well, the spoiler i read was right, and so was ceg. my apologies for having doubted you. :D jon kolosci steps in for matt arroyo and there's a rematch with mac already! i really didn't think he'd be cleared to fight after the damage from the last fight. i guess it was mostly superficial. with a cracked rib, i'm not sure how arroyo would have been cleared anyway.
new fight, same outcome. mac wins with a rear naked choke in the first. at least john didn't look nearly as bad in the post fight interview. a few less bruises...:)
so mac has made it to the finals!
the rumour for most of the season had been that war machine was fighting george at the finale. when i read the spoiler about john kolosci being the substitute, i started thinking maybe he upset mac or tommy in the semi's and made it in to fight george, and that people had been confused about john and jon...so there goes my theory. it was a bit of a stretch.
shitty. certainly not the finale fight i was hoping to see. tommy wins by ko over george but "i was not impressed by his performance." he looked terrible going for the clinch and takedowns, but was actually throwing some good punches from the outside. he lands a right that i'm not sure george could see and puts him down.
shitty. certainly not the finale fight i was hoping to see. tommy wins by ko over george but "i was not impressed by his performance." he looked terrible going for the clinch and takedowns, but was actually throwing some good punches from the outside. he lands a right that i'm not sure george could see and puts him down.
mac vs. tommy in the final.
danzig!
Even if there was no thumb to the eye, I still think Tommy woulda won that fight. George was just not himself from the opening bell. I like both fighters but I have to admit I was going for Tommy.
The finals is a nice Fuck you to That arrogant prick Matt Serra!
Lets go Mac!!!
ohh and on the 29th...Lets go JSP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Rock and roll is something that can't be quantified, sometimes it's not even something you hear, but FEEL!" - Bob Lefsetz
well, the spoiler i read was right, and so was ceg. my apologies for having doubted you.
ahhh... i'll let it slide.... this time!
yay!! I love Kolosci! what a great guy... so enthusiastic... i was so excited when Dana gave him the fight! but then I was totally torn between him and Mac!! I didn't want either of them to lose. However, when it came down to it, it's Danzig all the way, and I agreed with Mac's irritation over the fact that the guy he just beat could take his place in the finals....
btw... are Kolosci's tattoos multiplying??? i swear, every time he takes his shirt off, they get bigger.... i think they're spreading! :eek:
shitty. certainly not the finale fight i was hoping to see. tommy wins by ko over george but "i was not impressed by his performance." he looked terrible going for the clinch and takedowns, but was actually throwing some good punches from the outside. he lands a right that i'm not sure george could see and puts him down.
yah... that sucks about the thumb to the eye.... is it possible to come back from that??? (seriously... do people often win after that happens?) trying to hit a guy when you dno't have any depth perception is damn near impossible! it would have been a waaaay different fight if that hadn't have happened.... although, George did look a little nervous going in.
Well...... i hope you guys enojy the finale!! i realize now that since it's on Spike, i may be able to watch it at the hotel in Banff, if we aren't still out for dinner... i might be able to talk my best friend's husband into watching, but i'm not sure she'd like it herself... she'd need a Curious George to get through it...
oh! Mookie, can you try looking for one of the Huerta/Garcia pics for me? i'd love to have one... i couldn't find any yesterday, but most of the MMA sites are blocked here are work due to "violence".... hehehe...
~~*~~ ...i surfaced and all of my being was enlightend... ~~*~~
It was torture waiting until tonight to watch the TUF episode. I somehow managed to show some restraint and not come by the thread for spoilers.
Yay Danzig!! I'm not surprised that John was the only one who was enthusiastic about fighting Mac. At least he got a chance to redeem himself. Mac showed some patience in waiting for that RNC.
Wow, what happened to George in that fight? He didn't look right from the beginning. +1 Ceg on the effects of Tommy's thumb to George's eye! I'll have to call you next time I need an opthamologic consultation. Too bad for George, who I think is the better fighter.
Interesting finale with Mac v. Tommy .... obviously I'm rooting for Mac. Tommy's a bigger and possibly stronger guy, but unless he has learned a lot of technique in his months off, Mac is going to pick him apart.
ceg, i can't even find a picture of it, let alone the good one i mentioned before...i'll keep looking. good luck catching the show in calgary, and to you too, acc in vegas. have fun!
i've gone and got meself too psyched for the huerta vs. guida fight! i'd be over the top if it was george and mac, though. i thought tom vs. matt a. would work out as another good main card match, too. the way it turned out, i don't find it as interesting as if it had panned out as hoped, as i think george and mac were the best in the house.
two more days until fight of the year. i hope mac wins the contract, and that jonathan gets a quick ko on paul just so they'll show it.
releash and i will maintain control here while you are away, ceg, have fun.
Roger Huerta Vs. Clay Guida - huerta by split decision
Mac Danzig Vs. Tom Speer - danzig by tko
George Sotiropoulos Vs. Billy Miles - sotiropoulos by submission
Jared Rollins Vs. Jon Koppenhaver - koppenhaver by tko
Pre-lims:
Dan Barrera Vs. Ben Saunders - saunders by ko
Matt Arroyo Vs. John Kolosci - arroyo by submission
Paul Georgieff Vs. Jonathan Goulet - goulet by ko
Troy Mandaloniz Vs. Richie Hightower - hightower by decision
Roman Mitichyan Vs. Dorian Price - price by submission
just watching the best of 2007 show again and i forgot to say before that during the forrest griffin vs. shogun fight, they muted the sound on randy couture's voice in forrest's corner in between the first and second round. then they cut out the part directly after when joe rogan comments about randy saying if forrest gets underhooks, shogun cannot take him down.
something i noticed the first time and meant to mention in case someone else caught it. a petty thing to do, i thought. there's mention of him at other times, but they chose to block that out for whatever childish reason...rather odd.
Roger Huerta Vs. Clay Guida - huerta by split decision
Mac Danzig Vs. Tom Speer - danzig by tko
George Sotiropoulos Vs. Billy Miles - sotiropoulos by submission
Jared Rollins Vs. Jon Koppenhaver - koppenhaver by tko
Pre-lims:
Dan Barrera Vs. Ben Saunders - saunders by ko
Matt Arroyo Vs. John Kolosci - arroyo by submission
Paul Georgieff Vs. Jonathan Goulet - goulet by ko
Troy Mandaloniz Vs. Richie Hightower - hightower by decision
Roman Mitichyan Vs. Dorian Price - price by submission
My predictions for Saturday ...
Main Card:
Roger Huerta Vs. Clay Guida - Huerta by tko
Mac Danzig Vs. Tom Speer - Danzig by submission
George Sotiropoulos Vs. Billy Miles - Sotiropoulos by submission
Jared Rollins Vs. Jon Koppenhaver - Rollins by decision ... but I might change my mind at the last second on this one
Pre-lims:
Dan Barrera Vs. Ben Saunders - Barrera by tko
Matt Arroyo Vs. John Kolosci - Arroyo by decision
Paul Georgieff Vs. Jonathan Goulet - Goulet by tko
Troy Mandaloniz Vs. Richie Hightower - Hightower by submission
Roman Mitichyan Vs. Dorian Price - Mitichyan by tko
The bad computer juju has hit me hard. :( I started up my laptop last night and got this blank screen. So I restarted it and got nothing ... eventually I got this scary DOS-like screen, so I shut it down quickly (at least it wasn't the blue screen of death). I'm going to take it into the computer shop tomorrow so maybe they can salvage it. The only thing I really care about saving is all my music and some pictures. Cross your fingers for me!
I'll still be around on Saturday for the finale, just posting slower because I'll have to do it from my cellphone (they still aren't evil mooks).
My predictions for Saturday ...
Main Card:
Roger Huerta Vs. Clay Guida - Huerta by tko
Mac Danzig Vs. Tom Speer - Danzig by submission
George Sotiropoulos Vs. Billy Miles - Sotiropoulos by submission
Jared Rollins Vs. Jon Koppenhaver - Rollins by decision ... but I might change my mind at the last second on this one
Pre-lims:
Dan Barrera Vs. Ben Saunders - Barrera by tko
Matt Arroyo Vs. John Kolosci - Arroyo by decision
Paul Georgieff Vs. Jonathan Goulet - Goulet by tko
Troy Mandaloniz Vs. Richie Hightower - Hightower by submission
Roman Mitichyan Vs. Dorian Price - Mitichyan by tko
right, right, right, wrong...etc. :D:D
i think after i watch the marathon tomorrow and see roman's reaction to the doctor again, i might have to change my pick from price to the crazy armenian guy!
The bad computer juju has hit me hard. :( I started up my laptop last night and got this blank screen. So I restarted it and got nothing ... eventually I got this scary DOS-like screen, so I shut it down quickly (at least it wasn't the blue screen of death). I'm going to take it into the computer shop tomorrow so maybe they can salvage it. The only thing I really care about saving is all my music and some pictures. Cross your fingers for me!
I'll still be around on Saturday for the finale, just posting slower because I'll have to do it from my cellphone (they still aren't evil mooks).
good luck, releash. i hope they can save you info. that was the worst part the first time mine crashed on me. fingers are crossed here for you.
oddly enough, mine seems to have made a recovery and everything's working fine. the fan isn't noisy and it's running smoother than before...all a certain sign that i'll get that "blue screen of death" you mentioned.
what's going on with the electronics, eh?!? for this one time only, i will extol the virtues of having the cell phone for saturday night!
here's a good article about roger huerta from espn's page 2. every buckheit article i've read, i've liked. she does a very good job of covering the sport and the athletes, i find. one error, though....he hasn't had 22 fights since 2006! i think she meant to say over his career...
El Matador: From humble beginnings to UFC's brightest young star
By Mary Buckheit
Page 2
December 6, 2007
Roger Huerta had to teach himself how to survive. He had no choice.
Sounds simple, but that's probably the biggest factor leading to Huerta's swift rise to prominence in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Since a mixed martial artist endures an attack on his life each and every time he steps into the octagon, the basic requirement of the sport is simply the ability to survive. And Huerta's childhood taught him nothing if not that.
Roger Huerta faces his biggest fight yet on Saturday night at The Palms.
"I can't believe I'm here," the 24-year-old Huerta told me over the phone from his home and training headquarters in St. Paul, Minn. -- where he's been training for his big bout against Clay "The Carpenter" Guida on Saturday night in "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 6 finale. "I think about what I saw as a little boy, and living through all that went on down there around me -- the war and the gangs and the drugs -- and sometimes I really just can't believe I'm alive."
Huerta's troubles started when his parents' marriage disintegrated dramatically when he was 5 years old. He said his father was involved in an affair, a discovery that sent his mother spiraling into an agitated and abusive state. Huerta spent time in foster care while a bitter custody battle ensued. His father was awarded full custody, but his mother wouldn't stand for the ruling. So she seized Roger from her ex-husband's home in Dallas and fled to her parents' home in El Salvador. Then, still severely emotionally unhinged, Lydia Huerta took flight herself, leaving her son with his grandparents -- who could do nothing but keep him in the house all day, away from the ferocity of the civil war that raged outside.
Huerta's mother eventually would return for him -- but only to take him to San Juan, Mexico and drop him on the doorstep of his father. By this time, Huerta's father had developed into a violent drug addict. Meaning Huerta was forced to fend for himself, selling trinkets and gum on the streets.
All of this occurred before his 13th birthday. "I should be dead," Huerta says, bluntly.
Eventually Huerta's father split, as well, leaving Huerta homeless, with no family but the street gang he fell into. Yet somehow, through all of this, he persevered. He kept going to school because it was the only place that offered him safety, not to mention a meal. "No matter what I was feeling or what was going on, I felt safe at school and I worked hard at it," he says. "I didn't know where I might be sleeping that night, but I knew where I would eat lunch the next day."
Huerta's endearing personality and poise surely played a part in several families' willingness to take him in and care for him during his middle-school years. Eventually the mother of a friend was given legal guardianship, and she provided his ticket out of San Juan. "That's how I first moved to Austin [Texas]," Huerta explains. "We had a little apartment there."
Huerta settled into his new surroundings -- still modest, but stable and supportive, which was all he needed in order to excel in school and wrestling. And, while attending Crockett High School, Huerta first met Jo Ramirez -- an English teacher who set out to advise Huerta about his college applications, but ended up building a much stronger bond with him. "She was the first one to really hear my whole story," Huerta says.
Ramirez helped Huerta get into Augsburg College in Minnesota -- a school with a well-regarded wrestling program -- and eventually legally adopted Huerta in 2002. "She's my guardian angel," Huerta says of Ramirez. "That's my mom. She's my rock, she's my angel, she's my back. She is amazing. She is everything to me.
"I don't remember what my real mom looks like. If I saw her today I wouldn't know her. Not even if she were sitting right next to me at a table in a restaurant. The last time I saw her was first grade. And my dad? I don't know anything of him. I mean, I don't know what ever happened to him."
What happened to Roger "El Matador" Huerta, however, is nothing short of a Cinderella story.
Huerta made the move from wrestling mats to octagons right after he was exposed to his first MMA bout in Minneapolis. "It was that kind of thing where you see something and that's all you want to do," Huerta says. "You just feel it."
"The sport came so naturally [to him]," says UFC play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg. "It didn't take long for everybody to notice that he was a very good fighter."
Huerta's meticulous grappling style led his trainers to coin his now-household nickname. "They started calling me Matador, like the bullfighter, because they said I look methodical when I fight, like each move is planned out," says Huerta. "They said it looks like I don't struggle much.
"That's what they think, anyway. I think I struggle quite a bit," he adds, with a chuckle.
Struggles? Perhaps. But Huerta has never looked like a crazed kid carrying out a vendetta on his past. "Somehow he has found the strength within himself to put that past away," Goldberg says. "He is able to compartmentalize and contain all that. ... We're all amazed because he is upbeat and smiling all the time; he's gentle and so sincere. The kid was practically raised by street gangs, yet he's the most soft-spoken and polite guy you'll ever meet. And on top of that, he's got real talent."
Back in May, Huerta was in Las Vegas for UFC 71. It turned out to be a rough weekend for UFC's biggest star, Chuck Liddell, who suffered a knockout at the hands of Rampage Jackson. But it also proved to be a celebration for the sport as a whole -- thanks to Huerta making the cover of Sports Illustrated, a first for mixed martial arts.
"I got off the phone [after hearing the Sports Illustrated news] and I hopped right on the bike and I just rode for as long as I could," Huerta says. "I don't drink anymore. I don't party. Everybody is always like, 'Oh, the cover boy, you're the cover boy.' But I want people to know that I train hard and I work hard and I want to be a champion.
Huerta, whose record is 20-1-1 since his UFC debut in September 2006, can take the next step on Saturday night. "This is Roger's shot at validation," Goldberg says. "He has the potential to someday fill the shoes as the next Chuck Liddell-type. He has the potential of being the first name people mention when they talk about the Ultimate Fighting Championship."
Huerta says he never stops thinking about the circumstances he overcame, and the purpose he believes his journey was meant to serve. "I don't know why I made it out alive," Huerta says. "But I want to show people what is possible."
Roger Huerta (155) vs. Clay Guida (155)
Mac Danzig (168.5) vs. Tom Speer (170) (mac made it known yesterday that he plans to cut back down to compete at LW after this fight)
Jared Rollins (169) vs. Jon Koppenhaver (170)
George Sotiropoulous (169) vs. Billy Miles (170)
Dan Barrera (170) vs. Ben Saunders (169)
Pre-lims:
Troy Mandaloniz (170) vs. Richie Hightower (170)
Matt Arroyo (169) vs. John Kolosci (170)
Roman Mitichyan (170) vs. Dorian Price (170)
Paul Georgieff (170) vs. Jonathan Goulet (170)
go huerta! go guida! i can't wait for this match.
p.s. vas-y goulet!
edit: dan vs. ben has been added to the main televised card.
i'm fading in and out watching this marathon today. i feel a nap coming on, but with only a few hours to go, i think an adrenaline rush might kick in soon...
should have taped the K-1 grand prix instead of getting up at 4 am this morning to watch it live. i didn't even truly wake up until the end of the third match!
releash, i hope you're out there with the evil cell phone if the computer is still on the fritz. otherwise i'll be talking to myself, with nobody home. i think everyone seems to be checking out the boxing tonight. they'll be missing the fight of the year, though!... i wish huearta vs. guida was five rounds!
i'm fading in and out watching this marathon today. i feel a nap coming on, but with only a few hours to go, i think an adrenaline rush might kick in soon...
should have taped the K-1 grand prix instead of getting up at 4 am this morning to watch it live. i didn't even truly wake up until the end of the third match!
releash, i hope you're out there with the evil cell phone if the computer is still on the fritz. otherwise i'll be talking to myself, with nobody home. i think everyone seems to be checking out the boxing tonight. they'll be missing the fight of the year, though!... i wish huearta vs. guida was five rounds!
Hey mooks!! (waves hi)
I'm here on the evil cellphone. My computer is still down for the count but I'm borrowing my roommates' for tonight. Getting excited for Huerta (and his shorts) and the rest of the fights. Vas y Danzig!!
I just woke up from a wonderful nap so I'll be all rested for the fights!
Hey mooks!! (waves hi)
I'm here on the evil cellphone. My computer is still down for the count but I'm borrowing my roommates' for tonight. Getting excited for Huerta (and his shorts) and the rest of the fights. Vas y Danzig!!
I just woke up from a wonderful nap so I'll be all rested for the fights!
right on!
i was happy to hear they added a fifth fight to the telecast. it will be interesting to see how the rematch with ben and dan goes.
also, i won't post spoilers again, but i'd like to chant a little tune...
i was happy to hear they added a fifth fight to the telecast. it will be interesting to see how the rematch with ben and dan goes.
also, i won't post spoilers again, but i'd like to chant a little tune...
goulet, goulet, goulet, goulet...goulet, goulet!
that just woke me up!
Glad you're awake now! Only a couple more minutes ... I'm also happy they are showing Dan v. Ben. Let's hope Dan doesn't get beaten to a bloody pulp this time.
...sorry about the goulet spoiler. i was just happy to read that jonathan got the win. that should probabaly get him on the april card in montreal.
I guess I'll stick with my gut and say that JRock will get the win.
No worries about the spoiler, mooks. Good for Goulet. So are they still planning on having an event in Montreal? I thought that was essentially not going to happen since GSP is fighting Hughes in a couple weeks. I guess if GSP wins then he and Matt could fight in April for the unification title. I still want to come up there at some point.
yeah, that's the rumour. jason macdonald said in an interview that he is fighting at the ufc's first canadian show in montreal in april. supposedly, they're going to try to have georges on the card if he is healthy and ready to fight, but that also depends on serra's health...a lot of if's !
pretty good first round. completely different from the first fight. great knees and takedown defense from ben. i'd have to give it slightly to ben.
ben probabaly pulled that one out at the end. those are the positions where i wish knees were legal from north / south. he might have been able to finish after the head kick.
i was about to say the same thing, releash. definitive round three all ben. dan didn't have much to offer but his strength. ben looked impressive. at 24, and 6'3"...and continuing to train at ATT...look out ww's! seriously, though, he has some serious potential.
i was about to say the same thing, releash. definitive round three all ben. dan didn't have much to offer but his strength. ben looked impressive. at 24, and 6'3"...and continuing to train at ATT...look out ww's! seriously, though, he has some serious potential.
Ben cracks me up! He can barely keep a straight face. He's got the significant height/reach advantage but also has the technique to back it up. +1 for his serious potential mookie
also, it was nice to see ben give a sadistic smile for the big screen as he was trying for that rear naked choke for a couple of minutes. always have to entertain the fans! haha
Comments
so mac has made it to the finals!
the rumour for most of the season had been that war machine was fighting george at the finale. when i read the spoiler about john kolosci being the substitute, i started thinking maybe he upset mac or tommy in the semi's and made it in to fight george, and that people had been confused about john and jon...so there goes my theory. it was a bit of a stretch.
mac vs. tommy in the final.
danzig!
Even if there was no thumb to the eye, I still think Tommy woulda won that fight. George was just not himself from the opening bell. I like both fighters but I have to admit I was going for Tommy.
The finals is a nice Fuck you to That arrogant prick Matt Serra!
Lets go Mac!!!
ohh and on the 29th...Lets go JSP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ahhh... i'll let it slide.... this time!
yay!! I love Kolosci! what a great guy... so enthusiastic... i was so excited when Dana gave him the fight! but then I was totally torn between him and Mac!! I didn't want either of them to lose. However, when it came down to it, it's Danzig all the way, and I agreed with Mac's irritation over the fact that the guy he just beat could take his place in the finals....
btw... are Kolosci's tattoos multiplying???
yah... that sucks about the thumb to the eye.... is it possible to come back from that??? (seriously... do people often win after that happens?) trying to hit a guy when you dno't have any depth perception is damn near impossible! it would have been a waaaay different fight if that hadn't have happened.... although, George did look a little nervous going in.
Well...... i hope you guys enojy the finale!! i realize now that since it's on Spike, i may be able to watch it at the hotel in Banff, if we aren't still out for dinner... i might be able to talk my best friend's husband into watching, but i'm not sure she'd like it herself... she'd need a Curious George to get through it...
oh! Mookie, can you try looking for one of the Huerta/Garcia pics for me? i'd love to have one... i couldn't find any yesterday, but most of the MMA sites are blocked here are work due to "violence".... hehehe...
Yay Danzig!!
Wow, what happened to George in that fight? He didn't look right from the beginning. +1 Ceg on the effects of Tommy's thumb to George's eye! I'll have to call you next time I need an opthamologic consultation. Too bad for George, who I think is the better fighter.
Interesting finale with Mac v. Tommy .... obviously I'm rooting for Mac. Tommy's a bigger and possibly stronger guy, but unless he has learned a lot of technique in his months off, Mac is going to pick him apart.
i've gone and got meself too psyched for the huerta vs. guida fight!
two more days until fight of the year.
releash and i will maintain control here while you are away, ceg, have fun.
Main Card:
Roger Huerta Vs. Clay Guida - huerta by split decision
Mac Danzig Vs. Tom Speer - danzig by tko
George Sotiropoulos Vs. Billy Miles - sotiropoulos by submission
Jared Rollins Vs. Jon Koppenhaver - koppenhaver by tko
Pre-lims:
Dan Barrera Vs. Ben Saunders - saunders by ko
Matt Arroyo Vs. John Kolosci - arroyo by submission
Paul Georgieff Vs. Jonathan Goulet - goulet by ko
Troy Mandaloniz Vs. Richie Hightower - hightower by decision
Roman Mitichyan Vs. Dorian Price - price by submission
something i noticed the first time and meant to mention in case someone else caught it. a petty thing to do, i thought. there's mention of him at other times, but they chose to block that out for whatever childish reason...rather odd.
My predictions for Saturday ...
Main Card:
Roger Huerta Vs. Clay Guida - Huerta by tko
Mac Danzig Vs. Tom Speer - Danzig by submission
George Sotiropoulos Vs. Billy Miles - Sotiropoulos by submission
Jared Rollins Vs. Jon Koppenhaver - Rollins by decision ... but I might change my mind at the last second on this one
Pre-lims:
Dan Barrera Vs. Ben Saunders - Barrera by tko
Matt Arroyo Vs. John Kolosci - Arroyo by decision
Paul Georgieff Vs. Jonathan Goulet - Goulet by tko
Troy Mandaloniz Vs. Richie Hightower - Hightower by submission
Roman Mitichyan Vs. Dorian Price - Mitichyan by tko
I'll still be around on Saturday for the finale, just posting slower because I'll have to do it from my cellphone (they still aren't evil mooks).
right, right, right, wrong...etc.
i think after i watch the marathon tomorrow and see roman's reaction to the doctor again, i might have to change my pick from price to the crazy armenian guy!
good luck, releash. i hope they can save you info. that was the worst part the first time mine crashed on me. fingers are crossed here for you.
oddly enough, mine seems to have made a recovery and everything's working fine. the fan isn't noisy and it's running smoother than before...all a certain sign that i'll get that "blue screen of death" you mentioned.
what's going on with the electronics, eh?!? for this one time only, i will extol the virtues of having the cell phone for saturday night!
El Matador: From humble beginnings to UFC's brightest young star
By Mary Buckheit
Page 2
December 6, 2007
Roger Huerta had to teach himself how to survive. He had no choice.
Sounds simple, but that's probably the biggest factor leading to Huerta's swift rise to prominence in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Since a mixed martial artist endures an attack on his life each and every time he steps into the octagon, the basic requirement of the sport is simply the ability to survive. And Huerta's childhood taught him nothing if not that.
Roger Huerta faces his biggest fight yet on Saturday night at The Palms.
"I can't believe I'm here," the 24-year-old Huerta told me over the phone from his home and training headquarters in St. Paul, Minn. -- where he's been training for his big bout against Clay "The Carpenter" Guida on Saturday night in "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 6 finale. "I think about what I saw as a little boy, and living through all that went on down there around me -- the war and the gangs and the drugs -- and sometimes I really just can't believe I'm alive."
Huerta's troubles started when his parents' marriage disintegrated dramatically when he was 5 years old. He said his father was involved in an affair, a discovery that sent his mother spiraling into an agitated and abusive state. Huerta spent time in foster care while a bitter custody battle ensued. His father was awarded full custody, but his mother wouldn't stand for the ruling. So she seized Roger from her ex-husband's home in Dallas and fled to her parents' home in El Salvador. Then, still severely emotionally unhinged, Lydia Huerta took flight herself, leaving her son with his grandparents -- who could do nothing but keep him in the house all day, away from the ferocity of the civil war that raged outside.
Huerta's mother eventually would return for him -- but only to take him to San Juan, Mexico and drop him on the doorstep of his father. By this time, Huerta's father had developed into a violent drug addict. Meaning Huerta was forced to fend for himself, selling trinkets and gum on the streets.
All of this occurred before his 13th birthday. "I should be dead," Huerta says, bluntly.
Eventually Huerta's father split, as well, leaving Huerta homeless, with no family but the street gang he fell into. Yet somehow, through all of this, he persevered. He kept going to school because it was the only place that offered him safety, not to mention a meal. "No matter what I was feeling or what was going on, I felt safe at school and I worked hard at it," he says. "I didn't know where I might be sleeping that night, but I knew where I would eat lunch the next day."
Huerta's endearing personality and poise surely played a part in several families' willingness to take him in and care for him during his middle-school years. Eventually the mother of a friend was given legal guardianship, and she provided his ticket out of San Juan. "That's how I first moved to Austin [Texas]," Huerta explains. "We had a little apartment there."
Huerta settled into his new surroundings -- still modest, but stable and supportive, which was all he needed in order to excel in school and wrestling. And, while attending Crockett High School, Huerta first met Jo Ramirez -- an English teacher who set out to advise Huerta about his college applications, but ended up building a much stronger bond with him. "She was the first one to really hear my whole story," Huerta says.
Ramirez helped Huerta get into Augsburg College in Minnesota -- a school with a well-regarded wrestling program -- and eventually legally adopted Huerta in 2002. "She's my guardian angel," Huerta says of Ramirez. "That's my mom. She's my rock, she's my angel, she's my back. She is amazing. She is everything to me.
"I don't remember what my real mom looks like. If I saw her today I wouldn't know her. Not even if she were sitting right next to me at a table in a restaurant. The last time I saw her was first grade. And my dad? I don't know anything of him. I mean, I don't know what ever happened to him."
What happened to Roger "El Matador" Huerta, however, is nothing short of a Cinderella story.
Huerta made the move from wrestling mats to octagons right after he was exposed to his first MMA bout in Minneapolis. "It was that kind of thing where you see something and that's all you want to do," Huerta says. "You just feel it."
"The sport came so naturally [to him]," says UFC play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg. "It didn't take long for everybody to notice that he was a very good fighter."
Huerta's meticulous grappling style led his trainers to coin his now-household nickname. "They started calling me Matador, like the bullfighter, because they said I look methodical when I fight, like each move is planned out," says Huerta. "They said it looks like I don't struggle much.
"That's what they think, anyway. I think I struggle quite a bit," he adds, with a chuckle.
Struggles? Perhaps. But Huerta has never looked like a crazed kid carrying out a vendetta on his past. "Somehow he has found the strength within himself to put that past away," Goldberg says. "He is able to compartmentalize and contain all that. ... We're all amazed because he is upbeat and smiling all the time; he's gentle and so sincere. The kid was practically raised by street gangs, yet he's the most soft-spoken and polite guy you'll ever meet. And on top of that, he's got real talent."
Back in May, Huerta was in Las Vegas for UFC 71. It turned out to be a rough weekend for UFC's biggest star, Chuck Liddell, who suffered a knockout at the hands of Rampage Jackson. But it also proved to be a celebration for the sport as a whole -- thanks to Huerta making the cover of Sports Illustrated, a first for mixed martial arts.
"I got off the phone [after hearing the Sports Illustrated news] and I hopped right on the bike and I just rode for as long as I could," Huerta says. "I don't drink anymore. I don't party. Everybody is always like, 'Oh, the cover boy, you're the cover boy.' But I want people to know that I train hard and I work hard and I want to be a champion.
Huerta, whose record is 20-1-1 since his UFC debut in September 2006, can take the next step on Saturday night. "This is Roger's shot at validation," Goldberg says. "He has the potential to someday fill the shoes as the next Chuck Liddell-type. He has the potential of being the first name people mention when they talk about the Ultimate Fighting Championship."
Huerta says he never stops thinking about the circumstances he overcame, and the purpose he believes his journey was meant to serve. "I don't know why I made it out alive," Huerta says. "But I want to show people what is possible."
Some would say he already has.
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=buckheit/071206
Main Card:
Roger Huerta (155) vs. Clay Guida (155)
Mac Danzig (168.5) vs. Tom Speer (170) (mac made it known yesterday that he plans to cut back down to compete at LW after this fight)
Jared Rollins (169) vs. Jon Koppenhaver (170)
George Sotiropoulous (169) vs. Billy Miles (170)
Dan Barrera (170) vs. Ben Saunders (169)
Pre-lims:
Troy Mandaloniz (170) vs. Richie Hightower (170)
Matt Arroyo (169) vs. John Kolosci (170)
Roman Mitichyan (170) vs. Dorian Price (170)
Paul Georgieff (170) vs. Jonathan Goulet (170)
go huerta! go guida! i can't wait for this match.
p.s. vas-y goulet!
edit: dan vs. ben has been added to the main televised card.
should have taped the K-1 grand prix instead of getting up at 4 am this morning to watch it live. i didn't even truly wake up until the end of the third match!
releash, i hope you're out there with the evil cell phone if the computer is still on the fritz. otherwise i'll be talking to myself, with nobody home.
Hey mooks!! (waves hi)
I'm here on the evil cellphone. My computer is still down for the count but I'm borrowing my roommates' for tonight. Getting excited for Huerta (and his shorts) and the rest of the fights. Vas y Danzig!!
I just woke up from a wonderful nap so I'll be all rested for the fights!
right on!
i was happy to hear they added a fifth fight to the telecast. it will be interesting to see how the rematch with ben and dan goes.
also, i won't post spoilers again, but i'd like to chant a little tune...
goulet, goulet, goulet, goulet...goulet, goulet!
that just woke me up!
tough one to call, eh?
...sorry about the goulet spoiler. i was just happy to read that jonathan got the win. that should probabaly get him on the april card in montreal.
I guess I'll stick with my gut and say that JRock will get the win.
No worries about the spoiler, mooks. Good for Goulet. So are they still planning on having an event in Montreal? I thought that was essentially not going to happen since GSP is fighting Hughes in a couple weeks. I guess if GSP wins then he and Matt could fight in April for the unification title. I still want to come up there at some point.
pretty good first round. completely different from the first fight. great knees and takedown defense from ben. i'd have to give it slightly to ben.
I would definitely give it to Saunders. I would be surprised if it was not a unanimous decision
edit: seriously...:D
Ben cracks me up!