Miguel Rios

Fall Seven Times, Stand up Eight

 By Randy Thomas

On April 2, 1986, long before he became “El Rey,” Miguel Rios Jr. was born in New York City.  Proud of his strong Puerto Rican heritage, he lived in his home land briefly before his family made the journey across the United States and settled in Ankeny, Iowa.  An athletic kid, Rios competed in baseball, basketball, and track.  But in 2006 his dream became a reality when Rios received a phone call from fellow MCC veteran Billy “The Kid” Armstrong, and he was presented an opportunity to compete in the first ever MCC Trials.
 
Rios remembers that night.  “I had just got out of class at DMACC when I got the call. Billy told me about a four man tournament in MCC.  The show was September, 1 and he called me August 28!  I went over to his house that night and went over some basic moves. Between Monday and Friday, I had to cut about 25lbs to make the 170 lb weight limit.”  He continued, “Fight night came quick!  Going into the venue I wasn’t nervous one bit. I was actually very excited for my first fight. I won my first fight pretty quick, but I had one more to go.  And by the final fight, I was way nervous.  I didn’t think I had a chance against my opponent who had been actively training at Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy (DMMMA).   Somehow though, I won!  I remember getting off of him after he tapped out and thinking…did that just happen?”
 
From that very moment Miguel “El Rey” Rios Jr. was hooked.  He wanted to compete with the best, so he knew he had to train with the best.  Rios dove in head first and sought out Anthony Porcelli who owns and coaches at DMMMA.  He was learning to become a mixed martial artist.  Although it was hard juggling college, a job, and training, Rios pushed through as best as he could.  He was spending most of his time doing one of those three things.  But, before he knew it, he was only getting three hours of sleep every night, sometimes less- hardly enough for a student, let alone a fighter.  Soon, the pressure to excel was too much, and Rios was forced to make a decision.
 
“I was out of my element for the first couple months at DMMMA. It was so hard with everything I had going on and trying to learn the ins and out of mixed martial arts. I had a hard time doing it and eventually I had to drop training and fighting all together.  I ended up having a nervous breakdown and turned to some bad alternatives to try and make it all better.  It was the most terrifying time in my life.  I had to drop out of MCC.  I cut mixed martial arts out of my life for almost two years. I had to walk away in order to get better.  It was so hard but I always knew I would get back into it.”
 
It wasn’t until August 2008 that Rios returned to the gym and the sport he loved.  There was one problem; he came back weighing close to 220 lbs- 50 lbs too heavy for the welterweight class he competed in.  Shortly after his return to the sport he was contacted by MCC and offered a second chance.  Rios stated, “I quickly lost 30 lbs. by training six days a week, lifting weighs, wrestling, boxing and re-dedication myself to MMA.”  By November, he was in top shape when he faced Mike Miller.   His come back fight was a sucess.  Rios submitted Miller with a triangle in the very first round.  El Rey was back!
 
What does the future hold for the versatile competitor?
 
“Right now I’m just focused on my next fight in November.  I’m making my professional debut against Thomas Naumann and I’ll be looking to finish the fight.  I don’t care whether it’s ten seconds or three rounds, I will be looking to finish the fight.  That’s what I do- fight to finish.”
 
Despite his rigorous six day fight training schedule, Rios manages to hold down a full time job as an Automotive Technician at a major dealership.  On the weekends he is a counselor for at-risk youths.  He’s still as busy as ever, but he’s found the key to balance his life.  Rios stays grounded with the help from his fiance, Tiffany, who he credits for being there for everything from preparing his meals to helping him promote his fights.
 
Rios has a lot to be thankful for and the humble mixed martial artist is quick to give credit where credit is due.  “I would like to thank all my training partners and Anthony Porcelli at DMMMA. It’s amazing how much talent the guys have there and they have showed me everything I know. I would like to thank my best friend Chris Fitch for giving me the drive to fight since we were little kids and always believing in me. Finally I’d like to thank my fiance, Tiffany she is the main reason I can work and fight. She is my life and makes it go very smooth.”
 
Miguel Rios Jr. will face Thomas Naumann at MCC 23 “Thanksgiving Throwdown”, Wednesday, November 25 at Vets Auditorium.  Tickets are available on-line at MidwestCageChampionship.com.  For more information call 515-229-8566 or log on the the Midwest Cage Championship web site.
 
 
FIGHTER STATS
 
Name: Miguel “El Rey” Rios Jr.
Born: New York City, NY
Resides: Ankeny, IA
Age: 23
Style: Jiu Jitsu, Striker
Gym: Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy
Amateur Record: 8-0-0
Professional Record: 0-0-0
Accomplishments: 2009 NAGA Midwest no-gi champion, MCC Trials Welterweight Champion

Elvis Mutapcic

MCC Trials III

October 10, 2009

Midwest Cage Championship held it’s third amateur MMA event to seek out the next big name in the fight game, and several fighters showed up to earn their shot for a spot on the MCC roster.  MCC co-owner, Ryan Hass noted, “When we were putting the event together we had ten fights scheduled, but we kept getting more and more interest from fighters, so we ended up with fourteen fights.  We had enough fighters to put more on, but we only have so much time to work with.”  Fighters from all over the Midwest showed up and put on performances worthy of getting their invitation to the Midwest’s top promotion.

One of the most exciting fights of the night was, unfortunately one of the shortest.  Corey McDonald and Chad Thornburg put on a stand up war with McDonald landing a barrage of punches for the TKO victory in just 33 seconds of the first round.  The eighteen year old fighter, trained by muay Thai ace, Pete Peterson did exactly what he intended to do; he kept it standing and landed quicker and more powerful punches.  A teammate of MCC standout, Zak Laird, McDonald will get his shot with MCC at the promotions largest show of the year; MCC 23 “Thanksgiving Throwdown”.  “Like Laird, this is a kid people need to keep their eye on, stated MCC co-owner, John Halverson.  “We’ve seen him fight a couple times and he gets better with every fight.  If he turns out to be anything like Zak Laird, the sky is the limit for him.”

A training partner of MCC Middleweight contended, Andy Branson, Nick Lepa made his MMA debut against a very experienced fighter, Chad Zurfluh.  The entire fight was a back and forth battle as the the wrestler, Zurfluh was able to nullify the jiu jitsu game of Lepa.  It was near the end of the second round when Zurfluh made the mistake of giving up his back, and the blue belt took full advantage of the position and forced the tap out due to a rear naked choke.  Although new to the sport, he proved that he is worthy to perform.  Fight fans may see him step in the cage along side his teammate, Andy Branson, at MCC 23.

The lone knock out of the night came from Chad Vandermark when he  landed a huge right hand to the chin of Leo Villareal folding him like a lawn chair.  A student of Anthonly Porcelli’s Des Moines Mixed Martial Arts Academy, Vandermark had been sidelined for months with a broken hand.  He was eager to make his return at MCC Trials and wanted to put on an impressive performance to leave no doubt in the fans minds that he deserves to bang with the best.  “The knock out came so fast we had to watch it over and over on video.  It was crazy,” stated John Halverson.  He added, “These guys were trading punches and next thing you know Leo is on the ground, legs folded underneath him and Chad’s walking back to his corner with a smile on his face and his right hand in the air.  He asked me for his shot on MCC.  How could I say no?”

In a rematch from earlier this year, Josh “The Jack Hammer” Troen, agreed to fight Tony Crowder again- the aggressive, experience fighter he submitted in his second ever MMA fight.  Unfortunately for the Jack Hammer, Crowder did his homework and put in his time at the gym.  Shortly after getting dropped from a leg kick, Crowder weathered the flurry of punches and snatched a picture perfect arm bar, forcing Troen to submit just 28 seconds in the first round.  Immediately after the fight, the victorious Crowder wasted no time in calling out MCC bantamweight fighter, Nate “Teddy Bear” Williams.  Fight fans can expect to see this fight soon!

In the main event of the night, middleweight brawler, Patrick Perkins faced off against Brad “Popeye” Davis.  Although Davis came into the fight the underdog, despite being the more experienced fighter, he put up a very competitive fight until a liver kick stopped Popeye late in the second round.  Perkins was surprised by the heart and tenacity that Davis brought to the table, but with only one loss to his MMA resume, Perkins remained calm and picked his shots and he knew it would only take one- and, he proved that. Perkins moves on to be 7-1.

Fight fans will now see the select few, make their debut in the MCC cage, at MCC 23: “Thanksgiving Throwdown,” Wednesday, November 25th, at Vets Auditorium.