Francisco Rivera Jr. is an Americanmixed martial artist who last competed in the Bantamweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2008, he has also competed for the WEC and Tachi Palace Fights. Rivera is known for his heavy hands and wild fighting style.
On October 28, 2010, World Extreme Cagefighting merged with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As part of the merger, most WEC fighters were transferred into the UFC. Rivera was expected to drop to Bantamweight and face Takeya Mizugaki on March 3, 2011 at. However, Rivera was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Reuben Duran. Rivera faced Reuben Duran on June 4, 2011 at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale. He lost the fight via submission in the third round and was subsequently released from the promotion.
Return to the UFC
Following two emphatic first round stoppages on the regional circuit, Rivera was re-signed by the UFC to face Alex Soto on May 15, 2012 at, replacing Azamat Gashimov who was removed from the bout. Rivera won the fight via unanimous decision. Rivera was expected to replace Edwin Figueroa against Ken Stone on June 22, 2012 at UFC on FX 4. However, Rivera was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by Dustin Pague. Rivera faced Roland Delorme on July 21, 2012 at. Rivera defeated Delorme via first round KO. However, Rivera later failed his post-fight drug test for an over-the-counter stimulant and the win was overturned to a No Contest. After being clipped twice in the first round, Rivera rallied to defeat Edwin Figueroa on February 2, 2013 at UFC 156 in the second round, staggering him before getting a TKO stoppage. Rivera was expected to face Hugo Viana on April 20, 2013 at UFC on Fox 7. However, Rivera was forced out of the bout with an injury and replaced by T.J. Dillashaw. Rivera was expected to face George Roop on October 19, 2013 at UFC 166. However, the pairing was shifted to November 6, 2013 at UFC Fight Night 31. He won the fight via TKO in the second round. Rivera was expected to face Raphael Assunção at UFC 170. However, Rivera was forced out of the bout due to injury. Rivera faced Takeya Mizugaki on May 24, 2014 at UFC 173. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Rivera faced Urijah Faber on December 6, 2014 at UFC 181. Rivera lost the fight via second round submission. However, the ending was controversial as Faber stunned Rivera with an eyepoke during a standup exchange. The eyepoke went unnoticed by the referee, but immediately preceded the fight ending submission. Rivera's management team indicated that they planned to appeal the result in hopes that it would be changed to a no contest, and hoped that the UFC could schedule a rematch with Faber. Ultimately, the NSAC upheld the result of a submission victory for Faber. Rivera faced Alex Caceres on June 6, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 68. He won the fight via knockout in the first round. Rivera faced John Lineker on September 5, 2015 at UFC 191. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. The wild slugfest earned both participants Fight of the Night honors. Rivera faced Brad Pickett on February 27, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 84. He lost the back-and-forth fight via split decision. Rivera next faced Érik Pérez on July 30, 2016 at UFC 201. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. Rivera receive a four year USADA suspension for testing positive for a banned substanceclenbuterol, collected from an out of competition sample in July 23, 2016. He was subsequently released from the promotion.
Post-UFC career
Rivera was given a license to compete in California, and was scheduled to fight at LXF 6 on March 20, 2020, but the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
