In her last MMA fight on March 29, Natalie Roy from Santa Fe floored her opponent at one minute and forty seconds of Round One. On Saturday night, June 14, it took her only 32 seconds to defeat Brittany Horton. It was a moment of truth for Brittany, however, because she agreed to take the fight on very short notice when Natalie’s original opponent had to drop out. Knowing that she didn’t have a chance and not having had a fight for three years, it took great courage to step into the cage against Natalie. She had her moment of truth and she came through.
It was also a moment of truth for Santa Fe fighter, Aaron Perls. Despite taking several heavy shots from Jon Sparks, he was always on the offensive. Sparks won on a split decision but I felt that Aaron was really the winner. As well as Randy "The Maniac" McCarty who tried valiantly to battle through bad cuts over both eyes, Tuua Pleasant who gave it his best was completely overwhelmed by Elias Proce, the persistent Matt Gurule who came from behind to force Danny Grado from El Paso to tap out. These fighters faced their moments of truth.
Several others failed, however. Mark Lujan was scheduled to fight Maurice Jackson, a dedicated young black fighter who had trained hard for this event. At the weigh-in on June 13, the announcer said that Lujan was “running late.” Actually he was just “running” because he didn’t show up for either the weigh-in or the fight, an enormous disappointment for the well prepared Jackson. You can’t call yourself a mixed martial arts fighter if you’re scared to show up. Lujan had his moment of truth and failed it; he should be suspended from the sport.
Steven Gonzales was little better. His opponent, Henry Barahona weighed in at 138 pounds. The weight limit was 135. Normally when you show up over the limit, you have to give part of the purse to your opponent. But if you’re over by more than 2 pounds, your opponent has the right to call the fight off which is what Gonzales did, a tacky way to avoid his moment of truth.
There were other surprises. For example, a scrawny looking 18 year old kid named Ernesto Salvidre from Santa Fe stepped into the cage against the powerful, stocky AJ Garza. I thought that Salvidre looked like he would be totally outclassed physically but I was completely wrong. He is extraordinarily skilled, forced Garza to tap out well before the end of the first round and is a fighter with a great future.
Teamwork is another lesson from this exciting night of fights. Each fighter comes from a gym (there are some thirty gyms in Albuquerque alone) and has the support of all of his or her colleagues. That’s invaluable to an athlete and an important lesson in a society where we often overemphasize individual accomplishment and don’t say enough about teamwork. Most advances in every sphere of life come about through people working together.
Shortly after this night of fights, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled, “Uncle Sam Wants You – Unless you’re 71% of Youths.” The gist is that 71% of American youth cannot qualify for the military because of obesity, lack of a high school diploma, felony convictions, prescription drug use for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and large-scale tattoos or ear gauges that create large holes in ear lobes. Doesn’t it seem astonishing that the richest, most privileged and one of the largest countries in the world is finding it harder and harder to field an army? Tell that to these MMA fighters who work so hard to reach the maximum in physical fitness.
The next fight is July 26 in Albuquerque and I plan to be there. These are special people, mostly willing to stand up for their moments of truth.
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