Roger Huerta
| Roger Huerta | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 20, 1983 Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Other names | El Matador |
| Nationality | American |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight | 154.3 lb (70.0 kg; 11.02 st) |
| Division | Lightweight |
| Reach | 70.1 in (178 cm) |
| Style | Collegiate Wrestling, Muay Thai, Submission Wrestling |
| Fighting out of | San Diego, California |
| Team | The Arena (MMA) |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 28 |
| Wins | 21 |
| By knockout | 11 |
| By submission | 5 |
| By decision | 4 |
| By disqualification | 1 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By knockout | 1 |
| By submission | 1 |
| By decision | 3 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No contests | 1 |
| Other information | |
| Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog | |
Roger Huerta (born May 20, 1983), is an American mixed martial artist.[1][2] He initially gained exposure by competing in the lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and later Bellator Fighting Championships.
Early life
Huerta is of Salvadorian and Mexican descent. He has had a long and difficult early childhood right up to his teen years, overcoming many challenges and has been described as having the "life that Hollywood producers make movies about".[3] Born to Lydia and Rogelio Huerta in Los Angeles, California, he spent the first 6 years of his life in Texas.[4] His father became heavily involved in drugs and alcohol and began an affair with another woman that led to a separation with Lydia.[5]
Huerta's mother became physically abusive, and when Huerta came to school with bruises covering his body, Child Protective Services intervened, placing him in a foster home for a short time.[1] In 1990, Lydia lost the custody battle for Huerta and fled the United States with Huerta, age 7, to her parent's home in El Salvador. Shortly upon arriving, Lydia abandoned Huerta leaving him in the care of his grandparents at the time of the El Salvadoran Civil War. She returned a year later to only leave him on his father's doorstep in Texas. That was the last time he saw his mother.[1] Huerta openly talks about the mental and physical abuse he endured from his father and stepmother in that year. The next year he was relocated to Mexico and left with his father's parents living in poverty. They would often send him out into the streets selling picture frames to tourists to make money.[1] For a brief time, his father and stepmother came back into his life where they moved to the Rio Grande Valley and enrolled him half way through the year into 3rd grade. At 12 his father left home, and soon after Roger was kicked out by his stepmother. He lived on the streets for many years and survived by joining a youth gang. He often slept in alleys and on rooftops, but was encouraged by his friends to remain in school where he could eat a provided breakfast and lunch.[1]
He occasionally stayed with friends and just before his freshman year, his life began to turn around for the better. Maria King, his friend's mother, obtained legal custody of him and the three moved to Austin, Texas where he attended Crockett High School. For one of the first times in his life he found himself in a stable environment and became quite popular in school and joined many of the school's sports teams including football and wrestling. It was there he met Jo Ramirez, his English teacher, where she learned about his troubled childhood in a conversation discussing his future ambitions. Furthermore, Bryan Ashford, the school's wrestling coach, took a special interest in Huerta and continued to supported him in division wrestling. Ramirez, already a mother of seven, adopted Huerta in 2002 at the age of 19.[6]
Ashford coached Huerta and with the help of Ramirez, aided him in applying for a collegiate wrestling scholarship. Huerta attends Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota with one year remaining in a Business Management bachelors degree[7] and resided in St. Paul, Minnesota.[8]
Huerta worked for a time as a bouncer and construction worker.[9]
Early career
In Huerta's pre-UFC career, his first loss came as a result of a dislocated jaw early in the finals of the SuperBrawl 36 tournament against Ryan Schultz on June 18, 2004, his third match of the day.[10]
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Huerta was originally slated to make his UFC debut against Hermes Franca at UFC 61, but was forced to withdraw from the fight as the result of an elbow injury.[11] He won his first six fights in the UFC, the first at UFC 63 against Jason Dent, which was declared "Fight of the Night".
His next fight was against UFC newcomer John Halverson at UFC 67. The fight ended by TKO after 19 seconds of round one after Huerta landed a knee to the shoulder/head area of a grounded Halverson, knocking him down and finishing him with punches. The end of the bout was controversial as knees to the head of grounded opponents are illegal under UFC rules. It was later shown in a replay that Huerta's knee was actually to the shoulder rather than to the head.[12]
Next he fought in a three round war with Leonard Garcia at UFC 69. winning via unanimous decision. After the fight, in May 2007, Huerta became the first mixed martial artist[13] to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated Magazine, for a story on the rising popularity of mixed martial arts.[14]
Huerta won his next two fights against Doug Evans and Alberto Crane. He then faced Clay Guida in the 2007's The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale. Huerta was visibly frustrated at losing in the grappling exchanges from Guida's wrestling offensive, spending a large part of the bout on his back fending off "ground and pound" from his opponent. Late in the second round, Huerta was stunned by a punch to the face while trying to get to his feet, but managed to survive until the end of the round. Early in the third round, Huerta looked to engage Guida on his feet, connecting with a knee to the face while attempting a kick Guida. After a brief flurry, Huerta took his back and submitted Guida by rear naked choke very late in the fight for an impressive come-from-behind win.
Huerta then lost his next fight by unanimous decision (all judges scored the bout 30–27) at UFC 87 against Kenny Florian.
On January 9, 2009, Huerta announced an indefinite hiatus from MMA to further pursue opportunities in acting.[15]
In order to complete his UFC contract,[13] Huerta returned on September 16, 2009, but lost to Gray Maynard at UFC Fight Night 19.[16] After a back-and-forth fight, he would end up losing a split decision in his bout against Maynard, with the bout scored 28–29, 30–27, 30–27.
Bellator Fighting Championships
Despite having previously announced on his personal Twitter account that he was in talks with Strikeforce,[17] Huerta eventually signed with Bellator Fighting Championships. He was one of eight men to compete in the second season lightweight tournament, with the winner receiving a title shot against Eddie Alvarez.[18]
His first fight in the tournament took place at Bellator 13. Huerta defeated opponent Chad Hinton via submission (kneebar) at 0:56 of the third round.
His second fight in the tournament took place at Bellator 17. Huerta lost the semi-final to Pat Curran by a controversial unanimous decision (29-28 from all three judges). However, on August 12 it was announced that Huerta would be fighting Bellator Lightweight Champion Eddie Alvarez, after Curran had to pull out of the fight due to a slap tear in his right shoulder. The Lightweight belt was not on the line when the two met on October 21, 2010 at Bellator 33 in Philadelphia.[19] He lost the fight via doctor stoppage between the 2nd and 3rd rounds.
Training
Huerta trained for his UFC fight against Kenny Florian with Greg Jackson's Submission Fighting.[20] For his Bellator debut, he spent time in Thailand and put together a training camp with MMA fighters such as Yves Edwards (UFC), Shad Lierley (Bellator), Jared Hess (Bellator), Dave Menne, and Jeff Clark out of the Phil Cardella / Relson Gracie Academy in Austin, Texas.[21]
Film
Huerta made his acting debut as Miguel Caballero Rojo in the live action motion picture Tekken.
Personal life
On August 10, 2010, Huerta engaged in a street fight outside a bar around 2 AM in Austin, Texas as reported on TMZ.com. In the video, a man alleged to be Huerta is seen exchanging words with and defending himself against a man, Rashad Bobino, a former linebacker of the University of Texas Football Team,[22] who had just violently assaulted a woman.[23] Bobino did not press charges.[24]
Mixed martial arts record
| 28 matches | 21 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 11 | 1 |
| By submission | 5 | 1 |
| By decision | 4 | 3 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| No contests | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 21-6-1-(1) |  War Machine
|
TKO | Ultimate Warrior Fighting | 2011-11-26 | 3 | N/A | Pharr, Texas, United States | |
| Loss | 21–5–1(1) | Eddie Alvarez
|
TKO (Doctor Stoppage) | Bellator 33 | 2010-10-21 | 2 | 5:00 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | Non-title fight |
| Loss | 21–4–1(1) | Pat Curran
|
Decision (Unanimous) | Bellator 17 | 2010-05-06 | 3 | 5:00 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States | Lightweight Tournament Semi-Final bout |
| Win | 21–3–1(1) | Chad Hinton
|
Submission (Kneebar) | Bellator 13 | 2010-04-08 | 3 | 0:56 | Hollywood, Florida, United States | Lightweight Tournament Opening Round |
| Loss | 20–3–1(1) | Gray Maynard
|
Decision (Split) | UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard | 2009-09-16 | 3 | 5:00 | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States | |
| Loss | 20–2–1(1) | Kenny Florian
|
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 87 | 2008-08-09 | 3 | 5:00 | Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 20–1–1(1) | Clay Guida
|
Submission (Rear naked choke) | The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs Team Serra Finale | 2007-12-08 | 3 | 0:51 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 19–1–1(1) | Alberto Crane
|
TKO (Punches) | UFC 74 | 2007-08-25 | 3 | 1:50 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 18–1–1(1) | Doug Evans
|
TKO (Strikes) | The Ultimate Fighter 5 Finale | 2007-06-23 | 2 | 3:30 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 17–1–1(1) | Leonard Garcia
|
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 69 | 2007-04-07 | 3 | 5:00 | Houston, Texas, United States | |
| Win | 16–1–1(1) | John Halverson
|
TKO (Strikes) | UFC 67 | 2007-02-03 | 1 | 0:19 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | |
| Win | 15–1–1(1) | Jason Dent
|
Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 63 | 2006-09-23 | 3 | 5:00 | Anaheim, California, United States | |
| Win | 14–1–1(1) | Joe Camacho
|
TKO (Punches) | Raze MMA" Fight Night | 2006-04-29 | 2 | 2:43 | San Diego, California, United States | |
| Win | 13–1–1(1) | Dan Swift
|
TKO (Punches) | Extreme Challenge 66 | 2006-02-17 | 2 | 0:51 | Medina, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 12–1–1(1) | Lee King
|
Submission (Rear naked choke) | IFC: Rumble on the Rio 2 | 2005-10-15 | 1 | 0:50 | Texas, United States | |
| Win | 11–1–1(1) | Matt Wiman
|
Decision (Unanimous) | FFC 15: Fiesta Las Vegas | 2005-09-14 | 3 | 5:00 | Medina, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 10–1–1(1) | Brad Blackburn
|
TKO (Corner Stoppage) | IFC: Rock N' Rumble | 2005-07-30 | 3 | 2:19 | Texas, United States | |
| NC | 9–1–1(1) | Melvin Guillard
|
NC (Overturned by Commission) | Freestyle Fighting Championship 14 | 2005-03-05 | 3 | 5:00 | Biloxi, Mississippi, United States | Guillard greased in between rounds. |
| Win | 9–1–1 | Kenny Jerrell
|
TKO (Punches) | Freestyle Fighting Championship 14 | 2005-03-05 | 1 | 2:15 | Biloxi, Mississippi, United States | |
| Win | 8–1–1 | Steve Kinnison
|
Submission (Rear Naked Choke) | Freestyle Fighting Championship 14 | 2005-03-05 | 2 | 2:57 | Biloxi, Mississippi, United States | |
| Win | 7–1–1 |  Naoyuki Kotani
|
TKO (Punches) | Xtreme Fighting Organization 4 | 2004-12-03 | 1 | 1:29 | Lakemoor, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 6–1–1 | Jake Short
|
Submission (Rear naked choke) | Extreme Challenge 60 | 2004-11-12 | 3 | 0:37 | Medina, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 5–1–1 | Matt Brady
|
TKO | Extreme Challenge 59 | 2004-09-24 | 1 | 3:12 | Medina, Minnesota, United States | |
| Loss | 4–1–1 | Ryan Schultz
|
Submission (Verbal) | SuperBrawl 36 | 2004-06-18 | 1 | 1:47 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | Huerta suffered a broken jaw and verbally gave up |
| Win | 4–0–1 | Mike Aina
|
Decision (Unanimous) | SuperBrawl 36 | 2004-06-18 | 3 | 3:00 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Win | 3–0–1 | Harris Sarmiento
|
TKO (Strikes) | SuperBrawl 36 | 2004-06-18 | 3 | 2:12 | Honolulu, Hawaii, United States | |
| Draw | 2–0–1 | Joe Jordan
|
Draw | Extreme Challenge 56 | 2004-03-26 | 3 | 3:00 | Medina, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 2–0 | Jeff Carlson
|
DQ | EC – Best of the Best 2 – Day Event | 2003-08-02 | N/A | N/A | Anoka, Minnesota, United States | |
| Win | 1–0 | Shane Lavafor
|
TKO | EC – Best of the Best 2 – Day Event | 2003-08-02 | N/A | N/A | Anoka, Minnesota, United States |
References
- ^ a b c d e Jon Wertheim (Monday October 8, 2007). "Right at Home: Roger Huerta has found solace as rising star in UFC". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Roger "El Matador" Huerta". Sherdog. 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-09.
- ^ "Roger Huerta". Ultimate-Fighter.ca. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ^ "Roger Huerta, My Fight 4 Kids". Roger Huerta's Official Website. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
- ^ Myron P. Medcalf (August 8, 2008). "Roger Huerta's life: His toughest fight". Star Tribune. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- ^ "May-23-2008 Huerta Q&A Highlights video". UFC.com. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
- ^ "Roger Huerta – Saving Nothing for The Swim Back". UFC.com. 2007-01-31. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ "The Ultimate Fighter next door". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ "UFC Roger Huerta". UFC.com. Retrieved 2009-09-15. [dead link]
- ^ "Ryan Schultz vs. Roger Huerta". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ "Injury Forces Huerta Off UFC 61 Card". Sherdog.com. 2006-07-01. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
- ^ "UFC 67 Full Review: Silva, Cro Cop, Jackson Win". MMA Weekly. 2007-02-04. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ a b "Huerta-Maynard in Works for September". Sherdog.com. 2009-06-25. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ "'Sports Illustrated' Cover Features the UFC". MMAjunkie.com. 2007-05-23. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ "Huerta Passes on UFC Contract". Sherdog.com. 2009-01-29. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
- ^ "UFC Fight Night: Diaz vs. Guillard". UFC.com. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ "Roger Huerta heading to Strikeforce?". watchkalibrun.com. Retrieved 2009-09-03.
- ^ John Morgan; Steven Marrocco (2010-03-14). "Bellator calls Monday press conference, expected to announce signing of Roger Huerta". MMAjunkie.com. Retrieved 2010-08-09.</
- ^ Matt Erickson. "Roger Huerta Meets Eddie Alvarez at Bellator 33 in Philadelphia". MMA Fighting.
- ^ "Roger Huerta to train with Greg Jackson camp". MMAmania.
- ^ "Exclusive: Bellator 13 Pre-Fight Interviews, Featuring Roger Huerta, Joe Warren + More". CagePotato.
- ^ "Ex-Longhorn Football Player Hit Girl In TMZ Video". SPORTSbyBROOKS.
- ^ "Ex-UFC Star in Bloody Street Fight -- Caught on Tape". TMZ.
- ^ Steven Marrocco. "Austin police investigating Roger Huerta fight, manager says legal help offered". MMAjunkie.