There are at least two things that make Ignacio Bahamondes special. One is that fighting is in his blood and has been for quite some time, as we will discuss in depth later. The Chilean lightweight, of course, is one of the rising stars in the UFC’s most competitive division and has never been stopped so far in the Dana White-led promotion.

And two, the Chilean doesn’t like to waste time. Of his four wins in the UFC so far, only one has come courtesy of the judges’ scorecard. With over fifty percent of his professional wins coming in the first or second round, ‘La Jaula’ is exactly the kind of fighter that fans love to watch- win or lose. This ferocity and warrior spirit are as much a result of his genetic bequeathment as his own disposition.

Where is Ignacio Bahamondes from? Early life and ethnicity

Ignacio Bahamondes spent his childhood in the suburbs of the picturesque city of Santiago, the capital and biggest metropolis of his native Chile. Since his homeland is not well represented in the sport of MMA, unlike many of its neighbors, ‘La Juala’ is determined to raise the Chilean flag with a UFC belt around his waist. But then again, Ignacio has always fought for things bigger than himself. While the UFC lightweight has already won a title in MMA at the Lux Fighting League, he is not even the most accomplished martial artist in his own family!

After all, his father, Manuel Bahamondes himself, was a kickboxing champion. But, Ignacio’s familial association with fighting goes back two more generations to his grandfather as well as his paternal grandfather, both of whom used to be accomplished boxers in their days.

It was, therefore, natural that the UFC lightweight become a fighter. The Chilean started training in kickboxing as a child, exactly when even he cannot remember. His kickboxer father, of course, was his first trainer who made him good enough to do rounds of the local South American kickboxing circuit as a teen.

By the time he was 16, however, Ignacio had a new dream. Abandoning kickboxing, the Chilean moved to the USA, with one thing in mind- become a UFC champion. He couldn’t speak a lick of English at the time. But his dream isn’t just a personal milestone for himself, but to make the Bahamondes name an integral part of combat sports history.

“I want to write my name on the MMA history book with golden print, but that name is going to be Bahamondes and that’s the legacy that my family is going to leave,” he said. And it is quite a legacy that Ignacio is representing in the world’s largest combat sports promotion.

All we know about Manuel Bahamondes, Ignacio’s father

Ignaciao’s father, Manuel, as we have mentioned, was a kickboxing champion. While he was a kickboxer all his life, even he couldn’t help but get swept away by the MMA craze that started in the early to mid-2000s when the UFC exploded in popularity. So much so that he even had a pro-MMA fight in 2016 despite being 48 and done with his fighting career! Except for that and the information Ignacio has provided, not much is known about his kickboxing record.

Ignacio’s grandfather was a boxer, too, but the most well-known and accomplished fighter in his family was clearly his maternal grandfather, Raul Carabantes. The latter was a legend of the sport and was once even termed the greatest Latin American boxer of his era by Ring Magazine. While Carabantes had most of his 82 professional fights in South America, he fought Holman Williams at the iconic Madison Square Garden in 1941.

‘La Juala’ is well aware of the three generations of fighting legacy on his shoulders and is determined to continue it, not only with himself but also with his younger brother, who is also training to become a fighter. What are your thoughts on Ignacio Bahamondes’ martial arts journey?