At Bellator 201 on Friday night in Temecula, CA, Juan Archuleta put on a show, dismantling UFC vet Robbie Peralta.
UFC and Strikeforce veteran Robbie Peralta made his Bellator debut Friday night in Temecula, CA. At Bellator 201, ‘Problems’ looked to build a winning streak following a unanimous decision win over Shad Smith at CCW 1 last September. That win snapped a four fight losing streak that included losses to Clay Guida and Thiago Tavares to end Peralta’s UFC run.
Meeting Peralta in the Bellator cage on Friday was Juan Archuleta, an impressive 18-1 entering the night, and on a fourteen fight win streak.
Archuleta stayed very light on his feet on the outside off the opening bell. It wasn’t long, however, before he saw an opening to charge forward and shoot for the takedown. That resulted in Robbie Peralta being driven into the cage eating knees, but at least for the time being, he was able to keep things standing. Archuleta landed a jump knee, which didn’t hit clean but still caught Peralta’s attention. That big move was followed by Archuleta getting the fight to the canvas. Peralta would power back up, only for Archuleta to launch another jumping knee.
.@jarchmma getting aggressive early in the fight! pic.twitter.com/VLJeTY2y7g
— Bellator MMA (@BellatorMMA) June 30, 2018
Robbie Peralta was certainly getting quite the welcome to Bellator. A leg kick spun Peralta around; with under two minutes to go, it felt like he’d barely thrown a punch. He was able to counter another leg kick with an overhand, but his next attack saw Juan Archuleta change levels for a takedown, and though stuffed, Archuleta’s chain wrestling abilities were keeping Peralta on the defensive. Archuleta broke out a cartwheel kick and simply got a little crazy at round’s end, throwing wildly until the bell.
Would the creativity of Juan Archuleta continue in round two? Peralta, at least, adjusted his game plan, though it was still heavy on the defense. He’d employ a whizzer to keep standing during a grappling exchange, and near the midway point, briefly turned the tables on his opponent. However, a quick scramble saw Archuleta back in control. Peralta would survive the round — but not much longer.
Just fourteen seconds into the third, Archuleta tagged the UFC veteran with an overhand right, dropping him. Follow-up strikes, almost chops, were unnecessary. Juan Archuleta had dominated his opponent for two full rounds, and devastated him in the third.
Juan Archuleta def. Robbie Peralta by knockout, Round 3, 0:14
