Jessica Prado fighting out of Laredo, TX and representing LAREDO MMA will be making her Mixed Martial Arts debut on May 19th in San Antonio, TX. This will be for Premiere Combat Group amateur Mixed Martial Arts promotion. Let’s get started!

Guy: How did you first get introduced to Mixed Martial Arts?

Prado: I got introduced about 2yrs ago by a fellow teammate.

Guy: Since that day, was fighting/competing in Mixed Martial Arts ever an option?

Prado: Yes, Ive always looked forward to fighting. Especially that I’m the only girl training in my team, n seeing the guys compete .. i would tell myself  ” I want sum of that ” . LoL

Guy:Being a parent yourself, how safe is the sport of Mixed Martial Arts?

Prado: Being a parent of two girls gets me thinking about there safety as far as the sport goes, but with the proper coaches and techniques. It really is as safe as you allow it to be. And especially them being girls, a great way of self defense.

Guy: You have been involved in sports growing up, how does training in Mixed Martial Arts compare to anything else you’ve trained in?

Prado: Yes, I have always been an athlete in different sports, and Mix Martial Arts relates mainly the conditioning and strength.

Guy: Working a 9-5 job , do your co workers know about you making a debut in MMA come May 19th, how did they react when they first heard?

Prado: Yes My Co-Workers are aware of my Debut in May 19 and I’m looking forward to having there support that night . I have to admit they were excited that i was finally getting this opportunity.

Guy: How often do you train, has this picked up since agreeing to fight?

Prado: I Have My two a days.. wake up at 5am for my cardio/conditioning and later after work head to the gym around 4pm for my afternoon training, starts off with my cardio and them for sum hard work w the guys. yes it has picked up, with the am training and my early cardio before classes start and then in the evening to finish it off with more cardio.

Guy: Do you know anything about your opponent, how will you deal with nerves once stepping inside the Cage?

Prado: I hate to say that no i don’t know anything bout my opponent except her name. and well nerves come and go, but once stepping into that cage i plan to give her war

Guy:  Walk out music, what are you thinking and why?

Prado: My walk out song is Itty Bitty by Ms. Nikki Minaj and well its self explanatory

Guy: You have a great team at LAREDO MMA , How much support are you getting from the team?

Prado: Yes I sure do Have a Great Team With Laredo MMA, and well i am proud to say i get there 110% support .

Guy: What style of fighting do you like and is there any fighters you look up to?

Prado: The only fighter style i look up to is my very own Coach Sonny “El Loco”  Luque Trad,  with a great stand up.

Guy: Thank you Jessica Prado for your time, best of luck to you come May 19th,any last comments?

Prado: Thank you TexasFighting.com for the interview, would like to thank my friends and Team mates,see you all come May 19th.

“Age is nothing but a number!” Congratulations to an original Texas Fighter and friend, Jeff Bonugli who took 3rd in his first Jiu-Jitsu tourney down in South Texas. He ended up beating dudes half his age (but definitely not half his size). The guy in this vid weighs in at 265lbs. Something else impressive is that this video was taken by 12 yr old future star in both Jiu-Jitsu and media Dillan of Dillan.net
Dillan – “Jeff Bonugli fighting at the age of 56 and winning against a competitor half his age. Very impressive.”

Who: On JUNE 2ND 2012, Back Alley Promotions in association with Corona bring to you Xtreme Knockout 15 (XKO – Professional MMA Fights) and the top Pro MMA fighters in Texas. XKO will be filming in HD for their Xtreme Knockout television show. Back Alley Promotions has produced over 1,000 “live” events including a reality show featured on the Discovery Channel. THE GYM Combative Sports Training Facility (and location of XKO 15) is also the home of “TEAM TAKEDOWN” the Next Generation of Fighters including Johny Hendricks, Jake and Jared Rosholt, Chris Feist, Chas Skelly and Shane Roller!

What: Xtreme Knockout, Back Alley Promotions in association with Corona bring Pro Mixed Martial Arts fights to Arlington!

Pre-Fight Party from 6-8pm. Belltime 8pm.Pre-Fight party includes: Special appearance by UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture, Team Takedown members and current UFC fighter Johny Hendricks! MMA & Sports Vendors including METROFLEX SPORTS, HOOTERS RING GIRLS, THE GIRLS ROOM, BORN 2 BANG CLOTHING, REDEMPTION CLOTHING, THE MARINES, THE ARMY, VIP CUSTOM MOUTH GUARDS, ULTRAVIOLENT FIGHT GEAR, WEIRDOZ CLOTHING, AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE COMPANY, LONGHORN HARLEY, BLU ENERGY, GIRLS FROM THE CLUBHOUSE, THE IMPROV COMEDY CLUB AND MORE! 10 professional cage fights, meet and greet with fighters, celebrity guest appearances, Bikini contest, live music and DJ! Television Taping for the TV show “Xtreme Knockout”.

When: Xtreme Knockout 15 – Saturday JUNE 2ND 2012 Pre-Fight Party at 6pm, Fights Start at 8pm. Meet and Greet UFC Legend Randy “The Natural” Couture and current top UFC Welterweight Johny Hendricks and Team Takedown members! Official XKO Weigh – ins Friday June 1st at 3 pm at The Improv Comedy Club in The Arlington Highlands 309 Cutis Mathes Way Suite 147 817-635-5555 will host the Official XKO 15 Weigh-ins with The State of Texas – ALL MEDIA WELCOME, family, friends and guests welcome! Come out and support the TOP fighters in Texas and watch as the fighter’s face of for the first time before they step into the cage! (FREE- OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – FREE)

Where: XKO 15 will take place at THE GYM COMBATIVE SPORTS ARENA 921 W. Mayfield Rd. Suite #112 Arlington, TX 76015

**Official After Party: Meet and Greet the fighters after the event, enjoy great food and drink specials and hang out with MMA Fans at Little O’s 4650 Little Rd Arlington TX 76017 817-561-0000
Tickets are available for purchase at THE GYM, Rustys Billiards and HYPERLINK “http://www.xtremeknockout.com” www.xtremeknockout.com – $30 for advanced general admission and $35 when purchased at the door. Ringside Reserved starts at $75, VIP tables start at $600 (limited tables) Purchase Ringside seats and get a private “meet and greet” with Couture and Hendricks on Friday June 1st! Visit HYPERLINK “http://www.thegym.org” www.thegym.org for more information. CORONA, MMA Merchandise and Concessions are available for purchase at the event!

XKO 15 OFFICIAL FIGHT CARD (Card Subject to Change)
205lbs UFC VETERAN JAKE ROSHOLT (12-3) Team Takedown fighter vs MATTHEW THOMPSON 6’5 (16-9) This is a highly anticipated matchup between Jake Rosholt a 3X Div. 1 Champion at OSU and 4 time All American with victories over some of the top fighters in MMA including UFC standout Chris Leben. He faces XKO newcomer and MMA standout the 6’5 Matthew Thompson. Thompson has faced some tough opponents including UFC Veteran Ben Rothwell and MMA standout Justin Wren. Both fighters are at the top of their game, this promises to bring fireworks!

185lbs CHRIS FEIST (3-0) Team Takedown Fighter vs JOSH STRAHAN (2-1) Chris Feist makes his return to the XKO cage with a perfect record and 2 of his victories in XKO. As Feist looks to become one of the top 170lbs fighters in XKO he must first face XKO newcomer Josh Strahan. Strahan’s two victories came with dominating ground and pound and finishing in TKO’s. Strahan’s training partner is undefeated fighter Jay Jay Sanchez who just KO’d his opponent at XKO 14 in less than a minute. With Feist’s wrestling background and Strahan’s striking and power this should be a very exciting match-up.

170lbs ROY SPOON (7-4) vs HAYWARD “The Hybrid” CHARLES (4-4 Metroflex MMA and Genesis) It’s hard to describe the excitement for this fight! Both Roy Spoon and Hayward Charles are some of the most well known fighters in the area with a reputation for dominating fights! Roy Spoon has never backed down from a fight in XKO and is considered to be one of the strongest fighters in the division. He steps into the cage against one of the top fighters in XKO – Hayward “The Hybrid” Charles! Hayward is coming off an impressive fight with Brad Cox and looks to get “Fight of the Night” honors. Known for his Jiu-Jitsu Hayward is arguably the best Jiu-Jitsu specialist in the company! A great match-up that will bring fireworks! “I don’t care who you put in front of me, I’ll fight them because I want to be at the top” – Hayward Charles

145lbs CHAS SKELLY (7-0) Team Takedown Fighter vs DJ FUENTES (9-7) Chas Skelly made his professional debut at XKO with an impressive submission win. Since then he has fought 6 more times which includes a win in Bellator most all victories by submission. This is Skelly’s first fight back in over a year and looks to move to 8-0. He will be taking on one of the top 145lb fighters from South Texas. DJ Fuentes is an impressive fighter both with his striking and takedown defense. Fuentes is the South Texas Fighting Champion at 145lbs and looks to make a statement at his first appearance in XKO! You can expect this fight to be an exciting match-up and could be fight of the night!

195lbs JACOB BRANNAN (2-0 ) vs JOSH FOSTER (5-3) Jacob Brannan made his pro-debut at XKO making an impact in the company and among other fighters. A Ft. Worth Police officer and Black Belt Brannan has a promising future in MMA. Jacob Brannan is a skilled striker looking to KO his opponent. His opponent is no stranger to MMA-Josh Foster! Josh is coming off a huge main event victory over the talented JJ Holmes. Foster is well known for his striking and never being knocked out or down in a fight. Both fighters have never lost in the square cage and on June 2nd one of these 2 top performers will have take their first loss in XKO, my guess is probably by Knockout. Look for a “Knockout of the Night” award winner in this match-up!

185lbs ZACK BOARD (0-1) vs DUSTIN ADAMS (0-1) American Revolution Corpus Christi. This will be a fast paced fight for the fight fan and a good matchup that will not disappoint. Zack Board is making his return to the cage after almost a two year layoff from the sport. Zack’s pro-debut was a fight to remember as he battled a dominating wrestler who had no quit in him. Zack is looking to stand and strike with someone so XKO matched him with XKO 12’s “Fight of the Night” recipient Dustin Adams. With training partners like top XKO fighter Chris Pecero, Dustin is comfortable keeping this fight on his feet! Both fighters were happy with this fight and will promise to put on a great show! Look for another “Fight of the Night” nominee!

155lbs ARMANDO “THE LATIN ASSASSIN” SERVIN (0-1) vs KEITH MINOR (4-3) There is so much we can say about the talent of these two fighters. Armando Servin became a key fighter in the 155lb division when he took Donnie Bell all the way to a decision in his pro debut. Armando is an exciting fighter that is strong and will go along way in the sport. He will face another fighter making his 2nd appearance in XKO – Keith Minor! Keith also fought Donnie at his first appearance in XKO losing by KO in the first round. Keith has overcome many things in his life including a tragic accident taking away his right hand. Both Keith and Armando didn’t hesitate when signing the contract for this fight. “I’m ready to do my part and put on an exciting fight and show” – Armando Servin

135lbs SIDNEY CAWDREY(Pro-debut Texas Fighting Syndicate) vs KLAYTON MAI (2-0 pro Octagon MMA) Training out of Texas Fighting Syndicate Sidney Cawdrey has the training partners and coaches to step up to anyone In the cage. After having 4 amateur fights Cawdrey is ready to make his pro-debut. He will be facing Octagon MMA’s Klayton Mai. Klayton’s first fight in XKO he took down highly skilled Casey Hudson by submitting him in the 3rd round! Klayton trains out of Octagon MMA who’s fight team is no stranger to XKO, competing in almost every event!

Mixed Martial Arts

01/14/12 Element Fighting Championship, Plano
01/28/12 Immortal Kombat Fighting, The Woodlands
02/18/12 Back Alley Promotions, Arlington
02/24/12 Legacy Promotions, Houston
03/02/12 STFC, McAllen
03/17/12 GKL Production Inc dba Fight Game Championships, Irving – CANCELED
03/23/12 Bellator Fighting Championship, Laredo
03/31/12 Worldwide MMA, El Paso
04/20/12 STFC, Victoria
04/28/12 Dominion Warrior, Plano
05/04/12 Ultimate Warrior Fighting, Corpus Christi
05/11/12 Legacy Promotions, Houston
05/26/12 Ultimate Warrior Fighting, Laredo
06/02/12 Back Alley Promotions, Arlington
06/09/12 Element Fighting Championship, Dallas
06/16/12 Immortal Kombat Fighting, Spring
06/30/12 Ultimate Warrior Fighting, Corpus Christi
06/30/12 24/7, Odessa
07/06/12 Triple A, Laredo
07/13/12 Legacy Promotions, Houston
07/28/12 Jesse Rodriguez, Ft. Worth
08/17/12 Legacy Promotions, Dallas
09/14/12 Legacy Promotions, Houston
11/16/12 Legacy Promotions, Houston
11/17/12 Element Fighting Championship, Plano

Amateur Mixed Martial Arts

01/06/12 Garcia Promotions, Humble
01/21/12 USACA, Houston
01/21/12 SPAMMA, Lubbock
01/28/12 PCG, San Antonio
02/10/12 USACA, Dallas – CANCELED
03/02/12 Garcia Promotions, Humble
03/02/12 TRCAA, Beaumont
03/10/12 PCG, San Antonio
03/31/12 24/7 Entertainment, Odessa
04/06/12 ABG, San Antonio
04/07/12 CDM, Houston
04/14/12 USACA, Houston
04/14/12 PAC, Ft. Worth
04/21/12 TAMI, Mesquite
04/28/12 ABG, Killeen
05/05/12 Kick Ass Productions, Seguin
05/18/12 TRCAA, Harlingen
05/19/12 PCG, San Antonio
05/25/12 Garcia Promotions, Humble

Boxing

01/07/12 Valley Promotions, McAllen
01/07/12 Black Gloves Promotions, Dallas
01/27/12 Showcase Promotions, Ft. Worth
01/27/12 Savarese Promotions, Texas City
01/28/12 Paulie Ayala Productions, Ft. Worth
02/04/12 Top Rank Boxing, San Antonio
02/11/12 Savarese Promotions, Houston
02/17/12 Sosa Promotions, The Woodlands
02/17/12 Goosen Tutor & Showcase Boxing, Arlington
02/18/12 Goosen Tutor, Corpus Christi
02/24/12 South Coast Promotions, Houston
03/01/12 United Renovations, Dallas
03/09/12 Triple A Promotions, Laredo
03/16/12 Boogie Promotions, Wichita Falls
03/17/12 Triple A Promotions, Robstown
03/17/12 Golden Boy Promotions and Marines Promotions, Pharr
03/22/12 Savarese Promotions, Houston
03/23/12 Marines Promotions and Warriors Boxing Promotions, Pharr
03/24/12 Golden Boy Promotions, Houston
03/24/12 Zefferino Promotions, San Antonio
03/30/12 South Coast Promotions, Aransas Pass
03/31/12 Top Rank and Jesse James Leija – Mike Battah Promotions, San Antonio
04/21/12 Paulie Ayala Promotions, Ft. Worth
04/28/12 Valley Promotions, Pharr
04/28/12 I Entertainment, Houston
04/28/12 Savarese Promotions, Galveston
05/03/12 TREC Fight Night, Dallas
05/04/12 Zefferino Promotions, El Paso
05/05/12 Jesse James Leija – Mike Battah Promotions, San Antonio
05/11/12 Triple A Promotions, Victoria
05/18/12 South Coast Promotions, Houston
05/19/12 Main Events, Pharr
06/16/12 Golden Boy Promotions and South Coast Promotions, Aransas Pass
06/30/12 Sosa Promotions, The Woodlands
07/14/12 Top Rank, San Antonio
09/15/12 Top Rank, San Antonio
09/29/12 Zef Entertainment, El Paso
courtesy of tdlr

CAGE COMBAT 9
Friday May 25, 2012
PENDING TDLR APPROVAL

1. Alex Martinez (Silverback) VS. Martin Garcia (GB Texas) – 125
2. Sijin Kurian (SLMMA) VS. Hugo Delafuente (Bushi Ban) – 125
3. Victor Lomax (Ground Dwellers) VS. Chris Rivera (ACS) – 125
4. Hector Cortina (RSKA/Silverback) VS. Alex Chang (4oz) – 135
5. Raul Rodriguez (SLMMA) VS. Brandon Gauthier (Tooke/Pitre MMA)- 145
6. Martin Walker (ATT Beaumont) VS. John Rodriguez (Silverback) – 145
7. Mike Eaglin (Elite MMA) VS. Bryant Holt (4oz) – 185
8. Tony Stolfa (ATT Beaumont) VS. Edgar Juarez (Paradigm) – 145
9. Alex Fernandez (Silverback) VS. Luis Santiago (ACS) – 135
10. Gregory Diaz (ATT Beaumont) VS Leville Simpson (Twin Wolves) – 155
11. TBA VS. Lucas Aguirre (Tooke/Pitre MMA) – 160
12. Kody Williams (GB Woodlands) VS. Yan Digalov (Paradigm) – 145
13. Josh Cooper (ATT Beaumont) VS. Mike Dunn (4oz) – 135
14. Ramiro Cortina (RSKA/Silverback) VS. Randy McCullough (Windy MMA) – 135
15. Ryan Sheehan (GB Champions) VS. Chas Liberty (Paradigm) – 170
16. Tony Orozco Jr. (Silverback) VS. Cesar Del Angel (KO Club) – 135
17. Tyler Flores (GB Woodlands) VS. Joe Whichard (Kingwood MMA) – 170
18. Tina Gomez (SBA) VS. Kristy Kester (Windy MMA) – 125
19. Kolton Englund (RSKA/Silverback) VS. Jason Friedman (Paradigm) – 155
20. Ryan Hollis (Hard Head Hitters) VS. James Deherrera (Windy MMA) – 125 TITLE
21. Robert Butler (SFS MMA) VS. Aaron Croon (Tooke/Pitre MMA) – 145 Title
22. Ryan Spann (ATT Beaumont) VS. Charles Lloyd (GB Woodlands) – 170 Title

Roman Huerta will be making his return to the Cage on March 31st in his hometown of Odessa, TX for 24/7 Amateur Association. Great young man I’ve met twice myself while he competed here, in my hometown of San Antonio,TX. Here we go!!

sPidA: Coming back from a loss, are you coming in with something to prove, what have you learned from that loss?

Huerta: Coming back from a loss just gave me more dedication to train harder and to be more prepare for anything! Once you have lost a fight then you know how it feels to lose and get hurt,so from now on instead of wondering how it feels to lose, I’m going to make sure I don’t go through that again !!

sPidA: Would you say fighting in front of a home crowd would be motivation or pure frustration?

Huerta: I’m thinking the home crowd will give me motivation cause fighting in front of all your friends and family, it’ll give me the extra push in the fight to never give up !!

sPidA: If you had a time machine, where would you travel back to and why?

Huerta: If I had a time machine I think I would go back to when I was in seventh grade and change myself from being that lazzy kid to being an active athlete and to start training mixed martial arts at that age, that would be awesome because I would have all that knowledge in the sport right know !

sPidA: Your a big guy coming into your fights, how much weight do you drop and is this harder to do then the fight itself?

Huerta: Cutting weight is not the hardest thing but it is the most annoying. I used to fight at 205 and now I will fight at 185 so its a big drop in weight but since this is my first 185 fight I have no idea how I will react in the cage with this much weight drop but what I do know is I will not give up easy !!

sPidA: From what I read,you have been having opponent change on you a few times, have you changed your game plan or do you train the same for every fight?

Huerta: Yes as a matter of fact I had 3 opponents changed on me and no I did not change my fight game,in Mixed Martial Arts you should never study anybody by their last fights,always be prepared for anything because just like you can change your fight game so can they.

sPidA: Thank you for your time bro any last minute thanks or shouts to those reading this on TexasFighting?

Huerta: I just want to say thanks to my friends and family that supported me, my trainer rick and all my team that has helped push me through training. My sponsor Permian Basin eye care who helps me out on free eye exams!! I can’t promise a win in the fight but I promise i will not go down without a fight !!!

~Interview Start~

Texas Fighting:  First off, are you a family man?

Gilbert Jimenez: Yes, I’m married with 3 boys.

Texas Fighting:  How old are the boys?

Gilbert Jimenez: 14, 12 and 8.

Texas Fighting:  If they ever wanted to train in mma would you be okay with that?

Gilbert Jimenez: Absolutely, my 14 year old trains with me. He’s really good at Jujitsu. He’s still a white belt but I show him a few things here and there. He’s tapped out quite a few people. He’ll be getting into wrestling in highschool to prepare him for mma.

Texas Fighting:  What interests you about fighting and when did you start fighting?

Gilbert Jimenez: I’ve always been a rough house type of guy and have been around crazy sh!@ all my life. I’m from “the street” and don’t come from a real nice neighborhood so, I’ve always gotten into tons of sh!@.  This is not what everyone wants to hear but this is how I grew up. Living in the south side of San Antonio often had me getting my a@@ kicked or kicking some a@@ every day. It’s rough out there but mixed martial arts has allowed me to channel it in a way where I can benefit from it.  It’s kept me out of trouble and, oddly enough, out of jail – most of the time. (chuckling under his breath)

Texas Fighting:  Is Mixed Martial Arts your full time gig?

Gilbert Jimenez: Yes, I’ve sacrificed a lot the past year and a half and committed myself 100% to training. Ever since I did that I’ve been on a pretty good streak. I’ve got two titles so I’m pretty proud of that.

Texas Fighting:  How long ago did you start training in Mixed Martial Arts?

Gilbert Jimenez: Let’s see… Brazilian Jujitsu, MMA and Muay Thai… about two and a half years.

Texas Fighting:  Earlier you mentioned that you had a rougher start growing up, how old were you when you got into your first fist fight?

Gilbert Jimenez: I was probably about 9 years old at the time. I would get my a@@ kicked every day. This bully use to always pick on me, he’d always just fu*# with me. I really hated it, this is so weird because nobody knows this about me, but that actually brought out the pitbull in me – so to speak. One day I had about all I could take and the next day I planned it out and ended up beating his a@@ with a 2×4. I was a young elementary kid and he was some high school drop out. I got such a rush beating up this giant fu*# that I decided that I’d never take sh!@ from anyone again. From there I got into any sh!* I could and just loved it!

Texas Fighting:  Now Gilbert, you’re a great street fighter but have you ever lost a street fight?

Gilbert Jimenez: Oh hell yeah! Being that I’m the kinda person that doesn’t back down from sh!@ I’ve had my fair share of beat downs as well as giving them. Whether it’s one guy or ten guys I still look at it the exact same way. I look at it this way, if I have a problem I don’t care how many of you there are, somebody’s gonna get knocked the fu*# out. Now sometimes if it was more than five it was often me that was getting beat down but I didn’t care. I made sure to at least hurt one of the guys, usually the biggest, bad enough to where they’d remember they’re not dealing with just some regular dude. If they fu*# with me someones going to get hurt!

Texas Fighting:  (chuckling) Nice!

Texas Fighting:  So you started two and a half years ago training in MMA, when did you have your first amateur mma fight?

Gilbert Jimenez: My first fight was in September of 2007 and my opponent was Phil Detrizack from the Grapplers Domain and I ended up taking that win by decision with only four months of training under my belt.

Texas Fighting:  What is your amateur record right now?

Gilbert Jimenez: 7-2

Texas Fighting:  Were the losses in the beginning of your career?

Gilbert Jimenez: No, actually, one of the losses was from a kid by the name of Luis Luna from Odessa Texas – big name in the Texas circuit so look out for him. The guy is an awesome fighter.

Gilbert Jimenez: He came out to bang, I came out to bang. The problem was that I underestimated the kid and he ended up catching me in an arm bar – literally beating me at my own game. I definitely learned a lot from that fight. Another thing is that I had five other fighters that I was corner man for so I wasn’t able to give 100% focus emotionally as I needed to. That was the first time and the last time I’ll ever do that again.

Texas Fighting:  Would you fight Luna again?

Gilbert Jimenez: Absolutely. I’d love to fight him again.

Texas Fighting:  What is your fighting background mainly based in?

Gilbert Jimenez: Well, Brazilian Jujitsu is what I love, but I’ve been fighting on the streets as mentioned before since I was a kid. I’ve always stayed physically fit and kept mentally clear headed as well.

Texas Fighting:  Two and a half  years isn’t really that long to be involved in MMA, but if we add in your street credibility, I guess we could say that your experience is a lot broader than just the experience you have in the gym. Would that be fair to say?

Gilbert Jimenez: I don’t think I’d be where I am today if I hadn’t experienced what I have out on the street. Also, it’s been about a year and a half since I stepped in the gym and received my blue belt. That’s one of my greater accomplishments.

Gilbert Jimenez: Coming from the street and going into the gym for the first time I had a hot head and thought, “I’m ready to fight, I’ll kick anyone’s a@@.” My instructor was like, “Okay, why don’t you go ahead and wrestle this guy.” five seconds later, I was like,”okay, okay, tap, tap tap.” I figured it was bullsh!* but again five seconds later I’m tapping out. I’ve definitely grown since then.

Texas Fighting:  Do you have any MMA goals – where do you see yourself in the future in this sport?

Gilbert Jimenez: It’s a funny thing you mention this. Being that I’m 34 years old, I’m not thinking about how far I’m going to take this, all I’m thinking about is where I’m going to go and how I’m going to get there. My mind is focused on getting on the WEC or UFC. Whichever comes first. I’m looking at making it big. Right now I’m also just training for this fight but I’d also like to eventually open up my own MMA/Jujitsu school.

Texas Fighting:  Do you have any favorite professional fighters?
Wanderlei Silva. The man is bad a@@ and he’s still bangin’. That’s me right there, that’s the guy I look up to.

Texas Fighting:  How did the nickname “The Pitbull” come about?

Gilbert Jimenez: It’s a name I’ve had for over fifteen years now. I’ve had several nicknames like “psycho Gilbert,” “crazy Gilbert,” even “naked Gilbert” but pitbull just stuck. Out in the street that’s what people know me by. To be honest, I don’t remember where the name originated but people would see me fight and be like, “Man you’re just like a little Pitbull, you don’t stop.” And the name stuck, even up to my fighting career my trainer was like, “dude, you’re relentless, you don’t stop till you get what you want.” You can’t teach that in a gym, I believe that’s just something you’re born with.

Texas Fighting:  Do you have any sponsors?

Gilbert Jimenez: I’m managed by B3Sports. I normally hang with three guys from my school that are also sponsored by B3. You’ll be seeing and hearing a lot about us within the Texas area.

Texas Fighting:  When is your next mma fight?
This Saturday, August 29th at King of Kombat. It’s going to be a pretty stacked card – come check it out!

Texas Fighting:  Who are you fighting?

Gilbert Jimenez: Another B3 fighter by the name of Jace Pitre out of Travis Tooke’s school – Team Tooke.

Texas Fighting:  Have you ever met the guy?

Gilbert Jimenez: No, and that’s the way I like it. I’ve never met him or seen him. I like to look at my opponent as my enemy and don’t want to meet him until we get in the cage. Right now my only concern is to train, drop weight and focus on demolishing my opponent.

Texas Fighting:  What weight class do you fight in?

Gilbert Jimenez: Lightweight 155

Texas Fighting:  As far as training is concerned, how much do you train?

Gilbert Jimenez: I train five to six days a week. Monday-Friday I do morning Jujitsu from 10:30-2:00 and on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on top of morning Jujitsu, I do Muay Thai and MMA classes from 6:00-9:00. And finally, Saturdays we do sparring sessions.

Texas Fighting:  Are weights a part of your training?

Gilbert Jimenez: No too much. We do a lot of plyometrics and use our teammates body weight by carying them across the gym floor.

Texas Fighting:  Do you hold any titles?

Gilbert Jimenez: Yes, two to be exact. I hold the lightweight 155 TAMMA Title and the USACA Title for my weight division of 155.

Texas Fighting:  Anyone you’d like to thank?

Gilbert Jimenez: Jaimie Miller my trainer and friend over at Texas Powerhouse, all my Team at Texas Powerhouse, Furious fightware another one of my sponsors, Chaos City, my parents for doing their best by me and last but not least, my supportive wife.

~Interview End~

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