Last fight
UFC Fight Night
Win
Pauga vs Guskov
Feb. 10, 2024
UFC Spotlight
Stats & Records
2
Wins by Knockout
1
First Round Finishes
Significant Strikes include all strikes at distance, plus power strikes in the clinch and on the ground.
Striking accuracy
- Sig. Strikes Landed
- 175
- Sig. Strikes Attempted
- 278
A takedown is awarded when a fighter deliberately grapples an opponent to the ground and establishes an advantageous position for an appreciable amount of time.
Takedown Accuracy
- Takedowns Landed
- Takedowns Attempted
- 13
- Sig. Str. Defense is the percentage of significant strikes attempted against a fighter that do not land.
- Takedown defense is the percentage of takedowns attempted against a fighter that do not land.
- Knockdown Avg. is the average number of knockdowns per 15 Minutes window.
Sig. Str. by target
athlete record
Info
Status
Not Fighting
Place of Birth
Denver, United States
Trains at
Elevation Fight Team - Denver, CO
Fighting style
MMA
Age
35
Height
74.00
Weight
206.00
Octagon Debut
Aug. 6, 2022
Reach
76.00
Leg reach
41.00
- Team Pena on TUF 30
- Pro since 2020
- Two wins by KO
- One first-round finish
- Last pre-TUF bout was October 2021 win over UFC vet Markus Perez
UFC Fight Night (2/10/24) Pauga was stopped by Bogdan Guskov via strikes at 3:38 of the first round
UFC on ESPN (6/17/23) Pauga lost a three round unanimous decision to Modestas Bukauskas
UFC Fight Night (2/18/23) Pauga won a three round unanimous decision over Jordan Wright
UFC on ESPN (8/6/22) Pauga was knocked out by Mohammed Usman at :36 of the second round in the TUF 30 heavyweight final
The Ultimate Fighter, Season 30
In the semifinals, Pauga stopped Jordan Heiderman via strikes at :30 of the second round
In the quarterfinals, Pauga won a two-round unanimous decision over Nyle Bartling
When and why did you start training for fighting? Other than my obsession with 90s karate films and pro wrestling, I was working as a patrol officer and wanted to improve my ability to defend myself. I was training with Curtis Blaydes and Alistair Overeem and was having a lot of success in practice, so I decided I might as well make some money if I’m going to fight guys as good as them.
What ranks and titles have you held? BJJ purple belt
Do you have any heroes? My Dad is a Samoan immigrant and was able to raise and provide for three kids while learning to speak English, that is an inspiration to me.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? Colorado State University - Sociology
What was your job before you started fighting? Fullback for the Houston Texans, Loose Forward for the Denver Stampede/ Glendale Raptors, Patrol Officer for the City of Wheat Ridge, Senior Criminal Investigator for the Denver District Attorney’s Office, Personal Trainer at Vital Training Systems.
