5 Things You Might Not Know About Frank Camacho

Having yet to establish any modicum of consistency in nearly five years on the Ultimate Fighting Championship roster, Frank Camacho finds himself in a tenuous position.

The well-traveled 32-year-old will chase his first win since 2019 when he confronts Dana White’s Contender Series graduate Manuel Manuel Roberto Torres in a UFC on ESPN 36 lightweight feature this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Camacho enters the cage on the heels of back-to-back losses. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN 11, where he succumbed to punches from Justin Jaynes just 41 seconds into their June 20, 2020 pairing.

As Camacho prepares for his return to the Octagon, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He covered great distance to get here.

Camacho was born on May 18, 1989 in Hagatna, Guam, and was raised in Saipan, the largest of the Northern Mariana Islands—some 6,000 miles away from Ultimate Fighting Championship headquarters in Las Vegas.

2. His reality check was marked by misfortune.

“The Crank” appeared on Season 16 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series in 2012, only to draw Neil Magny in the elimination round. Magny sent him packing with a unanimous decision, eventually reached the semifinals and became one of the most successful welterweights in UFC history.

3. A regional title highlights his resume.

Camacho laid claim to the Pacific Xtreme Combat lightweight championship when he put away Tyrone Jones with punches in the second round of their PXC 50 main event on Dec. 4, 2015. After a subsequent loss to Han Seul Kim and two appearances in the Trench Warz organization, he signed with the UFC.

4. Scales have not been friendly to him.

The former PXC champion has compiled 2-5 record inside the Octagon and missed weight in two of his seven appearances. Camacho tipped the scales four pounds over the lightweight limit ahead of his split decision victory over Damien Brown at UFC Fight Night 121—it cost him a $50,000 bonus for “Fight of the Night”—and checked in three pounds overweight in advance of his aforementioned loss to Jaynes.

5. He chose associates with proven track records.

Camacho operates out of Team Oyama, where he trains under Colin Oyama and works alongside a number of accomplished teammates, two-time UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza, former Tachi Palace Fights flyweight titleholder Alex Perez and “The Ultimate Fighter Latin America” quarterfinalist Marlon Vera among them.