THE CANADIAN PRESS
It’s been quite a year for Roger Huerta. So far, the scorecard reads four wins in four fights, plus being showcased on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
On Saturday, Huerta can cap 2007 with a win over Clay (The Carpenter) Guida in the main event of "The Ultimate Fighter" Team Serra versus Team Hughes finale at the Palms in Las Vegas. It’s a fight that can lift Huerta into the top drawer of UFC 155-pounders.
The 24-year-old mixed martial arts fighter already sees his arm raised at the end of the fight.
"I’m going to beat him and I’m going to beat him dominantly — standing, on the ground, wherever the fight goes," Huerta said.
Huerta knows Guida presents a stiff challenge. A five-foot-seven whirling dervish with a record of 22-5, the 25-year-old Guida is 2-2 in the UFC coming off a split decision win over Marcus Aurelio at UFC 74. Many thought he deserved the decision that went to Tyson Griffin in his previous fight at UFC 72.
There is no quit in Guida. Same as Huerta.
Known as El Matador, Huerta has had little time to ponder his journey this year. But the lightweight is grateful for every step of the way.
"The truth is I’ve been blessed, I’ve been blessed a lot and I thank God for everything that he’s done and all the opportunities that he’s given me," he said.
Huerta’s road has been anything but smooth, however.
Huerta’s early years have been well documented. Born in Los Angeles, he was just a child when his parents’ relationship fell apart and he found himself in a tug-of-war that saw him dumped in El Salvador with his grandparents during a time of civil war.
He was then left with his impoverished paternal grandparents in Mexico and soon was selling trinkets to tourists on the street. He was nine.
Reclaimed by his father, he moved to Texas where his family fell apart and he ended up homeless running with a street gang. He was 12.
A foster family offered him a home in Austin. Years later, high school teacher Jo Ramirez helped him with his college applications and eventually legally adopted him.
Huerta wrestled at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, soon switching to mixed martial arts. He had a family and a purpose again. His success in mixed martial arts has allowed him to buy a house in nearby St. Paul, where he lives with another family — his training partners.
The times are good, but he says he sometimes thinks back to darker days.
"I learned a lot from my past. It made me who I am today. I wouldn’t change anything from it," he said.
"For that I’m more grateful for everything. Everything that life has to offer: family, friends… . It opens up your eyes, makes you appreciate things," he added.
Huerta is a strong athletic fighter with a good chin and a varied arsenal. He can punch, kick and control opponents. In short, he’s a handful with a bright future.
He is also an important cog in the UFC machine and not just because of his fighting skills. Huerta’s Mexican heritage and fluency in Spanish make him a valuable salesman for an organization looking to spread into Mexico.
Huerta is blessed with matinee idol looks, with a demeanour equally as pleasant. Before a recent fight, Huerta was in a crowded hotel elevator when a female guest staggered in under the weight of what looked like an oversized school project. The fighter politely asked if he could help and held the awkward package the rest of the way up.
Inside the cage, Huerta isn’t quite as friendly with UFC wins over Jason Dent (UFC 63), John Halverson (UFC 67), Leonard Garcia (UFC 69), Doug Evans ("The Ultimate Fighter" Season 5 finale) and Alberto Crane (UFC 74).
The Garcia fight was the highlight, an exciting slugfest against a scrappy opponent who refused to quit despite taking a pounding.
Huerta’s previous fight, against Halverson, had lasted just 19 seconds. Huerta stunned his opponent with a nasty knee to the shoulder and then pounded him from above until Montreal referee Yves Lavigne stepped in.
Instead of putting his feet up, Huerta immediately asked UFC matchmaker Joe Silva for another fight as soon as possible. Silva served up Garcia and the two fighters put on a show, marking the occasion together with a prayer in the Octagon after the fact.
"I’ll always remember that fight, for sure," Huerta said.
He only needs to look at the May 28 issue of Sports Illustrated, if he needs a prompt. The magazine chose him for the cover — an all-business Huerta is shown grimacing through the cage aiming a kick at Garcia — with the headline "Too Brutal or the Future? Ultimate Fighting. America’s Fastest Growing and Most Controversial Sport."
For the UFC, a sport still looking for mainstream respectability in some quarters, it was a landmark moment.
For Huerta, MMA is simply a sport to savour.
"I love training. I love everything about mixed martial arts," said Huerta, who trains at coach Dave Menne’s Northway Gym. "I believe in the sport more than anything. If anything I’m mixed martial arts No. 1 fan and I want it to keep growing … I’ve been having a good time and I love doing what I do."
Outside the cage, Huerta now has an extensive support network that includes friends, fans and family. While he does not see his biological parents. His adopted family, however, comes with seven brothers and sisters.
Welterweight Jonathan Goulet of Victoriaville, Que., takes on Paul Georgieff on Saturday’s card.
Notes : The UFC on Wednesday announced the full card for its year-end event. Notable matchups added to UFC 79: Nemesis include a main card bout between Rich Clementi and Melvin Guillard, who is back after an eight-month drug suspension, as well as Toronto’s Mark Bocek taking on Doug Evans in the undercard. Bocek fell to Frankie Edgar in his Octagon debut in July.
