Jul-24-2008

‘El Matador’s March to UFC 87 – Week Three

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By Roger Huerta

I left Albuquerque after a great week of training there, and came back to Minneapolis with Donald Cerrone this week. Justin Hagen, my strength and conditioning coach, flew in from LA, and Leonard Garcia flew in as well.

On Sunday afternoon we went over to Dave Menne’s gym, and I brought in a lot of the Augsburg wrestlers I used to wrestle with – Jamell Tidwell, Ryan Stroud – and another kid, Derek Sikora, a Division II national champion. I’ve also wrestled and grappled with Leonard and Cerrone, and then Justin puts us through a hard conditioning circuit afterwards.

It feels good being back in Minnesota. Dave has been around for me since the beginning and Justin has been around all of last year and half of the year before that, and these guys know me best. They know when I’m peaking, when I’m tired, when to push me, when it’s too much – they know everything that’s right for me. I trust Justin’s judgment on things, especially on my nutrition and my conditioning. Obviously my cardio’s never been a factor in any fight, and it’s something I rely on a lot. Dave, he’s been like an older brother; he’s been very supportive, and you can tell that he wants nothing but the best for me and that he wants me to keep succeeding and keep improving. Plus, it’s home here. Everybody’s very supportive, and as soon as I got back I made a few calls to my ex-wrestling teammates, told them I was back and ready to go, and they welcomed me back with open arms, ready to help out.

I’m comfortable here, the weather is beautiful, I can sleep in my own bed, and I’m thankful that I’m back home. I’ve been here since 2002, and it’s amazing to come back to fight here because this is where I started doing MMA. I knew what the UFC was and remembered the old UFC’s, but I had never seen a real MMA show before I came here. This is where I met Dave Menne and where I’ve been training the whole time. I started my amateur career and had my first pro fight in Minnesota, and it’s cool to be coming back because all the people here have been wanting to watch me fight live, and now they can. And for me, there’s no pressure at all – this is my backyard and I’ve got a great support group here.

I will say this though, as someone who grew up mainly in warm weather, the first winter for me in Minnesota was brutal. All my wrestling teammates and coaches, nobody ever thought I would come back, and I never thought that I would come back, but sure enough, I did. Something always draws me back to Minneapolis St-Paul. I’ve always said that I was going to move, that I was leaving. I said I was gonna move to Vegas, but I bought a house here. I don’t know what it is, but it’s a beautiful place and something always brings me back.

I’ve heard that there were a lot of comments about my pre-fight video interview on the UFC 87 website where I say that I’m never going to lose. Well, I’m not gonna lose. I’ve had that attitude my entire life. Going through what I’ve gone through and being where I’m at today, and having that goal of being the best in the world, it’s something that never crosses my mind. Why would anyone go into a fight thinking ‘I’m gonna lose this fight?’ If you feel that way, why go in there in the first place? In life, are you gonna give up on yourself? How can you? I’m in survival mode, and in there there’s no chance that I’m gonna let him beat me. So if you want to face me, you have to pretty much face that you’re going to lose the fight and somehow cope with that. However Kenny wants to take it, that’s fine. I’ve got nothing to hide – I train hard, I’m very disciplined and focused, and very confident in what I do.

But when it comes to winning, I can’t win alone and I know that. Anybody who thinks I can do this by myself, I can’t, and my guys deserve as much credit as I get. They’re the ones who are there for me when I need to be pushed, when I’m in a slump and need to be picked up, and who are there when no one else would be. And I won’t forget that.


For more information on Roger Huerta, visit www.myspace.com/matador155