
And for someone with no real fighting or boxing background, Lopez is a natural in MMA, according to his coach, Douglas Frey, who has been around the profession for many years.
Frey's wife, Jinh Yu Frey, competes in the UFC's strawweight division, and before she was signed to the UFC she was a three-time Atomweight World Champion for Invicta FC, the premiere all-female MMA league. Frey has coached in the UFC every year since 2016 and before he became a coach, he was a fighter himself.
"I began wrestling in 1998 as a freshman in high school, then in 2005 began training MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Muay Thai," Frey said. "I went on to have a professional fighting career and even scored 13 first-round finishes during my tenure in the sport. Chuy jokes that he's out to beat my record and he's going for 14 first-round finishes. So far, he's got two. We'll see!"
Frey has been working with Lopez the past 18 months, and he considers Lopez to be a unique fighter — and a showman.
"Chuy is what I refer to as an outlier when it comes to learning and then being able to apply movements and maneuvers quickly in live scenarios," Frey said. "He is also very creative, especially in the grappling department. He has already begun developing his own take on certain techniques.
"Even more impressive is on fight nights, he has no anxiety or nervous energy. He's as cool as they come — like he's been doing it his whole life. And he's a showman. The crowd absolutely loves him."
To reach his 3-0 record, Lopez squared off against established and experienced opponents.
"My first opponent had four or five years of experience, my second opponent had eight or nine years of experience and my third opponent had 15 years of experience," Lopez said. "My first opponent, I got him in a rear naked choke in the first 50 seconds of the first round. My second fight, I won through TKO at 2:50 of the second round. And in my third fight, I won 1:07 in the first round where I rear naked choked him. The guy I just beat was a national champ in the martial arts of sombo, which is a big thing."
Lopez' opponent in the upcoming title bout, Jesus Chavez, boasts a 3-0 record and is also a relative newcomer in the ranks.
"You really don't get a lot of information from the amateur fight level," Lopez said. "When you're a pro, you have film and stuff to break down. But you pretty much just go into the fight blind and you just adjust to the moment."
Lopez trains four times a day Monday through Friday and then works in his mother's food truck on the weekends.
Coming away victorious vs. Chavez on April 7 would be a big accomplishment for Lopez, but he says it's just one step in his goal.
"Winning would give me the belt, of course, but my goal and dream is to be a champion in UFC, so to me this is a step I have to take," he said. "It would be a good accomplishment but it would mostly be for the people that believe in me. It would be proof that I can actually do it. I know my goal is a UFC belt, so this is a stepping stone I got to do to get there."
Lopez said he could turn pro right now but he's not rushing into that part of his career yet.
"As of right now, I can turn pro and go into the contender series, but I want more experience so that's the only thing holding me back in a way," he said. "I also love being in this fighting environment right now. I'm not trying to rush it for the money.
"This is like a dream coming true. This is my talent."
Lopez said his brother's death not only inspired him to chase his dreams in MMA, but also to be a better person.
"To me, I was the type of person that I didn't really care about anybody," said Lopez, who has his brother's face tattooed on his chest. "It's not like I went out of my way to be mean, but I just didn't care. The type of person my brother was, he was a caring person and was always checking in on people and went out of his way to help others.
"That's the type of person I am now. It's like my brother is living through me. Everyone who knew me back then but talks to me now, they say it's like they're talking to my brother now. I'm a different Chuy now. Now it's like my brother living through me."
Lopez added that his brother's advice to chase his dreams is what inspires him to grind every day.
"You can see it through my fights and everything I do how much I miss him," Lopez said. "When you love someone so much, you're always going to miss them and have that empty spot there no matter how much success you have. But I think about him every day. He's actually the reason why I wake up and fight for my dreams."
Similar to how Felipe Lopez felt strong support from Cleburne when he competed on "Tengo Talento, Mucho Talento," a Latino musical competition reality TV show, Chuy Lopez said he also is appreciative to come from a supporting community.
"Cleburne has been a big impact for me and my family," he said. "It was only our family of five in the U.S. before my brother passed away. We didn't have any close family here. For Cleburne to be so loving and make such an impact on me and my family has meant a lot. Of course, one day I hope I can make it big and give back to Cleburne for being such a big support and impact for us."
For someone with an extensive background and knowledge in multiple fighting genres and leagues, Frey said he believes Lopez has what it takes to make it big.
"The sky is the limit," Frey said. "So long as his body holds up to the grueling lifestyle of being an MMA fighter, I have no doubts that he'll eventually make it to one of the big shows."
If anyone is interested in sponsoring Lopez, he can be reached by email at chuydhclopez6969@gmail.com.
Tickets to the Xtreme Knockout Fight Night 60 on April 7 at Texas Live! are available at www.eventbrite.com/e/520409126707/?discount=JesusLopez.
