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Search for MLS team home in Miami has taken turns like a Beckham free kick

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 12:16:40 -0500

Soccer coaches in England lusted for his talents; free kicks bent seemingly to his will; movies and underwear lines got named after him; models, pop icons and film stars swooned over him.

Even blasé Los Angeles fell star-struck at David Beckham’s feet when he came to play with the Galaxy in the twilight of his career.

But in soccer-loving Miami, Beckham is finding that all that won’t even buy him a café con leche.

The English soccer great has faced resistance and even outright outrage in his efforts to build a new home for a local Major League Soccer franchise (to begin play in 2017) in Miami – a move he apparently thought would be welcomed with open arms because he plans to pay for it out of the team’s pocket.

It was the business community that first sent him packing from a Port of Miami site. Next, costs and politics drove him out of a downtown waterfront location next to American Airlines Arena, where the NBA’s Heat play.

Most recently, it was home- and small business-owners that proved a roadblock on a deal in Little Havana.

Now, almost two years after Miami was awarded the franchise, Miami Beckham United ownership seems close to sealing a deal for a stadium development site in the city’s historic Overtown neighborhood.

“We intend to create an assemblage of privately and county-controlled land totaling approximately nine acres in Miami's urban core, within walking distance of multiple public transit options and the up-and-coming Miami River District,” a statement from Miami Beckham United read. “The private properties, which comprise the majority of the land, are under contract and we intend to purchase the county land at fair market value pending approval of our site by the MLS Board of Governors.”

The land consists of a county-owned truck depot, a privately-owned parking lot and a vacant lot managed by the city’s water and sewer department.

Miami Mayor Tomás Regalado believes the team and stadium will benefit the community.

“It’s a win-win for the city of Miami,” he told Fox News Latino. “First because the stadium is going to be in the City of Miami. Second, because it’s going to be privately owned and built. That’s important because not only will the stadium pay property taxes and will have community benefits, but it sends a message to those who are seeking public money for venues or sports that this can be done.”

The city still has to host public hearings about the project and zoning changes to the area, at which the public will have an opportunity to voice its opinion.

Which has presented problems before.

The working-class community of Miami’s Little Havana balked at Beckham’s group when it approached residents and business owners with an offer of a new stadium in their neighborhood.

The face of the Little Havana opposition was René Díaz, 69, the owner of the Candy House daycare. According to the Miami Herald, the team offered Díaz $1.8 million for a building he purchased in 1998 for less than $250,000.

Díaz asked for $30 million, hoping to start with a big number and end up somewhere in between. But instead of bargaining, he told the newspaper, the team took to the media to criticize him.

“The negotiation process, if you can call it that, was a disaster,” Díaz told El Nuevo Herald after the team announced the Overtown location as the winner. “I feel good because I’m not losing anything. I get to keep my business, which is my family’s patrimony.”

He wasn’t alone. An elderly resident named Violeta Jimenez told the Herald, “I think it is fantastic that they go somewhere else, and I hope it all goes well for them this time, before they have to come up with a Plan Z.”

FNL reached out to Díaz and other property owners but didn’t receive a response.

Miami city Mayor Regalado said Beckham’s search was complicated by the community’s experience with Marlins Park, which opened in the spring of 2012.

“The reason we had the conversations with the Beckham group was because, since Day 1 they have said, ‘We don’t want public money.’ They would build the stadium,” Regalado told FNL. “Had they said, ‘We will build the stadium, but we need public funds,’ we would have said no from Day 1, because we had the bad taste from the Marlins experience.”

The construction of Marlins Park was funded largely through public funds, and the city gave the team the land for free and paid for the demolition of the Orange Bowl, which previously occupied the site.

The financial deal was immediately unpopular. In fact, in 2011 Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez lost his job in a recall vote – 88 percent of voters wanted him out of office – in part because he had backed the stadium’s financial plan.

Tourist dollars are still being used to defray the cost of the structure, Regalado said.

“The Marlins deal is one that will go on the books as one of the stadiums that was built with public money without the public knowing exactly what was happening,” he told FNL.

But he added that the Miami Beckham United’s Overtown deal is setting a new precedent when it comes to developers and sports owners that he is happy to be associated with.

“[It will be] a beautiful venue that people can use,” he said. “I’d like to be there for the first game from the suites, and [I’ll] be proud we have another sport in the City of Miami.”

A 72-year-old competitive bodybuilder who shows that age isn’t a limitation

Tue, 15 Dec 2015 14:18:02 -0500

Cristobal Gutierrez turns 72 on Christmas Day, but that isn’t keeping him from preparing for a Miami bodybuilding contest in April at which he’ll share the stage with competitors less than half his age.

Gutierrez, who deadlifts 315 pounds in 10-set repetitions, has won the Mr. Miami and Mr. South Florida titles in the over-55 category.

Remarkable? Sure. Divine? Possibly.

Gutierrez credits his faith for allowing him to keep lifting and pursuing his passion for bodybuilding.

“I’ve always had this in my life,” he told Fox News Latino recently. “God has a purpose for me.”

A former World Wide Wrestling Federation pro who wrestled under the name Chief Running Deer, Gutierrez shows no sign of slowing down, hitting the weights for hours just like he did when he first started as a scrawny teenager in Colombia in the late 1950s.

“I was skinny,” Gutierrez recalled recently at his Miami home. “I didn’t want to continue that way.”

So he turned to the fitness magazines and icons of the era for inspiration.

“I watched the movies of great bodybuilders like Steve Reeves,” he said, “and also read magazines featuring Larry Scott.”

He told FNL, “My body changed naturally. I didn’t take any vitamins or protein.”

Diet helped. “I had an old-school diet like Colombian Indians – eating fish, yucca, plantains, corn and everything else that we could get our hands on.”

But, he said, “I learned to eat well thanks to Charles Atlas. I bought a bodybuilding encyclopedia which I still use.”

Of course, there weren’t a lot of gyms back then.

“I created my weights using concrete in the backyard,” Gutierrez recalled, although that wasn’t altogether unusual. Back then, he said, there were a lot of “guys in the bodybuilding world who started to lift in their garage.”

Gutierrez arrived in the U.S. in the mid-60s, and he started wrestling professionally as “Chief Running Deer,” wearing a Native-American outfit in the ring.

He didn’t last long in the WWWF (the precusor to the WWE). He suffered three herniated discs and went on disability.

During his recovery, Gutierrez couldn’t wait to lift. That's when he started taking bodybuilding more seriously.

The father of two has been married to the same woman, Titi, for 40 years now. He said he stays away from alcohol and cigarettes and says he hasn’t taken any steroids or other performance enhancing drugs.

And he now follows a strict diet that helps him look lean with bulging abs and biceps. For breakfast, he eats nine egg whites with turkey followed by five small meals daily.

On any given muggy South Florida afternoon, the 5’7”, 140-pound Gutierrez can be found pumping iron in his backyard, where he has built a gym constructed out of second-hand equipment.

He incline bench presses and dead lifts and does cardio for about 30 minutes four times a week. He focuses on training one muscle a day.

When he isn’t competing at events, he keeps busy working installing bathrooms and tile in homes.

Over the years, he’s suffered a couple of injuries, including one to his left shoulder, but that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing his passion.

He still has a few months left before his next competition, but he poses in front of a mirror to make sure his body is defined. He had been training for a November event, but his wife became ill, and he had to cancel.

Gutierrez is grateful for his health and gives back to his community by visiting local senior centers to speak words of encouragement.

Although he realizes he is not a teen anymore, he has no plan of quitting.

“I will never finish,” he told. “I will leave it to God who is the only one that can take me out of bodybuilding.”

A Miami street gang leader who found his way into MMA fighting – and God – instead

Fri, 15 Jan 2016 13:00:01 -0500

“I used to sell drugs,” Miami-born mixed martial arts fighter Rene “Level” Martinez told Fox News Latino recently.

“I used to leave my house thinking I might not come back, but I never cared,” he admitted after a sparring session at MMA Masters, the Doral gym where he trains.

Back in the early 1990s, Martinez wreaked havoc on the streets of Miami, protecting his turf as the leader of the notorious street gang, Latin Syndicate – which he cofounded with seven friends.

Those days make up a big part of a documentary Martinez, now 42, has made titled, “The Warrior Level: The Rise of Street Legend Rene ‘Level’ Martinez.”

“We used to lay down the [other] drug dealers, but I never have targeted anyone innocent. We had morals – which was, not to hurt anyone innocent. If we were going to do something, it was to someone who was doing something bad.”

Martinez would film some of the violent activities the gang took part in.

“I got footage in [the documentary] from the ’90s,” he told FNL. “I used to record with an old school VHS camera. I got a lot of people getting knocked out in gang fights. I have some real crazy stuff.”

He hopes the movie helps inspire those living in a dark period.

“It’s my story, from when I was born to today,” he said. “I take you to when I was growing up to my whole gang life. I talk about my boys who have died and [have gotten] locked up. It is real deep.”

Born in Miami, Martinez faced hardships when young. His mother wasn’t around much, and the grandmother who cared for him died when he was 13.

“The streets raised me,” he told FNL. “At 16, we were homeless living behind a video store. We had to steal for food. It was crazy.”

His mother later found God, and she tried to convince her son to come to church with her. But for Martinez, time ran out.

“When I was 18, my mom accepted Jesus Christ,” he said. “She became a teacher, but for me it was already too late. I was a straight gangster. I was breaking into homes, stealing guns, drive-bys, shoot-outs and getting into fights. She tried to get me to go to church and get people to pray for me. I would laugh at her. I was ruthless. I was stone cold, boy.”

Martinez escaped death several times in broad daylight shootouts. He was arrested more than 15 times and witnessed the deaths of both allies and rivals.

The 6’ 1” fighter recalled a time when he and his fellow gang members stole a car and wrecked it.

“We were in a high-speed chase going about 100 miles an hour,” he said. “I ended up being in a coma for three weeks. I escaped death. I was in the car. All of us lived [except for] the drunk driver.”

The way he wound up getting into MMA was rooted in his gang past. Being known around the city for brawling and worse, he was offered an opportunity to participate in backyard fights, which would pay.

“I’ve always been an athlete,” Martinez told FNL. “I had a militant mindset. In our gang, if you smoked cigarettes that was a violation. If [others in the Latin Syndicate] did drugs, we would beat their ass.”

His backyard fights started getting posted on YouTube, and some of them were viewed nearly a million times, which caught the eye of a local promoter.

He started training at MMA Masters, and in 2009, made his professional fight debut at an Action Fight League event in September of that year. Since then, Martinez, who is also a rapper, has gone 6-1-1 in the cage.

His last fight took place in Nicaragua in August 2014. He defeated Sergio Ortiz Rodriguez by unanimous decision.

His highest-profile fight was against the Nicaraguan welterweight boxing champion Ricardo Mayorga in Managua in July 2013 – which was the main event at World Series of Fighting: Central America. It took Martinez 1:39 to dispatch the former champion with a guillotine choke.

His only loss came at the hands of Alan Arzeno in Dec. 2013.

At the moment, though, Martinez, who also runs a gym, is focused on his documentary – although he says he still has a lot more fights left in him.

And his mother’s wish finally came true. Martinez was baptized about two years ago, and he says he now devotes his life to Jesus Christ.

“It’s never too late for someone to turn their life around,” he told FNL. “I am blessed to be here.”

A release date for the documentary hasn’t been set, but it’s likely to be April of this year.

The secret to UFC fighter Kelvin Gastelum's success? His Mexican mom

Fri, 20 Nov 2015 12:31:53 -0500

Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Kelvin Gastelum (11-1) started his mixed martial arts career going undefeated for ten fights until he lost his first bout this January by split decision against Tyron Woodley.

Much of the credit for his success inside the octagon goes to his mother, Patricia Encinas. The Mexican-born mom worked plenty of jobs in an effort to support the family, and she passed her work ethic along to Gastelum.

“My mom was a single mother, working three to four jobs,” Gastelum told Fox News Latino recently. “She would take a bunch of crazy, grimy jobs at first, then she got into the restaurant business. Then she started to manage restaurants. She was also a chef for a long time. She did a lot in the restaurant business.”

Born in Yuma, Arizona, Gastelum is returning to his mother’s native land for UFC Fight Night 78 at the Monterrey Arena in Monterrey, Mexico. He fights Neil Magny (16-4) in the main event, which also serves as the finale of "The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2" and airs on Fox Sports 1 on Saturday.

Gastelum, currently ranked No. 15 by the UFC in the welterweight division, was one of the coaches on the show, on which he worked with eight aspiring Latin fighters. He believes that that same work ethic that has fueled his success can be spotted in most Hispanics. That’s why he took offense when Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump began making comments critical of Mexicans and immigrants.

“Immigrants from Mexico do the jobs no one else wants to do,” he said in an interview, “That makes this place go around. They take jobs that we really need. It's ignorance, I think, [that makes Trump say those things].”

Gastelum started his mixed martial arts career at age 17 in Mexico, in the city of Mexicali. The venue was connected to a strip bar. He was offered a $250 paycheck in a fight he accepted on only two-days' notice.

“I remember warming up, hitting the pads," Gastelum said, "and staff came to the room and said I had to get out, because this person is coming with a lady. 'And, you know, who knows what they're going to do?'”

He went on, “I had to go outside to warm up. When I went to fight, I had to go in the actual club to get to the arena. It was different, because I am walking through the strip club ... I was 17. I am trying to focus on fighting. I am literally walking to the arena and seeing all these naked women. I got an arm bar [and won] in three minutes. That’s when I fell in love with the sport.”

Since then, Gastelum, now all of 24, has been a force to be reckon with in the sport. He won The Ultimate Fighter 17 in 2013. He has also served as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 2 and has been flying all over South America educating natives of the sport by making television appearances.

“I never thought about doing television,” said Gastelum, who worked as a bondsman for two years before becoming a full-time MMA fighter. “The more I've done it, the more I’ve been getting comfortable with it. It’s new to me, but I have been working on it. Before, I would hide from cameras – now I’ve learned to deal with the attention.”

As for Saturday's fight, his opponent Magny – a last-minute substitute for Matt Brown, who was forced to drop out because of injury – is coming off a victory against Erick Silva in August, while Gastelum defeated Nate Marquardt back in June.

Gastelum says he is in the best physical condition he's ever been in. He changed camps and is now training in California at King’s MMA, home to heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and other top fighters, and has enjoyed the support from a nutritionist provided by the UFC.

“I got a nutritionist working for me,” he said. “He is buying my groceries and cooking my meals. It’s one less thing I need to worry about ... My weight cut is way ahead of schedule.”

Meanwhile, his mother’s hard work paid off in another important way: She recently opened a restaurant in Yuma serving tacos and hot dogs that's named after her son. In a hopeful sort of way. It's called "El Campeón" – The Champion.

“I haven’t been there yet,” Gastelum said. “But after the fight, I want to go.”

Special bond unites MMA challenger Luis Palomino and his Brazilian capoeira coach

Fri, 18 Sep 2015 08:00:54 -0400

When he was growing up, mixed martial arts fighter Luis “Baboon” Palomino looked to combat movies such as "The Quest" for inspiration and as an escape from his surrounding troublesome reality.

The Peruvian-born fighter was raised in Miami Beach, Florida, and as a teen, gangs invaded his neighborhood.

“The gang activity was at another level here – especially in high school,” said Palomino, 34. “A lot of my friends got deported. I knew friends who overdosed, got shot or robbed.”

But a Brazilian martial arts instructor rescued him from a criminal future and has helped him become a feared MMA fighter.

In a highly anticipated rematch, Palomino (23-10) faces undefeated World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje (14-0) in the WSOF 23 main event in Phoenix on Friday night, which will be aired on NBC Sports Network.

Gaethje defeated Palomino by technical knockout in the third round back in March in a fight that many MMA commentators are calling fight of the year.

Palomino says this time around will have a different outcome.

“I got injured in the fight early on. If you notice the video in the first kick we exchanged his leg goes across my ankles and it took my ankle. It took my ability to move,” he told Fox News Latino. “The fight took a different route. That’s what happens. You have to fight through it. I couldn’t check the kicks.”

Palomino, who was raised by his mother, wouldn’t be on the big stage if it wasn’t for César Carneiro, an expert in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira, whom he considers a father figure.

“Watching Carneiro on television fighting motivated me to practice capoeira,” Palomino said.

That fighting style is a blend of dance, acrobatics and music, and Carneiro, 46, has appeared in several movies, including “Only the Strong,” that showcase his fighting talent.

While Palominino was still a teen, a middle-school friend introduced him to Carneiro, who decided to take the young man under his wing.

“I’ve loved him since he was 14 years-old because he was a tough kid,” he told FNL. “I love tough people.”

Before that, Palomino had been training to box, but his desire had always been to train with Carneiro. For his part, the capoeira master was impressed by Palomino’s skill.

“He was problematic,” he said. “I like kids like that because you can control them and give them good direction. He was tough when he played capoeira, and capoeira is like play-fighting.”

Carneiro introduced him to the Brazilian jiu-jitsu sensei, Daniel Valverde, so that Palomino could hone his skills and become a well-rounded fighter. Carneiro and Valverde are co-owners of MMA Masters gym in Miami.

But fighting is just one aspect of Palomino and Carneiro's bond. It was evident when Palomino left to train at the nearby American Top Team gym for a few months.

“I remember when Baboon left the gym, I used to cry a lot," Carneiro said. “During that time he left, I also lost my 16 year-old son, Cauê, who also was a fan of Baboon. That’s when I really knew about pain."

He continued, “When Baboon left, he tried to find his own thing. He tried to find something better for him. I wasn’t upset with him at all. Every time I saw Baboon, I said ‘hello’ and told him that I want him to be happy.”

Although they aren’t related, Palomino grieved with Carneiro over the loss of Cauê.

“He spoke to me, came over and hugged me. He came and cried with me,” Carneiro said. “He told me, ’I don’t only see you as a coach, but as my father and I lost a brother.’”

Carneiro feels the same. When Palomino lost his first MMA fight, he says, he cried like a “baby.”

As Palomino’s biggest fight approaches, Carnerio will be where he's always been: in Palomino's corner.

“Baboon is someone special to me,” he said. “I just want the best for him. I know one day he will run his own gym and be my assistant when he is done with his fighting career.”

Former UFC heavyweight champ Frank Mir tours Cuba, discovers gold mine of talent

Wed, 04 Nov 2015 10:09:01 -0500

As a kid, the two-time Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, Frank Mir (18-10), heard stories from his father, Francisco Santos Mir, about what it was like to grow up in Cuba, but family history was hard to find.

“It’s sad for me,” he told Fox News Latino in a telephone interview. “My mom’s side of the family, they’ve been [in the U.S.] forever, but with my father – he came here at 9 years old. His father passed away when he was in his 20s. There’s a side of my family that we lost connection with because of the embargo. It was hard for the connections.”

So when Mir heard the news late last year that Pres. Barack Obama had announced his intention to reestablish diplomatic relations and to loosen travel and economic restrictions between the U.S. and Cuba, he knew his dream of visiting the island nation could become a reality.

“It was always a goal of mine to go back to Cuba, where my paternal lineage comes from,” he said. “When it became an easier adventure to go, Malki Kawa from my management [team] said he had the connections, and … I took advantage of the opportunity.”

Mir was able to visit Cuba earlier this year, where he visited his father’s birthplace and watch first-hand Cuban athletes train in MMA fighting in Havana.

“I was impressed with the Cuban mixed martial artists and that they knew who I was,” he said. “With the embargo I thought it would be hard to know who our athletes are in the sport of mixed martial arts and in general. I have a huge support and strong following.”

Top ranked middleweight Yoel Romero is one of the more successful Cuban-born MMA fighters active in the UFC.

Mir, who recently lost to Andrei Arlovski in September by unanimous decision, was born in the United States to a Cuban-born father and American mother. His father arrived in Miami in the 1960s, but later relocated to Nevada. At first, his father questioned his son’s trip.

“My dad got emotional,” he said. “I think many of the Cubans are cut off from their heritage, but now they are kind of open-minded – not that the government is moving around. I think the hope of reconnecting with that aspect of their life is promising.”

Needless to say, Mir ventured around the island, but came home empty-handed in terms reconnecting with family. He did visit family burial sites.

But his trip also served as an eye-opener for him, seeing Cuban athletes train and compete in MMA fights. He also met with the members of JudoKickBox, an organization of Cuban professional martial arts athletes who teach and organize MMA tournaments on the island. Cuban-Americans Carlos Finales and Eric Castaños, who both reside in Miami, founded the group. Castaños said it is an honor that Mir visited the island.

“Frank has been one of the greats in the heavyweight division,” Castaños said. “He has been a great example. He also showed resilience after overcoming a motorcycle accident and coming back to compete. He is a living legend.”

Mir said Cubans have potential to become MMA stars.

“When it comes to wrestling, judo and boxing they are at a good level,” he said. “They can compete in an international level. On the amateur level it is extremely high. Transitioning to MMA for them would be easy. I think we will see a lot more Cubans in MMA as it gets easier for them to complete.”

Watching MMA isn’t as easy to watch in Cuba, but Mir said natives find ways, even if it is a few weeks after the fact. He said Cubans burn fights onto CDs after receiving digital files from family and friends in the United States.

When it comes to the gym, the equipment is rundown, but they figure out how to work with what they have.

“They don’t have great punching bags, but guys are putting tires on the side and using them as a low kick bag,” he said. “I was impressed with their innovation. They’ll find a way.”

However, Mir did run into trouble after posting a picture of himself in Cuba on social media.

“When I posted a picture on social media I had some comments of people saying I was supporting communism by going there,” he said. “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but that’s like me hating you for who the president of the United States is. How much of an affect does each U.S. citizen have on who is in government?... [They have] even less control over the officials in Cuba.”

Although relations are improving between both countries, there are yet some Cubans who live in the United States who oppose the changes. However that won’t deter Mir from visiting the island with his family, his father and possibly a UFC official very soon.

“It’s a tropical island about an hour away from Miami,” he said. “It’s a gold mine.”

Ben Carson picks up knockout endorsement – from MMA fighter Vitor Belfort

Wed, 28 Oct 2015 09:48:04 -0400

Republican presidential candidate and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson added a little muscle to his team on Tuesday, picking up the support of UFC light heavyweight champion, Vitor Belfort.

Carson dropped by a Tuesday press conference in a Boca Raton, Florida, gym where Belfort was speaking with reporters, and the Brazilian-born fighter endorsed the GOP candidate.

Both men face what promise to be tough challenges in the near future: Carson will participate in the third Republican debate at the University of Colorado in Boulder on Wednesday night, while the 38-year-old Belfort (24-11) headlines the upcoming UFC Fight Night 77, where he’ll fight Dan Henderson (31-13) on Nov. 7 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Carson said he was pumped to meet the former champ. He took to Twitter, where he posted a picture with Belfort and his trainers.

“A little pre-debate prep with former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort and team. Great sparring partner!” Carson tweeted.

Carson has recently taken over the lead in the polls from real estate magnate and television personality, Donald Trump.

Boca Raton is in the political backyard of Carson’s other GOP opponents, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Marco Rubio.

“My team and his team have been talking about having similarities in our morals. We support people like him,” Belfort told Fox News Latino. “They are willing to come out and take a stand and support the road that he has in front of him. We believe him. He is the right guy for the job.”

During the meeting, Belfort, a devout Christian, handed Carson a copy of his book, “Vitor Belfort: Lessons of Guts, Faith and Success.” He told Carson that the biggest challenges he’d faced weren’t inside the cage, but outside.

“It’s not about motivation. It’s about what’s driven inside of you,” Belfort said. “He is willing to fight for a cause … He doesn’t have an agenda about attacking people. He is focused on his mission.”

Asked by UFC.com if he had any political aspirations of his own, Belfort laughed.

“Life is politics,” he said. “Having three kids at home is sometimes like dealing with Democrats and Republicans when you’re choosing a restaurant. You just have to find what is best overall.”

Belfort faces Henderson for the third time. They have split their previous two bouts with the most recent taking place two years ago, when Belfort won by technical knockout in the first round.

A cut above: Meet MLB's only in-house barber, the Miami Marlins' Hugo Tandron

Fri, 02 Oct 2015 11:43:40 -0400

Carol City, a section of Miami Gardens in South Florida, is a neighborhood that’s usually characterized as being rough.

That's why Hugo "Juice" Tandron, who grew up there, was shocked to see Major League Baseball player Gary Sheffield step into his house in 1993.

Tandron is a barber who, at the time, cut hair in the utility room of his home.

Sheffield, who had been traded to the Marlins in late June, “wanted a new barber because they kept messing his hair up at the flea market,” Tandron told Fox News Latino recently.

But, he said, “Sheffield was reluctant at first because of where I cut hair.”

The outfielder’s choice proved fateful for Tandron.

Twenty-two years later, the tattooed, long-bearded 45-year-old is the official barber of the Miami Marlins and the only individual to hold such a position with a major league team.

He has a makeshift barbershop at the team's ballpark, Marlins Park, where team stars like Giancarlo Stanton and Dee Gordon wait to get a cut before a game.

He is also the owner of Headz Up barber shop in Miami Lakes, just a few minutes away from where he grew up. His wife of more than 20 years, Jackie, helps run the shop and his son Willie, 26, also cuts hair.

This is a place where Marlins' games are always on television.

Tandron’s longtime friend, Luis Portado, says that it’s the barber’s character that has led him to success.

“He relates to these people,” Portado said. “He cuts good hair. To get your foot in the door is not easy.”

Before cutting the hair of Hall of Famers like Ricky Henderson and Reggie Jackson, Tandron, born to Cuban parents, met many challenges.

"I didn’t think I would have been alive at this age, to tell you the truth," he told FNL.

Tandron said his role models when growing up were the “older dudes” who had luxurious cars.

"That’s what I looked up to as a role model – instead of looking at my dad who was working two jobs busting his butt. It almost cost me my life," he says now.

Tandron got in trouble with the law a few times, even being charged with armed robbery once, although later the case was dismissed.

He had a come-to-Jesus moment when a man pointed a TEC-9 semi-automatic at his face during an argument outside a Miami nightclub. The gun jammed, and Tandron was able to run for his life.

After that, Jackie pushed him to become a barber. His mother, Zonia, a retired beautician, had clippers around the house, which he would experiment with.

"I started inventing," said Tandron, who has two children and three grandkids. "I started learning. I saw other guys cut in the neighborhood. It was the necessity. I would work at BrandsMart USA” – an electronics and appliance chain in the south. “I would finish at 6. I would have my clippers, and I would cut hair in the bathroom."

He would charge $4 or trade a cut for a beer or cigarettes.

But then Sheffield knocked on his door.

Right after that first haircut, the All-Star outfielder recommended Tancron to his teammates. During the team’s 1997 championship season, Tandron cut the hair of pretty much the entire team.

A year later, the Marlins’ front office asked if he could bring his equipment and cut hair in the clubhouse.

Willie watched his dad cut big leaguers’ hair and was inspired to play ball himself. Got as far as college before hanging up his cleats.

“He always put his family first,” Willie told FNL. “I’m proud of him.”

Today, Tandron cuts the hair of millionaires, and he serves not only as their barber, but also as a life coach, or a marriage counsel, or just as a sympathetic ear.

He is at Marlins Park for all 81 games during the season, and at times, the players will travel to Headz Up to get time in his barber chair.

Tandron says that one of his favorite clients is Miami Marlins President David Samson. “We talk Marlins, and how to improve the team,” he said, who says he has to pinch himself because he feels so fortunate.

His prices are the same for everyone, $20 – but tips are entirely the client’s decision.

In the offseason, he frequently gets flown all over the country to clip the hair of his major league clients, whom he refers to as his friends.

But no matter where his life and work take him, Tandron won’t forget his roots.

Among his many tattoos are two that claim much of his allegiance. On his leg, he has the Marlins’ logo, and on his forearm he has the words, “Carol City.”

Tandron said he is still in touch with many of the friends he made growing up, even the ones who are doing time.

“These are people as you would say that I did dirt with,” he said. “Back in the day, I made the right turn, but they kept going on that wrong path. Some are getting out. Some of them are dead. I am from … where you do or die.”

Ronda Rousey's nemesis on Friday's bout: 'She'd better be ready'

Wed, 28 Dec 2016 12:23:00 -0500

The upcoming UFC 207 fight card has been built around former bantamweight champion turned movie star Ronda Rousey’s return to the octagon, but fans and media won’t hear from her leading up to the fight Friday against current champion Amanda Nunes.

Unlike other big UFC events, neither Nunes nor Rousey will appear in any fight week news conference or open workout. However, they will go before the cameras for the weigh-ins on Thursday.

The charismatic 29-year-old Rousey has been mostly mum since the announcement of her return after her brutal loss to Holly Holm in November 2015, the first defeat of her superstar MMA career.

Since the announcement in mid-October, fans have had to make do with a few pictures of her training posted on her Instagram account.

She did speak with Ellen DeGeneres last month, when she explained how the lead-up to the big fight can be mentally exhausting.

“It’s the weeks and weeks of buildup beforehand,” she told the TV host. “You know you’re going to fight this one person, and it’s like your showdown, and the most important thing in your whole life, and then millions of people are watching.”

“If it just happened right now I wouldn’t be nervous at all,” she said.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old Nunes exuded confidence in an interview this week with FoxNews.com.

“She knows she has to be ready,” the Brazilian champ said. “She is a smart girl, she knows this is a great fight because the fans want to see her back.”

“I think she’s ready [but] I can’t say much about that,” said Nunes, who trains in South Florida for the American Top Team.

She said she understands the hype behind Rousey’s return but isn’t fazed by all the attention given to the challenger -- instead of the champion.

“They (UFC) give her more hype but I am OK with it,” she told FoxNews.com. “The belt is in my house and I am the champion. It’s what matters to me: to be the champion.”

Nunes (13-4 MMA) earned the title in July after defeating Miesha Tate at UFC 200 in Las Vegas.

For her part, Rousey (12-1 MMA) was the first woman to headline a UFC pay-per-view alongside Liz Carmouche back in 2013. Since her astonishing loss to Holm she has taken on Hollywood appearing in such films as “Furious 7,” which is part of the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, “The Expendables 3” and other films.

She has hinted her fight Friday could be one of her lasts.

“If she retires, I think she’ll do the right thing,” Nunes told FoxNews.com. “She has everything she wants already. She has the money and she’s doing movies. I don’t think she needs anything else because she won’t have this belt anymore.”

Headed for hyped UFC rematch, McGregor and Diaz just can't stop fighting

Fri, 19 Aug 2016 15:29:39 -0400

The hype behind the rematch between UFC featherweight champion, Conor McGregor (19-3) and Nate Diaz (19-10) left off right where the previous fight left off.

Ireland’s McGregor meets Diaz in a welterweight division battle at UFC 202 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Aug. 20. McGregor’s title is not on the line, but both men’s pride sure seems to be.

The two fought in March at UFC 196, and Diaz defeated McGregor by submission in the second round. The rematch originally was planned for the historic UFC 200, but McGregor was scratched after refusing to meet the promotion’s pre-fight media obligations.

Although the bout isn’t supposed to take place until Saturday, McGregor and Diaz already have gotten physical.

On Wednesday, McGregor arrived late to the pre-fight press conference, jokingly citing traffic issues, but neither UFC president Dana White nor Diaz seemed to be amused.

The California fighter later walked out, tossing insults at his foe – and, before long, they were throwing actual water bottles at each other. McGregor had to be restrained, and Diaz and his entourage were escorted out of the arena.

White told TMZ [http://www.tmz.com/2016/08/18/dana-white-conor-mcgregor-nate-diaz-lawsuit-water-bottle-fight-ufc/] that there is a likelihood that the Nevada State Athletic Commission will be fining both men – there even appears to be a lawsuit being prepared by a by-stander who was struck in the fracas.

However, before any of that is decided, the fighters will have to deal with each other inside the octagon.

Diaz said he is prepared for war.

“I have to keep it real. I have to stay true to myself, and if he comes in with his whole team – well, I have a whole gang here ready to ride,” he said. “I’ve been training like normal for this, not taking this differently than any other fight ... I did bring in some pro boxers and some kick-boxers to work with this time but that’s all. I expect all kinds of surprises from Conor, so I’m making sure that I’m ready for whatever he brings. I’m not making any predictions. I’m just going in there to win.”

Meanwhile, McGregor, the biggest draw in MMA these days, clearly feels the fire behind the rematch.

“It’s a big fight. It always was. We’re ready to fight, so let’s go,” he said. “This invincible feeling Nate has that he can’t get knocked out – he’s going to get knocked out on Saturday.”

Moving up in weight division doesn’t seem to bother McGregor. “My legacy was set in stone when I knocked Jose Aldo in 13 seconds,” he said. “This is a straight fight, I came for a straight fight.”

McGregor defeated Aldo last year to claim the featherweight title.

Even though McGregor lost his first encounter with Diaz, he is confident that he learned from his mistakes, calling his foe a “tall, lanky, ugly Mexican southpaw.”

“I am going to go in and do what I always do,” he said. “I am going to go out and press forward, have that man backed up just like I had him in the past fight, and I am going to tee off on him this time. I am going to be a lot more prepared for the weight and distance also.”

But Diaz isn’t buying McGregor’s bravado.

"That's what he said last time," Diaz said at the press conference Wednesday. "I think he's got a lot of people around him, and he's trying to pump himself up. He's either lying to himself or too worried about his confidence or trying to make himself believe it. But he remembers what happened in the last fight.”

Unlike most bouts where a lot of the animus between fighters seems scripted, it feels real between Diaz and McGregor.

“He's got pictures of me up in his garage with him punching me in the face,” Diaz said. “Who does that? That's trying to make yourself believe something, that's all. I just think he's trying to hype his own self up. But when he goes to sleep at night, he remembers what happened the last time."

Win or lose, McGregor’s next opponent will be Aldo in a featherweight title fight.

First openly gay UFC champ, Amanda Nunes, has heart set on fighting Ronda Rousey

Tue, 09 Aug 2016 08:46:23 -0400

Amanda Nunes became Brazil’s first UFC’s bantamweight female champion earlier this summer when she defeated Meisha Tata by submission in the first round at UFC 200.

“It’s a dream come true,” Nunes told Fox News Latino in a recent interview. “I am in shock on how it happened, but I was ready for a title shot and mentally prepared. It was beautiful.”

As for right now, the 28-year-old Brazilian has no title defense lines up, so for the time being she is relishing on being at the top of the mixed martial arts world.

She even has her sights set on the ideal fight: taking on former champion Ronda Rousey.

“She is big in the sport,” Nunes said. “She is the first one to make it happen. Many have been waiting for her. She was a dominant fighter in this division. I think it’ll be amazing to fight her ... It would be a huge fight.”

She wasn’t the only Brazilian to take a belt home that night, as José Aldo defeated Frankie Edgar to win the featherweight title.

Nunes, who trains at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida, is also humbled by being the first openly gay champion.

“I want to show everyone that I am happy with my life,” she told FNL. “I want to show that you can do anything you want. I want to help at least one person that saw me by motivating them and showing strength. I think I did my part. Maybe I helped one person get stronger. Love is love, and we have to show that the most important part is love. We have to respect each other.”

Nunes was heavily impacted by the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, in which a gunman entered the venue on June 12 and killed 49 people and left more than 50 people wounded. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in the United States, since September 11, 2001.

“I was shocked,” Nunes said. “I was sleeping, and someone woke me up to tell me that the shootings took place. Things like this make me strong … to show everyone that I am gay and it doesn’t matter. I prayed for the families, but I felt sad about the situation.”

In her home country, there are still many people who judge people for being homosexual.

“In Brazil, people are still in shock if you see someone of the same gender holding hands,” Nunes said. “People don’t accept it yet. But I think they are changing. In Brazil, gay people are showing up on television.”

She added, “When I was living in Brazil I had to be careful. In America, it’s different. I can hold my girlfriend’s hand and no one will say anything. America gave me so much power to do that. I am happy.”

Nunes isn’t the only gay fighter in the UFC. Her girlfriend of more than three years, Nina Ansaroff, as well as Jessica Aguilar and Liz Carmouche, are openly gay.

The fighter from Salvador, Bahia, started training in MMA after being inspired by her uncle, who trained in Vale Tudo, a combat Brazilian sport with few rules. She trained jiu-jitsu and expanded from there until her coach presented her the opportunity to fight.

Puerto Rican athletes won’t feel economic pinch in quest for island's 1st Olympic gold

Mon, 01 Aug 2016 14:21:58 -0400

Puerto Rico may be wrestling with an economic crisis as it stumbles under the burden of $70 billion in outstanding debt, but its Olympics-bound athletes won’t be stumbling because of it.

“Things have been prioritized,” Carlos Guzman, an athletic trainer who is on the board of Puerto Rico’s track and field association, told Fox News Latino. “There have been other programs that haven’t been able to get funded, but Olympic athletes haven’t had any issues.”

Guzman, who has been a trainer for 30 years, says Puerto Rico has a history of supporting its athletes, despite financial and other hardships.

“The Olympic athletes have moved ahead with their programs. Other sports that aren’t related to the Olympics have been affected. The travel, nutrition, trainer pay, diet hasn’t been impacted. There has been a budget for all of our 41 athletes who will be competing.”

Guzman, 53, is personally involved training Olympic athletes Andrés Arroyo, Wesley Vázquez (both in the 800 meters) and Eric Alejandro (400 m hurdles).

“There are always resources for our athletes,” Guzman told FNL. “Puerto Ricans support their athletes whether it’s by programs, donations or campaigns. The people are generous and they are represented by these young athletes.”

That generosity may be tested in years to come. The economic hardships have caused many to leave the island in recent years by the tens of thousands every year. Many of them of working age.

The U.S. government recently passed a measure aimed at controlling Puerto Rico’s financial difficulties. Pres. Barack Obama promised that PROMESA, as the law is known, will “provide prosperity over the long term.” But in the short term, austerity measures are sure to be part of the deal.

And the island’s National Olympic Committee relies more on private donations than many other countries athletic programs do.

Guzman said that the Olympic Committee spends $7 million a year. About half of that comes from the island’s government, and the other half from private sources and donations.

The money pays for expenses, equipment and trainers, as well as athletic infrastructure of training like the Olympic training facility in Salinas, Albergue Olímpico Germán Rieckehoff Sampayo.

The training center is named after one of the giants of Puerto Rico’s Olympic movement, who campaigned vigorously to keep politics out of athletics. In 1982, the island’s government withheld funding for the island’s delegation to the Central American and Caribbean Games being held in Cuba.

Rieckehoff Sampayo launched a campaign to get financial contributions for the team directly from citizens, and the response was so overwhelming, the extra money was used to buy the first 80 acres of the Albergue Olimpico.

“Since then politicians learned that they can’t mix politics with sports,” Guzman told FNL. “They always support sports.”

In fact, a law passed in 1985 stipulates that the government cannot interfere with the country’s federations and National Olympic Committee who are in charge of preparing the island’s athletes for international competitions.

Puerto Rico first participated in the Olympic Games in 1948 and hasn’t missed any Summer Olympic game since. The country has won eight medals in its history -- six of them in boxing -- but the country is still in search of its first gold medal.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Javier Culson won bronze in the 400 m hurdles, and Jaime Espinal won silver in freestyle wrestling. Both men qualified again, and they are probably Puerto Rico’s best bet for a medal in Rio.

For residents of the U.S. territory, seeing the island’s athletes at the Olympics is a matter of pride.

“We appreciate our athletes,” Guzman told FNL. “It’s important for us to see our flag and hear our national anthem being played at the games.”

Kyrgyzstan-born MMA fighter facing Holly Holm wears Peruvian flag into octagon

Fri, 22 Jul 2016 13:30:51 -0400

When the Kyrgyzstan-born MMA fighter Valentina "Bullet" Shevchenko visits her native country, family and friends can’t wait for her to prepare a dish that’s a little uncommon in that central Asian land, Chupe de Pescado, a fish soup that's a typical dish in Peru.

“They love it in Kyrgyzstan,” she told Fox News Latino in a Spanish-language interview. “They always ask for more.”

Shevchenko (10-1) faces off against former UFC women's bantamweight champion Holly Holm (12-2) in the main event of UFC on Fox 20 on Saturday night at the United Center in Chicago.

Born in Bishkek, Shevchenko moved to Peru in 2008, and the South American nation has adopted the nine-time IFMA Muay Thai champion. So much so that she walks to the octagon carrying the South American country’s flag.

“When we would travel, fighting all over the world, we visited Peru,” Shevchenko told Fox News Latino. "When my team saw that Peruvians were interested in learning Muay Thai, we started to teach classes and seminars. We decided to stay and live in Peru. It's a beautiful country because it has wonderful scenery, ocean, nature and everything that is great for training.”

She says Peruvians have evolved as martial artists since the time she has been in the country.

Shevchenko, who made her UFC debut last year, does some of her training in Thailand and Texas, but most of the time she works out at several gyms including the Snipers Academy in the Miraflores section of Lima. She hones her skills with her sister, Antonina Shevchenko, a Muay Thai champion for Lion Fight Promotions, and she partakes of traditional Peruvian cooking.

“I love Peruvian seafood,” she said. “When we visit Kyrgyzstan, we prepare chicharrón de calamares (fried calamari), and we invite our friends, and, of course, we eat ceviche” – the raw cocktail in which fish is "cooked" by acidic citrus marinades.

Shevchenko feels Peruvian and speaks Spanish well. She didn’t take classes, instead she learned the language by speaking to her friends.

She started practicing martial arts at age 5 thanks to her mother, Elena Shevchenko, a martial arts expert herself. Elena, who holds a high rank belt in Taekwondo, is the current president of the Muay Thai federation in Kyrgyzstan.

However, there is at least one bad association for her having to do with Peruvian cuisine.

Last month, her coach, Pavel Fedotov, was shot in a shootout with robbers at a restaurant. She was just a few feet away from him.

“Pavel was not only acting in self-defense, but also the defense of my life and also of the people who were by my side,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Shevchenko said he is recovering and is expected to be by her side come fight night.

“He is better,” she said. "He is recuperating. It is important for me to have him next to me and guide me. I was worried. I am happy that he is getting out of this. I hope he will be next to me July 23.”

As for the fight, Holm and Shevchenko should put on a good show.

“This is an interesting fight because she is a boxing champion, and I have been a Muay Thai champion. I think this is a good fight not just for MMA fighters, but for anyone interested in fighting ... I will use everything I have learned.”

The winner could get the opportunity to meet the newly-crowned bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who defeated Shevchenko in a unanimous decision in March.

On Saturday, she knows that two countries more than 9,000 miles away will cheer her on.

“I am happy that I have the support of both,” she said.

Enormous changes at the last minute unlikely to dampen UFC 200

Fri, 08 Jul 2016 11:45:14 -0400

UFC 200 has had its challenges in the days leading up to the Ultimate Fighting Championships biggest fight card.

Originally the main event was set to feature featherweight champion Conor McGregor stepping up to welterweight to fight Nate Diaz at welterweight in a UFC 196 rematch, but that fell through.

Then a light heavyweight unification bout between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier slipped into the card's top fight.

But on Wednesday, Jones was pulled after a potential doping violation. Cormier will now battle former champion Anderson Silva, who has lost time to drug suspensions himself.

Soon after, the return of former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar taking on veteran Mark Hunt was to be the featured bout, but that's now been downgraded to be the co-main event.

Now, the night's main main event will be Miesha Tate defending her bantamweight title against Amanda Nunes.

That's a lot of chaos for what's being billed as the greatest fight card of all time.

UFC 200 will take place at the newly opened T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday and will air on pay-per-view starting at 10 p.m. with the preliminaries airing on Fox Sports1 starting at 8 p.m. Close to ten Hispanic MMA fighters will have a chance to shine under the bright lights, including Nunes (12-4) and Jose Aldo (25-2) who are both challengers in title fights.

Nunes is riding a three-fight win streak with her last victory coming back in March against Valentina Shevchenko.

“I’ve been waiting for this chance all my life,” the Brazilian from Salvador, Bahia, told the Miami Herald. “I’ve been training hard to have a good fight. I am ready for it. Now it's my time.”

Tate will have her first title defense after capturing the belt in March when she defeated Holly Holm.

Aldo returns to action after getting knocked out by McGregor in just 13 seconds last December. The Brazilian will have a chance at obtaining gold once again as he faces Frankie Edgar (20-4-1) for the interim featherweight title.

“I don’t even think about it. I didn’t really watch it,” the former champion said about his loss to McGregor during a recent conference call. “My focus is on Frankie Edgar. That’s really in the past for me. I buried that and it’s stayed in the past. I don’t try to go back and look at it or anything.”

He said he is inspired by gold.

“That’s all I think about,” he said. “That’s my greatest motivation. It doesn’t matter who it is, whether it’s Frankie or anyone else, I want to get my title back.”

Aldo went undefeated from 2006 to 2014, and he's trying to move past his quick defeat at the hands of the controversial Irish fighter. The last time Aldo and Edgar fought, back in February 2013, the Brazilian won in a unanimous decision.

Edgar is currently on a five-fight win streak, with his last victory coming back in December by knockout against Chad Mendes.

Former heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez isn't challenging for a belt at UFC 200, but he hopes that beating Travis Browne could possibly earn him a title shot.

Velasquez has been held back by injuries in recent years, with his last fight back in 2015, a loss to then-champion Fabricio Werdum. Browne is coming off an impressive win over Matt Mitrione in January.

Top 10-ranked Julianna Peña (7-2) – and the first woman to win 'The Ultimate Fighter' – faces Cat Zingano (9-1).

The "Venezuelan Vixen" last fought in Octobe, when she defeated Jessica Eye by unanimous decision, while her foe’s last bout was a loss to then-champion Ronda Rousey nearly 18 months ago in February 2015.

Kelvin Gastelum, of Mexican heritage, faces former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks; Brazilian Raphael Assunçao meets former bantamweight champion T.J Dillashaw; Spaniard Enrique Marín meets Sage Northcutt; Diego "The Nightmare" Sanchez will duke it out with Joe Lauzon; and Brazil’s Thiago Santos meets Gegard Mousasi.

Former UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez is hungry to taste victory again

Thu, 07 Jul 2016 09:00:03 -0400

It has been close to three years since the former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez (13-2) tasted victory.

His last fight was a title defense last year – a loss to the then-interim heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum. The two were scheduled for a February rematch, but injuries have haunted Velasquez.

But the pride of Yuma, Arizona, is healthier than ever, and for him the hype behind UFC 200, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s biggest fight card, isn’t what matters.

The most important thing to Velasquez is that he will once again step inside the octagon for battle, this time to face Ronda Rousey’s boyfriend Travis Browne (18-3-1).

“For me, it’s about returning to fight,” the former champ told Fox News Latino. “That’s what I’m here to do. My past fights were pushed [back] because of injuries. I know how to stay healthy now. I am also happy that my teammate (light heavyweight champion) Daniel Cormier is also on the same card.”

The American Kickboxing Academy standout will be battling possibly his biggest challenge, literally.

Browne measures 6’ 7” compared to Velasquez’s 6’ 1” height, but the former titleholder is used to fighting taller foes.

Despite its star power, Velasquez-Browne isn’t the main event at UFC 200, which airs on pay-per-view from Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on July 9. The night’s main event will be Cormier vs. interim light heavyweight champion Jon Jones for the unification of the title.

Now 33 years old, Velasquez says that staying injury-free has been the focus of his training.

“Before I would go into practice pushing the body despite any injuries,” he told FNL. “It’s a good thing, but a bad thing. It’s good because your body is quick to adapt, but it’s a bad thing because you are forcing your body, and it can’t recover as well.”

As a result, he said, “We only do one hard sparring day. The other days are more technical. It’s still cardio, but you are not putting pressure on the body. I am doing more recovery stuff instead of what I used to do.”

He has implemented other methods as well to heal after a hardcore training session.

“I am listening more to my body and maintaining it,” he said. “There’s a lot of stretching before and after training now. I also use the foam roller, and I have a massage once a week.”

Browne, a former basketball player, is coming off a win against Matt Mitrione back in January, but he has gone 3-2 in his last five fights.

“Just watching him and his fights – he is a tall guy,” Velasquez said of his opponent. “He’s very athletic. In this division, there’s no easy fight. He is dangerous. He is the type of guy who gets hurt during the fight and comes back to hit you hard.”

He said the plan to defeat Browne is to keep him at bay.

“I want to pressure,” Velasquez said. “I want constant punching and going forward.”

A victory over Browne might bring the former champ closer to a title bout against Stipe Miocic, who dumped Werdum in May and is the current king of UFC’s heavyweight division – a title Velasquez first earned in October 2010 by defeating former WWE pro wrestler Brock Lesnar.

Coincidentally, Lesnar (5-3) makes his return to the octagon at UFC 200 for the first time since 2011. Velasquez’s money is on Lesnar’s opponent, Mark Hunt (12-10-1).

“I think it’s good for the sport in general,” Velasquez said of the 38-year-old’s comeback attempt. “People want to see Lesnar either win or lose. You get both cases. People want to watch, and it makes the sport more interesting. [But] I see Mark Hunt winning.”

Yair ‘El Pantera’ Rodríguez brings his video-game MMA fight style to the big time

Fri, 01 Jul 2016 14:30:04 -0400

The return to action of interim UFC lightweight champion Jon Jones after more than a year and flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson’s continued domination of opponents were supposed to be the talk of the UFC 198 fight card.

But the spotlight belonged instead to Mexican featherweight, Yair “El Pantera” Rodríguez, who took down Andre Fili (15-4) with a kick to the head that won him Performance of the Night and landed him on the highlight reel of every television sports show.

“I wasn’t looking for that knockout,” Rodríguez (8-1) told Fox News Latino. “I didn’t think the fight would have ended with that kick. When I saw the opportunity, I threw the kick. I didn’t think it was going to knock him out. I was ready to keep fighting.”

MMA fans can expect more highlight reels from the 23-year-old Mexican fighter, because he doesn't intend to change his risk-taking style, despite critics saying that it could shorten his longevity.

“I feel good people thought I was the highlight of the night,” he said in a Spanish-language interview. “But what people say doesn’t bother me. I just keep training hard for my next fight. A victory means a lot, just like the one [against Fili]. I have big goals, and I need to keep working hard.”

Next on Rodríguez’s horizon is Miami-based Alex Caceres (12-8), which is set to be the main event at UFC Fight Night 92 at the Vivint Home Smart Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Rodríguez’s flashy and unorthodox fight style sometimes seems straight out of a video game, but it also leaves opponents like Fili puzzled.

“Every fighter has his own style,” Rodríguez said. “The way I fight is the way I fight.”

El Pantera is a relative newcomer to MMA, with less than 10 pro fights under his belt. He holds a 4-0 record in the UFC. His only loss took place back in 2012 to Luis Herrera in a Mexican Fighters Promotions bout.

The road to being employed by the world’s top MMA circuit was challenging for the native of Chihuahua, Mexico, and he credits his risk-taking for getting him through.

“I confronted many situations before getting here,” said Rodríguez, who had less than $500 to his name before his fight at UFC 188, a June 2015 split decision win over Charles Rosa.

“It was hard to get to this point of my life, but it got me here. There were money, work and school issues. I wanted to choose this path. I left the job and school. I left everything for this.”

He started in martial arts at 5, but it wasn’t until he was 17 that he started to train in mixed martial arts in northern Mexico.

“I was familiar with many martial arts,” Rodríguez told FNL. “One day, I was walking through the streets with my mom and I saw a gym that taught Vale Tudo. The name grabbed my attention. I entered to see what it was about.”

Vale Tudo (Portuguese for “anything goes”) developed in the mid-20th Century in Brazil and is considered a precursor to MMA fighting.

“I fell in love once I entered,” Rodríguez said.

Opportunity came knocking when the UFC offered him a chance to join the cast of the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter: Latin America” in 2014.

He was on former UFC heavyweight champion’s Cain Velasquez’s team, and won the featherweight division on the show.

“It’s a show that’s national and all over the world,” he said about the exposure that TUF brought him. “I do the same things now – there are more people who recognize me because of the show, but it doesn’t bother me if they ask to take a picture with me.”

With a few more wins under his belt, he would be a serious contender for the featherweight title, which currently belongs to the mercurial Conor McGregor.

Asked about the champ, Rodríguez said he doesn’t like to share his opinion on fighters in his weight division.

“I don’t have anything to say about them,” he said. I'll do the talking inside the octagon.”

Rodríguez, who works out in Illinois and with top MMA trainer Greg Jackson, wants to make his mark in MMA on behalf of all Mexicans.

“I fight for my family and everyone who is in my life,” he told FNL. “I would like to be the best fighter in the world. I don’t only want to be the champion, but I want be a leader and an example. I want to do it for my country.”

Eddie Alvarez prepares to take on the might, and mouth, of Conor McGregor

Fri, 11 Nov 2016 13:30:12 -0500

Although born in the United States, UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez doesn’t forget his roots.

The 32-year-old MMA fighter often can be seen enjoying one of his favorite Puerto Rican dishes, alcapurria — a fritter made of green bananas and eddoe, or grated cassava.

“As a child, for my father, it was always rice and beans every night,” he said. “The food is great, but I can’t eat it when I need to cut weight.”

And he needs to watch what he eats at least until Saturday, when Alvarez (28-4), defends his title against the controversial featherweight champion, Conor McGregor (20-3), the main event at UFC 205, which is being held at Madison Square Garden.

It’s the Big Apple debut of MMA fighting and the first UFC promotion in New York state.

With McGregor and Alvarez on the brink of making history, the Pennsylvania-born fighter says he is living his dream.

“[When] I joined the UFC, it is what I always wanted to achieve,” he told FNL. “This is what I dreamed and hoped for. It’s happening. It’s pretty cool.”

He added, “I’m enjoying the ride.”

Alvarez defeated Rafeal dos Anjos in July by technical knockout in the 1st round to win the lightweight title.

McGregor defeated Jose Aldo in 13 seconds in December to become featherweight champ – that title won’t be on the line, but the Irish fighter could become the first simultaneous two-weight champion.

His most recent fight was in August as a welterweight, when he avenged an earlier defeat at the hands of Nate Diaz.

But the McGregor’s prowess inside the octagon isn’t the only source of attention he receives – his mouth raises a lot of eyebrows.

Before fighting Diaz, McGregor got into heated verbal attacks with him, including one press conference at which the fighters threw bottles at each other. The UFC fined McGregor for that outburst and made him do community service as well.

Sure enough, during a media conference call last week, McGregor started right in trash-talking his UFC 205 opponent.

"He's claiming it's an easier contest [than dos Anjos],” McGregor told reporters. “I look forward to when the eyes shift, when the eyes roll and the electric shock goes through his whole body, and he goes to his knees, and then he comes up, and he's in survival mode, and that panic sets through his whole body, his whole face. That's something that I look forward to.”

The Irish fighter went on, “I will punish him for that, for those words that he's saying. I'm going to retire him on this night."

None of which seems to faze the Puerto Rican fighter.

“I’m slow to anger,” he told FNL. “It’s hard to get me hot. I’ll laugh before getting angry. I think we will have fun.”

Which isn’t to say that he can’t jaw with the best of them.

“Although I am not angry [at McGregor], I am competitive where maybe we go tit-for-tat,” he said. “I compete on every level.”

Alvarez is an MMA veteran. He was a lightweight champion for Bellator and had a memorable fight of the year with that promotion against Michael Chandler in 2011.

He left Bellator as a champion in 2013 and joined the UFC the following year. He credits his experience in the cage for his cool and collective demeanor.

“I haven’t always been that way – before I used to get emotional,” he told FNL. “Maybe I was younger, and I didn’t understand. But for me now, I feel like I am on the outside looking in, and it makes it entertaining. I take the sport seriously, but [the spectacle] is enjoyable.”

Not only does Alvarez not have a personal vendetta toward McGregor, he believes the Irish fighter is a benefit to the UFC.

“There needs to be a balance in the sport,” he said. “It’s hard for the fighters to connect with the fans. I think it’s important to have a guy like [McGregor] to get people excited.”

Ironically, Alvarez has also Irish in his ancestry — just not enough to touch his Boricua identity.

“I haven’t been to Puerto Rico,” he said. “[But] it’s something I can’t wait to do. My father is from San Juan. Life gets a hold of you, but it’s something I want to do.”

As for predictions, he has just one: “Tune in Nov. 12 from Madison Square Garden,” he said. “It’s going to be violent, and we are going to silence the country of Ireland.”

Wrestler Alberto Del Rio goes from 'El Patrón' to 'El Presidente' of Combate Americas

Wed, 12 Oct 2016 17:25:10 -0400

The former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) champion Alberto Del Rio has been named president of the Hispanic MMA franchise, Combate Americas.

So now, the luchador known as "El Patrón" gets to be an actual boss, “El Presidente,” albeit under his birth name of José Alberto Rodríguez.

The announcement by Combate Americas was made Tuesday in New York as the group promoted its Friday night event in Verona, New York, where its first bantamweight champion will be determined.

Rodríguez is the son of Mexican Lucha Libre legend, Dos Caras Sr., and has competed in 14 professional MMA fights, including a loss to the legendary fighter Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in Japan in 2003.

“I am excited,” he told Fox News Latino on Wednesday. “Combate Americas CEO and founder Campbell McLaren contacted me to work here. I am happy to help the company to grow and help it become one of the best MMA promotions.”

McLaren said he is grateful to have Rodríguez on his staff.

“He does everything,” he said. “He's smart, he knows the fight scene. He is perfect in this role. He is going to help us in finding locations to host events. He is bilingual and famous, and, to come in and give his input to the company, all I can say is that I’ve been lucky.”

McLaren said Rodríguez will help find new talent and assist the fighters to promote themselves. He has worked with Combate Americas before as a commentator, but McLaren said he might want to add another title, if the former wrestling champion is up for it.

“He said he is officially retired," McLaren told FNL about Rodríguez, “but I think he is not going be coming to watch a show without thinking of stepping inside the jaula" – or cage.

Rodríguez, 39, came to a mutual agreement on his release last month with the WWE. The release came a month after he was suspended 30 days for an unspecified talent wellness policy violation. Rodríguez worked with the company from 2010 to 2014 and later returned last October.

But it's clear that some enmity remains.

"This is something I wanted to do ever since I left WWE," he told FNL. "Among a thousand reasons I didn’t want to stay in that company."

The fighte was in the news recently after he reported that he suffered injuries while fighting off an attacker on the street. He posted pictures on his Instagram account. Rodríguez said the fight took place after a person disrespected his girlfriend, the female wrestler Paige. The situation caused him to miss his first post-WWE appearance in Monterrey, Mexico.

Born in San Luis Potosí in Mexico, Rodríguez credits his roots for keeping him strong.

“I come from Mexico where you learn to fight and you learn to always keep your head up,” he told FNL. “I’ve been through a lot of stuff in the past six months, not just the incident a few days ago, but also things with my ex-wife, kids and stuff only I know and only I suffer, but the world is not going to stop because I have personal problems. I have to continue working and providing for my family. All those bad experiences are in the past.”

Rodríguez said that he will keep an eye out for MMA talent, but he is opening the door of opportunity to friends with star power including professional wrestler-turned-MMA fighter, CM Punk, whose given name is Phil Brooks. The former WWE champion made his professional mma debut at last month’s UFC event where he lost in the first round.

“I would love to have him fight for this organization, or any fighter with talent,” he said. “They are welcome to come and fight. They have my number, and I’ll give them a job.”

Meanwhile, the future looks bright for Combate Americas. McLaren said a new television deal is in the offing that will showcase its fights across Latin America.

“Everyone talks about the Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz fight – well all of our fights are like that,” McLaren said. “You can make the case that we are the No. 2 MMA promotion now.”

Combate Americas Nueve will air on UFC Fight Pass and Bein Sports USA. It will be one the first MMA events in New York since the state legalized the sport earlier this year.

In 1st game after tragedy, Marlins offer emotional farewell to star pitcher José Fernández

Tue, 27 Sep 2016 07:14:38 -0400

José Fernández’s spirit was felt all around Marlins Park Monday night.

The late Miami Marlins pitcher felt very present when almost everyone inside the ballpark teared up after Fernandez’s teammate, the lead-off hitter and second baseman Dee Gordon, hit a home run in the 1st inning off New York Mets pitcher Bartolo Colón.

It was his first homer of the season. A tearful Gordon pointed at the sky when he stepped on home plate and was met with by his emotional teammates.

"I don't have kids, but that's the best moment of my life, hitting a home run for him," Gordon said.

Early Sunday morning, Fernandez was killed along with two friends in a boating accident in Government Cut, the channel that separates Miami Beach from Fisher Island. Fernandez was 24.

The Marlins cancelled their Sunday afternoon game against the Atlanta Braves because of his death.

Fernandez, a Cuban-born athlete who fled the island in 2008 with his mother and sister, was scheduled to make his 30th start of the season on Monday. Every time he pitched at home, the Marlins marketed the game as José Day – a promotion that was well attended.

Between innings on Monday, images of Fernandez were shown on the Jumbotron backed by the sound of Cuban singers Celia Cruz and Gloria Estefan.

Fans clapped appreciatively after every tribute. The number 16 was displayed both inside and outside Marlins Park. All the Marlins players wore Fernandez's No. 16 jersey in his honor.

Many of the fans also wore his jersey and carried pictures of the two-time All-Star.

From the stands, fans screamed in Spanish, "José está aquí!" – “José is here!”

Marlins fan Julio Iglesias Aguiar looked at the makeshift Fernandez memorial where fans left messages in his memory. Aguiar held back tears while speaking about the tragedy.

"I just ask myself, ‘Why?’ He was so young. It would be different if the person was 60 or 70 years old,” Aguiar told Fox News Latino. “He had a life ahead of him. This has been so hard. Everyone loved him. He was a lovable person. I would say hello to him all the time. He would say hello back to me."

Season ticket holder James Buonadonna walked around the stadium with a picture of Fernandez and a written message dedicated to his favorite player.

"This guy was my inspiration,” he said. “I would come to see him pitch and he brought everything he had. He was free and that mound was his home."

Buonadonna added, "I thank him for every pitch and every smile. At a time when I didn't have anything to be happy about that guy gave me a reason to smile."

Although the decision has yet to be announced officially, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria told the Miami Herald

"Nobody's going to wear it," Loria said. "I can tell you that now: Nobody will wear that number again."

"There are plenty of numbers they can wear, but not that one" he said. "We'll let them use triple digits if we have to."

Not terribly likely.

In their history, the Marlins have only retired only one number, No. 5, which belonged to the team’s first president, Carl Barger, who died in December 1992.

In 2012, they un-retired it to accommodate the wishes of first baseman Logan Morrison, who now plays on the Tampa Bay Rays.

At the start of Monday’s game, there was a moment of silence inside the park. The Marlins’ starting lineup circled the pitcher's mound. Soon after, the Mets and Marlins players shook hands and hugged.

Wearing a Mets jersey, Louie Montoya, drove from Tampa to watch his favorite team play. He was saddened by Fernandez's death.

"It was sad and crazy to hear about his passing," said Montoya, who is originally from New York.

Abner Martinez and his son, 8-year-old Darrien, both cried when they heard the news of Fernandez's death.

"Being deeply rooted in the baseball community, we feel sadness and sorrow for the amazing idol and role model that today's youth lost," Martinez told FNL. "Sports has a great way of dealing with tragedy, and every moment thereafter is engrained inside of you to honor those who passed with in the most emotive and loving way possible."

Before the game, the Marlins posted their starting lineup on Twitter, along with the message, “There’s a game to be played. He’d want it that way.”

For the record, the Marlins won the game, 7-3.

Afterward, players circled the mound once again and placed their caps on the pitchers’ mound.

The stadium went silent for a few moments and fans began to chant, "José, José, José” while "See you again" by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth played.

Still in disbelief, fans temporarily turn Marlins Stadium into a shrine for Jose Fernandez

Mon, 26 Sep 2016 07:14:17 -0400

Sporting a José Fernández jersey, Gabriel Diaz, 13, held back tears while playing catch at Marlins Park beneath a sign displaying his favorite player’s name and number.

He woke up to news that Fernández, 24, had been killed early Sunday morning along with two friends in a boating accident in Government Cut, the channel that separates Miami Beach from Fisher Island.

Diaz plays second base and shortstop and was at the stadium to watch the Marlins take on the Atlanta Braves, but the game was cancelled in memory of Fernández.

“I didn’t believe the news,” he told Fox News Latino. “I thought it was a joke. I still don’t believe it.”

Marlins president David Samson held back tears at a news conference.

“As you see around you, there are no words to describe how this organization feels,” he said. “There’s no playbook. There [are] no words of consolation. There’s prayer, and there’s thought toward his family, toward his soon-to-be-born daughter. You realize how precious life is, how taking things for granted is a foolish man’s game.”

Fernández’s girlfriend, Carla Mendoza, is pregnant with his child.

Fans from different nationalities came out to Marlins Park despite the cancellation. They formed a makeshift memorial composed of flowers and handwritten notes. They knelt to pray and read verses from the Bible.

Fernández, born in Cuba, left a huge hole in the South Florida sports community.

Diaz’s mother, Mercedes Gonzalez, is from Venezuela, and she said that Fernández’s death had impacted her.

"When I found out, we were so sad," she said. "We are super fans, as Venezuelans we are big baseball fans … We would come to the ballpark constantly. José never refused an autograph or picture – he always had a smile. He was like a little kid. This is a tragedy."

The mayor of the City of Miami, Tomas Regalado, said the pitcher’s death has left everyone heartbroken.

“I was honored to give the key to the City to Marlins pitcher José Fernández as a rising star and proud son of Miami. My condolences to his family and to the Miami Marlins. His death is a huge loss for our community,” Regalado said in a press release.

Cuban María de Nacimiento has arthritis but ignored the pain to sign a message for Fernández’s family on a shirt on the floor in front of the makeshift memorial.

“I think of his mother,” said de Nacimiento, who had tickets to Sunday’s game. “There are no words to describe this tragedy, but we wanted to show them we are thinking of them. “

Andrew Gonzalez attended Friday’s game with his daughter. He knelt down in front of the memorial. He said the loss of the two-time All-Star is like losing family.

“Everyone is paying their respects to a good guy,” said Gonzalez, who held the ball Fernández had signed for his daughter. “We were at a game Friday, and, out of all the players, José was the only one who gave autographs to the kids. He signed my daughter’s ball and gave the kids behind us sunflower seeds. All around, he was a great person.”

Longtime Marlins Spanish-language broadcaster Felo Ramirez said he was in disbelief. He believed that if Fernández had kept the same rhythm, he would have started the 2017 All-Star game, which will be held at Marlins Park.

“This is extremely sad. No one would have ever thought this,” he said. “We expected the world from him. He was at his peak. He was just starting, and he already was huge. There was so much more for him. He was the star of the team.”

The Marlins ace was the 2013 National League Rookie of the year. In his four-year career, he had a 38-17 record and a 2.58 ERA.

The charismatic ball player’s journey to the United States was challenging as he tried several times and finally making to U.S. soil on his fourth attempt. He even spent time in Cuban prison after one failed defection.

When he finally did succeed, he told Grantland, it was only after a trip on a speedboat with his mother and sister during which his mom fell overboard and the teenage athlete dove into the rough surf to rescue her.

Fernández was expected to start Monday’s game.

The Marlins will host a series against the New York Mets starting Monday night in what is expected to be an emotional game for both fans and players.

In football-crazed South Florida, the games go on - despite concern over Zika

Mon, 19 Sep 2016 17:24:36 -0400

Football is king in South Florida, but the recent rash of Zika virus transmitted cases might be expected to dampen enthusiasm for sitting outdoors at dusk under bright, insect-attracting lights while people cheer on their favorite high school, college or pro team.

As fans head to the stadiums, some teams, like the NFL Miami Dolphins, are taking precautions at their Hard Rock Stadium home games.

The team’s corporate communications manager Theresa Manahan said the Dolphins’ organization want to make sure the team’s fans are protected.

“Several weeks ago, the Miami Dolphins engaged their pest control provider to proactively create a Zika treatment plan for the 265 acres at the stadium and surrounding parking lots. Even though there were no events being held at the stadium this summer due to ongoing stadium renovations, there were over 500 construction workers on site in addition to Dolphins employees,” she wrote in an e-mail. “The Dolphins took a proactive and aggressive approach to this public health issue even though there have been no reported cases of Zika in the Miami Gardens area. The Dolphins’ Zika treatment plan follows recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and uses EPA approved chemicals that are safe for humans, pets and aquatic life. The stadium recommends fans attending games follow recommendations made by the CDC.”

South Florida has several Pop Warner, pro, college and high school teams that compete on the weekend during the fall season including the nationally college ranked Miami Hurricanes, who play at the Hard Rock Stadium too, Florida International University Golden Panthers, who play in the Conference USA, attracting a large number of fans.

Also, Miami-Dade County Public Schools’ local high schools also compete on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Miami-Dade County Public School system has 392 schools with about 345,000 making it the fourth largest in the nation. There are nine schools in the Wynwood area and three in Miami Beach. However, there is only one- Miami Beach Senior High – that has an athletic program in the affected areas. The sunshine state is the first state where the Zika virus has struck. Miami-Dade County Public Schools has about 15,000 student athletes. The average attendance for a high school football game is about 1,500 spectators. Attendance between the Hurricanes and Dolphins vary, Manahan says the team anticipates homes to sell out.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Chief Communications Officer Daisy Gonzalez said officials have led a Zika virus health campaign too. She adds that the school system has been working closely with the health department. As of right now, no athletic sporting event or any has been cancelled due to the Zika outbreak.

“We have been encouraging our students to wear protective clothing – long-sleeved shirts and pants – as well as apply mosquito repellent prior to coming to school,” she said. “We held several events before the start of the school year where we distributed free protective clothing and distributed mosquito repellent to students in collaboration with the Miami-Dade Health Department. We have not altered any of our athletic activities per guidelines from the Health Department.”

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, Zika is spread by the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The species is most active during the daytime, but could attack at night. Those infected won’t have symptoms or will have mild symptoms like fever, joint pain and rash among others. The most impacted are pregnant women as the virus can be passed from the mother to the fetus.

However, Lisa Edmunds, a fan of who attends Florida International University football games, said she is protecting herself when cheering on her team at the school’s West Miami-Dade County on campus stadium.

“I am taking precautions and covering up,” she said. “I have also been using insect repellant wipes and the old school Avon Skin So Soft that I have stockpiled. I am concerned about the kids being protected. I hope that parents, coaches, athletic organizations are taking precautions.”

Parent Grace Lopez, whose son plays for a local high school team, said she’s not buying into the hype.

“The Zika virus isn’t a huge concern for me,” she said. “I think it’s blown up more then what it really should be. We have just received advice for kids to take repellant as a precaution but we have not had a meeting regarding the virus.”

Sick infant fights leukemia with MMA champ Justin Gaetjhe in his corner

Wed, 06 Apr 2016 14:22:01 -0400

Undefeated World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje’s next fight isn't a title defense. In fact, it won’t even take place inside the cage.

Gaethje’s next battle is on behalf of a six-month-old boy named Jayne Wood, who was diagnosed with an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and has been in the hospital for much of his life.

The MMA fighter has never met Jayne or his parents, but, he said, when he heard about the boy, who lives near his hometown of Safford, Arizona, he knew he had to help.

“My mom asked if I could sign a poster or a shirt for a raffle for the little boy,” Gaethje told Fox News Latino in a telephone interview. “I decided to give her my fight glove.”

Turns out Gaethje’s mother, Carolina Gaethje, heard about Jayne’s battle with AML from the boy’s aunt, Cherla Ramsey, who, like Carolina, works out at Gila Valley CrossFit.

The gym’s co-owner, Jarrod Davis, was holding a raffle to help raise funds for Ramsey’s nephew.

“I was watching Justin’s fight [against Brian Foster on March 12],” Davis told the WSoF website. “His mother actually goes to our gym … I sent her a message, ‘Hey, do you think Justin could sign a shirt that we could include in the raffle to raise money?’”

Gaethje (16-0) autographed the gloves he wore at the fight, which he won in a first-round TKO, and then he went further, getting the WSoF to donate more items for the raffle signed by other fighters.

“I haven’t seen the baby, but I plan do so” Gaetjhe said. “I haven’t been home since I fought [Foster].”

The champion, whose mother is Mexican, is no stranger to lending a hand. He studied Human Services at the University of Colorado where he competed as a wrestler. In the past, he has donated his fight gloves to veterans’ causes, and he has his eyes set on helping others once he concludes his MMA career.

“Right now I am focused on the fight game,” he told FNL. “As soon as I am done, I plan to jump into it ... I want to work with at-risk youth.”

The Woods opened a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for Jayne’s medical expenses. The AML and the chemotherapy deplete the infant’s immune system to nearly nothing.

Jayne’s father, Max Wood, is grateful to Gaethje, who is something of a hometown hero in that corner of the state.

“My wife can’t work because she is Jayne’s main source of food,” Wood told FNL. “I can’t work because I am her moral support.”

He went on, “Every little bit helps. We are stuck in a hospital 15’-by-15’ room. If he gets a cold, it’s World War III. We have to call every specialist ever. It’s been a wonderful experience having people Justin included who have wanted to help us support us while our son is fighting.”

Wood has opened up about his son’s battle in a blog.

“Writing the blog has helped me and my wife,” he said. “Humor is a good way to approach these things.”

In it, he mentioned Gaethje’s efforts on Jayne’s behalf, writing, “I would like to extend my thanks to him, personally, for wanting to help my little fighter out. Words cannot express how much it means to my wife and me … It's nice to be reassured that, in this crazy, crazy world, there are decent people.”

Wood told FNL that he’s optimistic about his son’s battle, while challenging.

“It’s deceptive,” Wood told FNL. “You forget he has cancer. He flirts with nurses, tries to crawl, smiles and laughs – but there are times he is not doing well like other babies are.”

Although Jayne will receive more rounds of chemotherapy, Wood says he can’t wait to take his son to watch a certain MMA fighter.

“I would love to take him to see Justin fight,” Wood said. “We won’t be done [with chemotherapy] till later this year. I want him to meet the kid he literally fought for.”

Still 'Loco' after all these years: Martial arts master shows no sign of slowing at 82

Fri, 22 Apr 2016 13:40:32 -0400

In South Florida, many have heard the story of how Ricardo “Loco” Valdez earned his nickname. Some even heard it in Cuba, where he had a confrontation with an ape and lived to tell the tale.

Valdez, now 82, is a fixture in the world of judo and jiu-jitsu in Miami, having taught martial arts for many years both in the Magic City and his native Cuba.

“I’ve had a full life of Judo,” he said in a phone interview.

In Cuba, he worked as an electrician, he was also a respected sensei who taught many students, among them policemen and soldiers and a large number who later became masters themselves or competed in the Olympics.

But for many, Valdez is a legend because of a story he has told countless times and that has been shared in dojos across the island to inspire students.

“One time I wrestled with a chimpanzee,” Valdez told Fox News Latino. It happened at an American circus that was traveling through Cuba. “There was a wrestling monkey who faced off against kids and adults.”

Ordinarily, the chimp was gentle with its opponents, Valdez says, “But if you acted [tough] with the monkey, the monkey would fight back. He knew how to wrestle well.”

Valdez recalled, “I said I could suplex him” – picking him up and slamming him on the mat on its back – “for $2,000. I tried, but it was impossible. He was strong. He was crazy inside the ring.”

But then again, so was Valdez. “I was crazy when I was young,” he told FNL. “They called me Loco because of my aggression. I would fight all the time.”

When he moved to Florida in 1968, the octogenarian sensei began working in the boating industry, but he opened a dojo and continued teaching martial arts after work. He recently received at the Club de Judo Ricardo Tuero in South Florida his red belt – an honorific also referred to as a ninth-degree black belt awarded to “those whose influence and fame takes them to the pinnacle of the art,” according to the book, “Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu: Theory and Technique.”

Valdez was raised by his mother, and he started learning judo at the age of 12 after having observed Sigetoshi Morita – a Japanese migrant to Havana who opened one of the earliest dojos in Cuba in 1946 – while he was teaching diplomats’ children in the American embassy.

“He taught judo,” Valdez remembered. “I would watch them, and one day he asked me if I wanted to join them to train.”

Valdez was Morita's first jiu-jitsu black belt, and one of the first Cubans to receive such a ranking.

Valdez competed in judo and jiu-jitsu and wrestling at the international level, even competing in the World Games – the Olympics-style event held every four years for sports not competed at the Olympics.

His departure from Cuba was almost simple. Valdez asked the Cuban government permission to visit Mexico – it was granted, and he never returned to the island.

Valdez’s own student, Jorge Delgado, calls his master a living legend.

“There were others, but he was primarily the one everyone wanted to follow in his footsteps,” he said.

He got married and had two kids, but that never pulled him entirely away from the martial arts.

“Judo is a way of life,” he says. “It has played a role in everything in my life from discipline to everything else.”

Valdez last competed professionally eight years ago, but he had to give it up because of knee injuries. Even so, he still teaches twice a week. The Miami resident said he plans on teaching martial arts as long as he can, and he is working toward receiving his 10th level black belt.

Delgado says he would love to be in the same spot as his sensei when he gets to be 82.

“I hope to have the fortune to get to his age and have the people that love him like they do,” he said. “If I have people that respect me at that age, then I think I would have had a successful career.”

Valdez still follows international judo and jiu-jitsu, but he seems more enamored with mixed martial arts these days.

He watches the fights when he can. He admitted, “If I had the age, I would have probably competed in MMA.”

A 68-year-old Latina packs a punch in mixed martial arts competition

Wed, 23 Mar 2016 09:45:14 -0400

While your average senior is planning his or her latest post-retirement trip, Ann Perez de Tejada, 68, is stepping into the octagon and learning how to knockout her foe.

In February, Perez put on her fighting gloves and faced off against her first MMA opponent, 24 year-old Laura Dettman, in the process proving that age is just a number.

“What matters is what you can do,” Perez told FNL. “If you can move like a young person or have the skills, then age doesn’t matter. There are people in their 30s sitting on the couch who say 'I can’t play soccer because I am getting old.' They say it like they take pride in it, but it’s a bad thing. If you think you are getting old, then you will.”

Tejada is the oldest woman to compete in mixed martial arts, but not the oldest person overall. That record belongs to the late John Williams of Canada. He was 70 when he competed back in 2010.

A few years back, Perez contacted Williams seeking his advice.

“He told me, 'Be prepared for a long and hard struggle,'” Perez said, meaning that people would make it hard for her, including not being willing to step into the cage to face her.

And, in fact, it took a long time for her to find an opponent. Perez and her coaches looked for an opponent for three years.

“A lot of people thought they didn’t have much to gain by beating me, but they don’t want to lose,” Perez said. “[Dettman] was great that she took the fight.”

To get the green-light on competing, the 115-pounder had to get approval from doctors as well as the Colorado Boxing Commission.

She came up short in her debut at the Sparta Combat League in Denver, losing by a referee-stoppage TKO in the first round, when Dettman got in a full mount position and unleashed a ground-and-pound attack. The fight video has garnered close to a million views.

After the bout, Dettman gave Perez a hug of appreciation. Family and friends witnessed her courage.

“I had one cut about an inch long,” she said. “I didn’t get rocked [with a concussion] or nothing. I had a couple of bruises and a cut. I get more than that in practice.”

And while she lost the match, her will to get back into the octagon is undiminished.

The Los Angeles-born Perez raised her four children on her own. In an effort to push her son to be more active, she enrolled him in a karate school near where they lived, and she too became a student. A few years later, she decided to take it seriously and started to compete.

Her background in martial arts is both deep and wide. Her fight résumé includes a fourth-degree black belt in karate, and she's been training for more than ten years in Muay Thai, jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and more.

Perez, who works at the University of Colorado, works out at the Grudge Training Center, the home of World Series of Fighting lightweight champion Justin Gaethje, Nate Marquardt and Rose Namajunas.

Her coaches include octagon veterans Luke Caudillo and Nick Honstein. She trains a couple of hours a day and tries to have two-a-day sessions. Perez doesn’t lift weights much, instead focusing on body-weight exercises.

“I train hard,” she said “I don’t just wander out to the cage.”

For her, training is a matter of consistency and getting her body acclimated to the work. “I do it because I love it," she told FNL. "I can’t stay away, ”

Perez doesn't limit her strenuous activity to just MMA. She also has been active in local rodeo shows, participating in barrel racing and horseback riding performances.

The Dettman fight, she insists, wasn’t a onetime deal. “I’ll do it again,” she said right after a training session.

UFC 196 main event McGregor-Diaz promises plenty of fireworks

Thu, 25 Feb 2016 17:16:09 -0500

The welterweight clash between UFC featherweight champion Conor McGregor (19-2) and Nate Diaz (18-10) isn’t till next week, but the war has already started.

Ireland’s McGregor makes his debut in the welterweight division against one-time title contender Diaz March 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

McGregor was scheduled to fight lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos, but the Brazilian announced he couldn’t compete due to a foot injury. With less than two weeks before the fight, Diaz and McGregor agreed to duke it out on short notice.

The UFC didn’t waste any time promoting the fight, putting both fearless men on a podium, face-to-face in a press conference Wednesday which aired live via a YouTube stream.

The results were vocal from both sides.

Referring to Diaz’s brother, the former WEC welterweight champion Nick, McGregor said, "I honestly like Nick’s little bro," McGregor said. "He’s like a little cholo gangster from the hood, but at the same time, he coaches kids jiu-jitsu on Sunday morning and goes on bike rides with the elderly!"

An intense Diaz stated he was ready to throw down despite the short notice.

“I don’t give a f---,” Diaz said. “I try to fight everybody all the time, anyway. It’s all good.”

The champion said he had requested a fight with Diaz when former featherweight champion José Aldo pulled out of a bout at UFC 189. He took an interim title fight with Chad Mendes instead.

“I felt pity on your broke ass,” McGregor said. “I wanted to make you rich at 189, but they gave me Mendes.”

Diaz is coming off a unanimous decision victory against Michael Johnson in December. He won The Ultimate Fighter 5 and has fought in the UFC more than 15 times. The Californian took on dos Anjos back in December 2014, but came out on the losing side.

Meanwhile, McGregor is coming off a win against Aldo in December. He is 7-0 in the UFC, with six of those victories coming by way of knockout.
Although bitter rivals, McGregor said he was looking forward to a fight with Diaz.

"I respect Nate," McGregor said. "Don't get me wrong, I do respect Nate. There are a lot of pussies in this game, and he is not one of them. Don't get me wrong. There's a respect there between us, but it's business in there. And business is business. He will be KO'd inside the first round."

McGregor was quick to point out Diaz’s flaws.

"I feel his repetitive foot patterns and his poor motions are too readable, too predictable," McGregor said. "He'll be too slow in there. His speed will stifle him. His soft body and his lack of preparation – he will not be able to handle the ferocity."

For his part Diaz seemed unfazed. “F--- you,” Diaz said. “F--- your belt.”

His attitude, the California-born fighter said, was, " I'm just gonna kill or be killed," he said. "That's what I'm coming with."

After dos Anjos dropped out, names like Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone, who competed this past Sunday, former champions Uriah Faber and Anthony Pettis were bandied about for a shot at the Irish champion.

The UFC presented the fight to Aldo, who has said he wants a rematch with McGregor, but the Brazilian said he wasn’t prepared.

Former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, who has also stated publicly that he wants a piece of McGregor, also turned down the fight because of an injury. But in an interview with ESPN, UFC president Dana White said Diaz and McGregor made the most sense.

"We felt that this was the fight to make and the fight the people wanted to see," he said.

If the McGregor had beaten dos Anjos, it would have marked the first time a fighter held two UFC titles.