Stepping out in front of the lights and the crowds can be so difficult.  The distractions, the noises, keep you from focusing on your opponent who looms before you.  Yes, stepping into the cage can be quiet an unsettling experience for anyone, much more-so if your only 13.  “What?!”  “Was that a misprint,” you might be asking?  Well, simply put, no.  This is no misprint, this is the life of 13 year old Harley Esparza.

Harley, ranked number 1 in the world in his division, took part in the first youth cage match held by a high venue.  The event was so ground breaking that UFC creator Art Davie was on hand to give a speech concerning the fight, stating, “We knew we started something big when we got this all started… now the kids are ready to step up to this level of competition.  Where before kids had no idea what these techniques were or meant, now a whole generation is ready to step up” (as stated by Harley Esparza Sr.).

Fightpros: Harley, congratulations!  That was a great fight.  It’s hard to believe that someone so young could be involved in something like this.  Here you are before a large crowd of people who are all holding ticket stubs they purchased.  Your name is on the fight card.  how does this feel Bud?

Harley: Like a superstar.

Fightpros: Harley, you demonstrated technique out there that would make a lot of adults jealous.  How long have you been doing this?

Harley: I have been training at Muai Thai for a little while, and have been working my jujitsu techniques for about 9 months.  I owe a lot of credit to my instructors Richard Arrey and Frank Romero from Riverside Submission.

Fightpros: What rank are you Harley?

Harley: After I won the match, my teacher gave me my green belt.

Fightpros:  Very cool!  I know you won, but how do you think you did in your match?

Harley:  I did good.  My opponent was good to, but I was able to get into position to win.

Ezparza Vs. Dumas: Gladiator Challenge

Fightpros: You said that you felt like a superstar.

Harley: yes.

Fightpros: Well do you see superstardom in your future?  Is the MMA world your future?

Harley:  Yeah, when I am older I want to be able to compete in the UFC.  That is my dream.  My other dream is to be able to help kids learn jujitsu.  I want to be an instructor and help kids.

Fightpros:  Very commendable Harley.  Well, what is next for Harley Esparza?

Harley: I have been invited by the U.S. pancrase team to go to Poland.  We will be competing against a team from the Ukraine.

Fightpros: Wow.  Your gonna follow up Gladiator Challenge with an international competition?  How incredible is that for a 13 year old.

Harley: Yeah, it is very cool.

As Art Davie put it, “They are ready.”  The sport of MMA is no longer what it once was.  No more are obscure names being pulled from around the globe to collide in a test of styles to see whose style reigns supreme.  Today the sport has evolved and has gone mainstream.  The sport is regulated, and it has evolved into a recognizable fighting system of its own.  Where once children yearned to be in the NFL or the NBA, now they are in cages and on mats everywhere learning the styles and signatures moves of their favorite fighters.  Longing themselves to one day step into the cage and inspire others with their mastery of the cage.

Harley, fighting out of Riverside, CA., has his sites set on becoming like his idols, Rampage Jackson and Urijah Fabor; world champions.  With credentials and technique such as he is bringing to the fight scene, one can only wonder how long before his dreams become reality.  Keep an eye open for this breed of young blood.  He is walking up the road of stardom!

As always, What say you?

~Pastor Bob

You can follow Pastor Bob on Twitter @pastorbobmma

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” ~Henry David Thoreau

Without dreams we are so lost.  When we follow our dreams we are so powerful.  As long as a fighter has hope he holds his hands high, he picks himself from the mat.  When hope leads, the fighter can point his hand at his opponent, and utter those famous words, “One more round!”

Though Travis “Hapa” Browne hasn’t faced too many beat downs (9 wins 0 losses in fact), he has certainly delivered them.  Hapa continues to entertain every crowd and to dominate every opponent placed before him.  Over these last few weeks I, as well as the rest of the fightpros.com community, have been wondering how much longer Hapa could be ignored by the larger venues.  That question has now been answered, and not by just anyone, but by the largest of all venues.  The UFC.

Though other sites have reported that Travis Browne had signed with the UFC, they were mistaken.  It was reported that Travis was to fight McSweeney ay UFC 115, and they were wrong.  It is now my distinct pleasure to inform the world, direct from the mouth of Travis Browne, that he has as of  Monday, March 8th at 8:40pm, officially signed with the UFC.  Hapa is scheduled to face James McSweeney at The Ultimate Fighter Finale on June 19th in Las Vegas. You heard it first, legitimately, from fightpros.com.

According to Travis Browne, “I am very excited about this opportunity, and I am very excited and happy that the UFC has put their faith in me.  That they see potential in me.  I am very excited but I have mixed emotions.  As great as it is to be signed, I won’t realize my dream until I am wearing that belt.  I’m not here to be lukewarm, I am here to be a dominating force in the UFC.  No mediocrity.”

From all of us at Fightpros.com, a heart felt congratulations to Travis “Hapa” Browne!  You earned it Bra!  Make us proud!

~Pastor Bob

You can follow Pastor Bob on twitter @pastorbobmma

Following a strong showing from WEC 47 in Columbus, Ohio, many questions can be poised.  Where in the world might one find Danny Castillo’s head after suffering a decapitating  head kick KO?  How the hell did Scott Jorgensen not snap Chad George’s neck with that ten-finger Guillotine Choke?  What’s next for Miguel Torres following an upset loss to Joseph Benavidez?  Was Bowles’ hand really as bad as the doctor made it seem or did Bowles just lose his desire to fight after breaking it?  You can make all the answers to these questions are your own time, the one that tugs on my heart the most is “What does Jens Pulver do now?”

We all know the story of Jens Pulver, and if you don’t then I suggest you stop reading right now and go find it out through some research.  Last night “Lil Evil” suffered his fifth consecutive loss within the WEC and his seventh loss in his last eight fights.  Pulver hasn’t even won since first joining the WEC back in 2007.  A man on a 4 fight losing streak going into Saturday night’s bout would usually never find himself on the main card, let alone fighting in the WEC.  Unless of course that man is Jens Pulver.  I think that in itself just shows how important this man is to the sport as he’s an icon and a hero to many people, with myself included.

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For any WEC fan, let alone MMA fan, last night’s WEC 47 found a way to tug on your heart string in one way or another.  Every single fight on the main card invoked some form of emotion through out, whether it be the shock from Bart Palaszewski’s come-from-behind submission win or the disappointment in fan-favourite Miguel Torres losing to bright Bantamweight star Benavidez or even the crowning of a new champ in Dominic Cruz, last night’s WEC 47 card was most certainly an emotional roller coaster.  Below are the results for WEC 47.

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The XFL is back…no, not that XFL. You know, the miserable hybrid of football and pro wrestling put on by none other than pro wrestling promoter Vince McMahon…no, definitely not that one.

XFL stands for X-treme Fighting League and was put together by one of Tulsa, Oklahoma’s favorite sons and kickboxing legend, Dale Apollo Cook. This week, the XFL puts on its first show of 2010, March Badness, one that follows up a spectacular event that closed out 2009, a card that included such notable MMA names as Tim Boetsch, Jeremy Horn, Jeff Monson, Rich Clementi, and Houston Alexander. That particular card also produced one of the UFC’s newest and promising fighters, Joey “The Mexicutioner” Beltran who won his UFC debut against Rolles Gracie, of the famed Gracie clan.

The XFL is no joke. You won’t find anyone named “He Hate Me” in this league. What you will find, though, is a great local promotion that puts on an entertaining fight card with highly-skilled fighters who know how to put on an action-packed fight.

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Local Tulsa fighting legend and fight promoter, Dale Apollo Cook, presents XFL: March Badness on March 6th at the Spirit Bank Event Center in Tulsa, OK.

The event includes a 14-bout fight card headlined by former UFC fighter Jake Rosholt and local hometown hero, Levi “The Marine” Avera.

Jake Rosholt, a UFC veteran and three-time NCAA wrestling national champion out of Oklahoma State University returns to Oklahoma after a 1-2 stint in the UFC.  He begins looking to climb back to MMA’s main stage.  On the main card he’ll be taking on Bellator Fighting veteran and the current XFL Light Heavyweight champion, “Rowdy” Rudy Lindsey.  Lindsey is coming off a recent loss against another former UFC vet, Tim Boetsch. Rosholt and Lindsey will be competing at a catch weight of 195 lbs.

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Your read the title correctly, the UFC has finally caved in and signed James Toney to a multi-fight deal .  The money involved at this time remains unknown.  With this signing, James Toney will be the most decorated boxer to ever make the transition into MMA.

The UFC and James Toney finally negotiated a viable contract amongst the two parties today after months of Toney claiming he belonged in the UFC.  Starting in late 2009, James Toney began to “stalk” Dana White around the world, following him to various UFC events.  Toney was finally cast into the spotlight at the UFC 108 post-fight press conference when he finally tracked Dana down and made his voice heard.  The two would meet behind closed doors but Toney would reject the initial offer, stating that “what the UFC offered was a joke”.  So now one must question, what are the parameters of this contract?  Did the UFC offer more money or is there something more lucrative within the contract that is unbeknownst to fans and media alike at this very moment?  At the age of 41 and well passed his prime, what kinda of impact (if any) can Toney make on the UFC at this point?  At this moment, no opponent or official date are set for Toney’s MMA and UFC debut.

So just the other day Strikeforce confirmed that they will be holding Strikeforce: Nashvile on April 17th at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.  They also confirmed that in the main event of the evening,  Jake Shields would defend his Strikforce Middleweight title against UFC and Pride veteran Dan Henderson.  As if that wasn’t enough already, they also confirmed that Gegard Mousasi would defend his Light Heavyweight Championship against “King Mo” a.k.a Muhammed Lawal.  That surely has to be more than enough to make this card a legendary one right?  Wrong.  Strikeforce has decided to spoil the world with one more enticing match up.  That match up will see Gilbert Melendez defend his newly unified Lightweight Championship against the DREAM Lightweight Champion, Shinya Aoki!

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Barbarian Fight Club presents The Heat is ON, coming to you live March 13^th2010 in Fredericksburg, VA at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds.  The doors will open at 6:30 pm and the fights will start at 7:30 pm. There will be a total of 14 fights for your viewing pleasure, with tickets starting at as low as $25. Tickets are still available and they are currently offering a 25% off deal for all 1^st and 2^nd row seating.

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Last week I had a meeting with Shamrock Promotions co-owner Rob Donaker to write an article about their upcoming Xtreme Fight Party event being held at the Stratford Inn on March 6th in St. Louis. While I was in his Finney’s MMA training center I had the opportunity to meet and speak with two young fighters  in Brittany Anic and Jimmy Donahue. Both are one amateur fight away from making their professional debut.

Undefeated Brittany Anic will be featured in the main event card for Xtreme Fight Party March 6th

Brittany was easy to spot when I walked in the gym and not because she was the only female fighter in the room (because she wasn’t) but because she was laying some serious leather on the focus mitts. Her stand up training sounded like someone hitting a side of beef with a two-by-four and her feet had a similar effect. She was more than brute strength though, this young lady had quick jabs, good movement, and excellent combinations.

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