Juan Archuleta has accomplished a lot in his career, but there’s still one more box he wants to check before he’s done with fighting.
As a former Bellator and RIZIN champion, the now 38-year-old veteran has fought the best of the best across several promotions but he recognizes that never got the chance to compete in the UFC. After a rough run of injuries and bad timing led to a few losses, Archuleta reset and got the restart he needed when he scored a jaw-dropping knockout at Borroka Promotion 3,
and he’s hoping to follow that up with a win over UFC veteran Jose Johnson on Saturday to take one more step towards his ultimate goal.
“Ideal scenario to walk away with storybook ending,” Archuleta told MMA Fighting about his desire to sign with UFC. “That’s definitely the ideal situation. Finish off the last three or four years of opportunity I have right now and just ride off into the sunset.
“Obviously, I have to bring something of value to the UFC for them to sign me and right now it’s like they want to see people that want to fight and people that want to end fights.”
Archuleta definitely lived up to that part of the agreement with his most recent win after he delivered a flying knee knockout that absolutely crushed Dennis Linton in their fight back in June.
The highlight exploded on social media after Archuleta’s knee connected with a sickening thud before Linton crumbled face first to the canvas.
Afterwards, Archuleta was sent the clip over and over again just as further proof that he may have scored a potential Knockout of the Year contender.
“They’re like ‘dude, what the hell? This is insane, check this out!’ I was like yeah, I did it!” Archuleta said with a laugh. “It was cool. It was a special moment in my career that I could be very happy for. It was crazy because Cub Swanson, who I’ve been working for my entire career, he was calling for some big moves. He’s like ‘this guy is ready to commit, continue to play with his defense, and when he commits, you’ll be able to do whatever you want.’
“In that fight earlier in the round, I tried to hit a knee because he was coming in so hard and then I tried to hit a jumping knee and I missed and I was like OK, it’s not time yet. Once I dragged him in and I threw the flying knee and it landed — like midway through the air, I just felt his body go limp. I was like it’s over.”
Obviously, Archuleta recognizes that not every fight is going to end in similar fashion but he knows he’s got the ability to score those kinds of memorable finishes.
He won’t make any predictions for his fight against Johnson on Saturday but Archuleta expects he’ll need something similar to hopefully get the UFC’s attention to sign him to the final deal of his career.
“That’s where I’m at right now, everything that Joe [Stevenson] told me would happen has happened so far,” Archuleta said. “OK here’s this last run to try and make the UFC and make my mark.
“If this doesn’t happen, signing up with RIZIN on New Year’s to make one more run at the featherweight title there.”
