Who is Gaston Bolanos: The UFC’s Newest Bantamweight

A couple days ago, UFC Roster Watch posted an update to the UFC roster. Gaston Bolanos has officially signed with the UFC. It was not met with much fanfare but the true hardcores know just how fun of a signing this is. Today, we’re going to take some time to talk about the newest signing to the UFC’s bantamweight division in Bolanos, AKA the Dreamkiller.

Who is Gaston Bolanos?

Gaston Bolanos first came on my radar in 2018 when he appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience with his head coach Kirian Fitzgibbons. There, Bolanos talked about his Muay Thai career and his striking abilities. Bolanos has competed in Muay Thai and kickboxing and made a name for himself in Lion Fight.

Shortly before his episode with Rogan, Bolanos started his transition to mixed martial arts with Bellator in 2017. There he won via a first round finish against Abner Perez. Unfortunately, Bolanos lost his second fight via triangle, a glaring issue with any striker coming over to MMA.

After his loss he quickly bounced back with a leg kick finish at Bellator 199. Bolanos would return with a surge of new fans after that JRE episode and take part in Bellator Kickboxing 10 where he won a unanimous decision over Domenico Lomurno.

Gaston Bolanos would make his return to MMA at Bellator 206 and win two straight fights. Unfortunately for Bolanos, he lost two tough fights next. He got caught in a guillotine against Daniel Carey and a close split decision loss to Solo Hatley Jr. This was in 2020. Since then, he’s tried to get bouts with three falling through. His last fight was in April of 2022 when he beat Daniel Carey in the first round.

Now 6-3 in MMA, Gaston Bolanos is a great addition to the UFC bantamweight division. He’s traditionally competed at featherweight but this drop down could give him the strength advantage. There are some fantastic fights that we could see Bolanos take on his way up. Vince Morales, Davey Grant, Song Yadong, Cory Sandhagen, and of course, Sean O’Malley are all fun matchups on the way up for Bolanos. Just keep him away from the wrestlers early on.

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Blaine Henry
Your friendly neighborhood fight fan. I watch way too many fights and my wife lets me know it.