Ignacio Bahamondes Was in 'Bad Place' After Previous Loss, Wife’s Miscarriage

Ignacio Bahamondes’ victory over Christos Giagos on Saturday saw him bounce back from a loss that sent him to a difficult space in life.

Bahamondes scored a high-reel, bonus-winning knockout over Giagos in the very first round of their UFC Fight Night 240 clash. That allowed “La Jaula” to return to the win column after a decision loss against Ludovit Klein in August 2023 that snapped a three-fight winning streak.

Bahamondes revealed that while losing a fight is hard enough, he also had the added grief of his wife’s miscarriage, which happened a couple of weeks after the defeat to Klein. Bahamondes had no will to train but depended on faith to get his life back on track, which he successfully did. The 26-year-old is now expecting another child from his wife, who is five months pregnant.

“You know, for an MMA fighter, losing is not something nice,” Bahamondes said at the post-fight press conference. “I think it is the worst for a fighter. My wife was pregnant and she lost the baby, like two weeks after the fight. So I was in a bad place, I didn’t want to train, I didn’t want to do anything. But God helped me. He broke me so many times, and he made me new again, even better, even stronger, more beautiful. Now my pregnant wife of five months, the baby’s coming, he’s coming back, just like his dad. And I’m happy and grateful for life, I’m grateful for the people I got on my team who’s coming here for this fight. Just happy with life, I can’t wait for what’s next for me.”

While Bahamondes is hoping for a spot on the UFC’s card being planned for Mexican Independence Day in September at The Sphere in Las Vegas, he is open to all other options, as well.

“I would love to wait for The Sphere,” he said. “They need ‘La Jaula’, they need ‘La Jaula’, they need the Chilean power. I got all Latin America with me, so they need me there. It’ll be awesome for [me] to wait [for] there but if they have something before or something after, I’d be ready anytime, anywhere against anybody.”