5 Defining Moments: Jesus Pinedo

It was nothing short of a whirlwind.

Jesus Pinedo emerged as the Professional Fighters League’s breakout star in 2023, as he scored three victories—all as an underdog—in less than seven months to become the promotion’s latest featherweight champion. Now a marked man following the PFL-Bellator MMA merger, his follow-up campaign figures to be fraught with difficulty. The 27-year-old Pinedo has won 14 of his past 16 bouts and could be a young talent around which the PFL and its partners can build.

As Pinedo awaits word on his next assignment, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define the Pitbull Martial Arts Center export:

1. Quick Trip

Even the best of the best can slip on the occasional banana peel. Alonso Santos Verona Ganoza barely broke a sweat and exited the cage with the Inka Fighting Championship featherweight crown, as he buried Pinedo with punches in the first round of their Inka Warriors 5 main event on Dec. 16, 2015 at the Centrica in Lima, Peru. Ganoza brought it to a close a mere nine seconds into Round 1. Pinedo moved forward at the start and walked into a devastating counter right hook. The concussive shot dropped him where he stood and left him in no condition to mount a meaningful defense against the follow-up hammerfists that fell next. It was over in a blink.

2. At Full Throttle

Two-plus years after his ill-fated encounter with Ganoza, Pinedo laid claim to the Inka Fighting Championship featherweight title when he turned away Joackim Pedro Neto Ferreira with a guillotine choke in the first round of their IFC 27 headliner on Feb. 18, 2018 at Club Chiquian in Lima, Peru. Ferreira raised the white flag of surrender 2:25 into Round 1. Pinedo floored the Brazilian with a counter right hook inside the first minute, swooped into top position and administered a sustained beating with punches, hammerfists and elbows. Ferreira eventually initiated a scrambled, wandered into the choke and had no means of escape.

3. Pack Your Bags

Roufusport representative John Makdessi pecked and picked his way to a unanimous decision over Pinedo in their UFC Fight Night 148 lightweight showcase on March 23, 2019 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. All three cageside judges scored it for Makdessi: 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28. Neither man did much to endear himself to the audience, their efforts—or lack thereof—drawing repeated boos from the crowd. Makdessi worked behind a steady diet of leg kicks and kept the Peruvian off-balance with occasional counters and side kicks to the body. A short-notice replacement for Nasrat Haqparast, Pinedo wobbled the Canadian with a head kick late in the second round but produced little else in terms of meaningful offense. He was released by the Ultimate Fighting Championship in the days following the event and returned to the South American regional scene for further seasoning.

4. Shock Factor

Pinedo shocked the MMA world when he wiped out Brendan Loughnane with an exquisite knee strike and follow-up punches in the PFL 4 main event on June 8, 2023 at Overtime Elite Arena in Atlanta. The Peruvian dark horse drew the curtain 1:34 into Round 1, eliminating the defending league champion from postseason contention in a stunning turn of events. Loughnane was never allowed to get in gear. The gangly Pinedo met him with fluid stance switches and shots from various angles. A perfectly placed knee to the head at close range froze Loughnane where he stood before he collapsed to the canvas in a dazed-and-confused state. Pinedo then pounced with punches, forcing referee Keith Peterson intervene. It was the first stoppage loss for Loughnane in 31 professional appearances.

5. Seven-Figure Payout

No Cinderella story would be complete without the fairytale ending. Pinedo on Nov. 24, 2023 took care of Gabriel Braga with third-punches and emerged as the last man standing when their featherweight final headlined the 2023 PFL Championships undercard at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The previously unbeaten Braga succumbed to blows 58 seconds into Round 3. Pinedo counteracted his counterpart’s patented low kicks with deft lateral movement and consistent pressure. He called upon occasional push kicks, countered to great effect and landed two, three and sometimes four punches at a time, as output became more and more of an ally as time went on. Pinedo clipped the Brazilian with a left hook in the third round, forced him into a defensive shell along the fence and cut loose with punches until referee Fernando Yamasaki had seen enough. It resulted in a life-altering million-dollar payday for the Peruvian upstart.