Ivan Menjivar

Ivan Menjivar (born May 30, 1982) is a Salvadorean-Canadian retired mixed martial artist who formerly fought in the featherweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Background
Menjivar was born in La Paz, El Salvador, in 1982. Fleeing the corrupt government, Menjivar moved to Montreal with his family when he was 11. He has a brother and a sister. He started training Kung-Fu as a kid, eventually progressing to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Early career
Menjivar formerly fought in the welterweight and lightweight divisions, before dropping to featherweight.

Menjivar made his MMA debut in 2001 and fought until 2006, earning a record of 20–7. After he was defeated by Bart Palaszewski at an IFL event, he retired from MMA. Four years later, he came out of retirement for W-1 MMA, defeating Aaron Miller by triangle choke submission in round one.

World Extreme Cagefighting
In November 2010, Menjivar signed with the WEC, right before its merger with the UFC.

In his promotional debut, Menjivar dropped to bantamweight and faced Brad Pickett on December 16, 2010 at WEC 53, the final WEC event. After a back and forth fight, Menjivar lost via unanimous decision. The bout won Fight of the Night honors.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
On October 28, 2010, WEC merged with the UFC. As part of the merger, all WEC fighters were transferred to the UFC.

Menjivar defeated Charlie Valencia via first round TKO on April 30, 2011 at UFC 129, after breaking his nose with a short elbow and following up with punches to finish the fight in 90 seconds.

Menjivar next faced Nick Pace on August 6, 2011 at UFC 133. The bout was held at a catchweight of 138 pounds after Menjivar failed to make weight. He won the fight via unanimous decision.

Menjivar submitted John Albert with a first round rear naked choke on February 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV 1. His performance earned him the Submission of the Night award.

Menjivar was expected to face Renan Barão at UFC 148 on July 7, 2012. However, Barão was pulled from the bout to face Urijah Faber for the Interim Bantamweight Title on the same card. Menjivar instead faced Mike Easton at the event and lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Menjivar defeated promotional newcomer Azamat Gashimov via first round submission due to an armbar on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154. The performance earned Menjivar Submission of the Night honors.

Menjivar faced Urijah Faber on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157. He lost the fight via submission in the first round.

Menjivar was expected to face Norifumi Yamamoto on September 21, 2013 at UFC 165. However, Yamamoto was removed from the bout and was replaced by Wilson Reis. Menjivar lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Menjivar faced Hatsu Hioki in a featherweight bout on March 1, 2014 at The Ultimate Fighter: China Finale. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, and was subsequently released from the promotion.

Personal life
Menjivar and his wife have four children, two daughters and two sons. He balances MMA with a full-time job as a bus driver for the public transport of Montreal STM.

Championships and achievements

 * Ultimate Fighting Championship
 * Submission of the Night (Two times) vs. John Albert and Azamat Gashimov