UFC 306 or Riyadh Season Noche UFC is going to be a stage to shine on for UFC’s Mexican talent. One of the Mexican fighters who secured a spot on the coveted card is flyweight star Edgar Chairez. The 28-year-old has had a tumultuous ride in Dana White’s promotion so far, and today our attention will be all upon ‘Puro Chicali.’

A disappointing Contender Series outing, a controversial win that earned him more haters than fans (due to no fault of his own, mind you) – there are plenty of interesting little details in his backstory. We will take a stroll down Chairez’s fighting career so far while also paying homage to his roots – his ethnicity and nationality in particular.

What is Edgar Chairez’s ethnicity and nationality?

Edgar Chairez could have been a lawyer, but he chose to become a fighter. For ‘Puro Chicali,’ getting a UFC contract and fighting under their banner is the greatest achievement of his life, as he said in an interview.

The 11-5-0 flyweight star was born on 27 January 1996 in Baja California, Mexico. The professional martial artist started his journey to UFC through Dana White’s Contender series but was defeated. Fortunately, he got another chance to represent the UFC by fighting on UFC 290. In 2023 he had fought in the contender series against a tough opponent, Clayton Carpenter, and to his credit, he took the fight on short notice.

The 28-year-old UFC star was studying in the law school and we could have seen him as a lawyer. However, he dropped out and decided to become a fighter full-time. The star with an amazing 14-0 record in his amateur career, made his debut at UFC 290. However, before that, he gained notoriety for his actions at Fury FC 76.

Many critics had branded him a dirty fighter after the incident at Fury FC 76 against Gianni Vazquez. Unfortunately, it was also a refereeing blunder by Frank Collazo who did not stop the fight, even when Vazquez was choked out. Chairez just wanted to win that fight no matter what and despite getting himself into a controversy, he was glad that at least his hand was raised.  Nevertheless, the fighter was very honest, and as he was talking out his opponent, he looked at the referee and told him that his opponent had passed out from the triangle choke.

However, not finding any answer from the referee, made him confused. His desire to win coupled with confusion, made him change his triangle choke into an armbar, which is what Vasquez found himself in when he regained consciousness. This incident pretty much made the process of choosing officials stricter in the organization and gave ‘Pitbull’ the limelight even though not in completely favorable circumstances.

The Mexican fighter stands 5’7” (170 cm) and has a reach of 72 inches. Along with that, he has a 100% finish rate and he trains out of Entram gym where Brandon Moreno used to train before he switched to Fortis MMA.  Chairez’s journey was as interesting as any other fighter and he became a pro in 2016.

How did Edgar Chairez enter the UFC?

‘Pitbull’ started through the Dana White Contender series in 2022 in season 6. Chairez lost a three-round unanimous decision to Clayton Carpenter.  Luckily, after that, he got a chance at UFC 290 and finally debuted in the promotion. Nevertheless, he lost this bout against Tatsuro Taira but tried to redeem himself against Daniel Lacerda in September 2023. Unfortunately, the fight was declared a no-contest, and there was a premature stoppage. Finally, fate looked up at him and, Chairez submitted Daniel Lacerda in their second UFC meeting via triangle choke at 2:17 of the first round at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs. Royval 2.

The former Combat Global Champ mostly wins via submission and KO. According to Cageside Press, his weakness lies in takedown defense but he is a force to be reckoned with when he is standing upright. Chairez has strong punches, and chopping calf kicks. He might not be holding the highest rank at UFC but he can put up a hell of a fight and has a lot of tenacity.

He is coming back for UFC Noche at the Sphere in Las Vegas. This is going to be a historic fight for him against Joshua Van because Kevin Borjas, his previous opponent is out of UFC 306. Do you think the Mexican can make it two in a row?