Sick Dog Blog: Headliner Hector Ramirez on "A Night of Combat II"

Originally posted on MMAjunkie.com

by Hector Ramirez on Oct 10, 2008 at 2:15 pm ET

I am a proud to be a Mexican-American "Chicano" born in East Los Angeles and raised in Norwalk, Calif. I was raised by my father, who is from Jalisco, Mexico (the small town of Poncitlan, outside of Guadalajara), and my mother, who is from Armeria, Colima.

The struggles they had in a new country and the hard times they had in raising me are probably the reason I fight today.

My history

The first time I decided to fight was when a good friend by the name of Charlie Valencia, who currently fights in the WEC, approached me and told me I should enter a cage-fighting tournament. I first said no because even though I had wrestled comparatively all my life, I wasn't a big believer in fighting. But, my wife was eight months pregnant with my son, and we needed some new tires for our car. Money was tight, and $1,200 was the grand-prize money.

There was a catch, though: I would have to fight twice in the same night. I took the fight anyway, and I won both fights. My wife was there, so I had to make sure I won convincingly. (I didn't want her to have the baby right there at the show.)

So, that's how it all began.

Tito and Rampage

I met Tito Ortiz and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson when Colin Oyama recruited me to join his team. This was before the days of Team Punishment, and the MMA team back then was called Punch Out. I was able to train, learn and grow with some of the best fighters in the game, especially at my weight class.

I think back to the practices we had and the guys in the room and what they have done in the sport, and it just blows my mind. We were just a bunch of local guys from the neighborhood trying to improve our skills and be tougher.

"TUF" and semi-retirement

Ortiz was one of the head coaches for the popular UFC reality series, "The Ultimate Fighter."

Tito called me and asked me to try out for his team for the show, and since we were good friends, I did. I made it to the final group but wasn't chosen. They said because my personality didn't stack up with the other contestants. I would have smashed them all, and Tito knew that.

I was really disappointed that I wasn't picked and had to make some serious decisions about my future. I said to myself, "Screw fighting. There is no money in this sport until you get to the highest level, and you can't make a living in the meantime, especially with a wife and kids." The real-estate market was on a big upswing, so instead I used some creative financing and I invested in a few fixer houses. My trade is a union construction worker, and I have been in construction my whole life, so I am pretty handy.

I left MMA for a full year and packed on the pounds. Some people like deserts; some people over snack. My weakness is I grew up on and now love beans. It began to show.

A new career

Toward the end of that year, a good friend had passed away at the age of 44 from a heart attack.

He had been a guy I worked with, and he had been a big fan of mine as a fighter. He always encouraged me to fight again. He had taken his son to a fight I had in Las Vegas when I knocked out Kendall Grove. Later, we talked and he said to me that was one of the greatest nights he had ever had with his son. He couldn't wait to take his son to another one of my fight events.

Unexpectedly, my friend died later that year.

When my good friend "Rampage" had a fight at The Forum in L.A., I thought it would be cool if I invited lil' Larry to come see some fights with me and possibly take a picture with Rampage after the event.

I tried to go backstage for some pictures, but there was so much security that I wasn't able to get through. I called Rampage and he told me to meet him at an after-party in Hollywood. We waited outside this club for Rampage to show up, and when he did, he took a picture with lil' Larry.

As we were ready to leave, I saw my old teammate, "Razor" Rob McCullough. He introduced me to a guy by the name of "The Pav," Ken Pavia, and he said to me that he was an up-and-coming fight manager and would be the biggest soon. And he said Pavia was interested in talking to me. I gave him my number.

The next day, he called me and said I had a pretty good MMA record and that he could possibly get me in a big show, maybe even the UFC. Of course, at this point, I was weighing about 250 pounds but hiding it well under baggy clothes. Pavia said "sign with me" anyway.

I told him, "If you get me in the UFC, then I will sign anything you want – that it had always been my dream." A week later, I was setting tile at one of my houses when The Pav called and said there had been an injury.

"You got your UFC fight," he told me.

The first thing that came to my mind was, "Damn, I have to lose 45 pounds in five weeks." I had signed with Pavia, but I don't think it all really hit me until I was walking into Arco Arena in Sacramento for UFC 65 against James "The Sandman" Irvin.

Even though we earned the Fight of the Night bonus, Irvin pulled off the victory with a big punch in the second round after I beat him nearly to death in the first.

Luckily, I was given a second UFC fight, and I fought Forrest Griffin in the co-main event at UFC 82 in Northern Ireland. Griffin was coming off a loss too (a stunning TKO to Keith Jardine), and he fought a smart fight, constantly sticking and moving and not stepping into the pocket with me or going to the ground.

For the fight Pavia got me a bunch of sponsors, but one was Punishment Athletics and I was supposed to wear a beanie. I thought it would be better if I tried to win the Irish fans over, so instead I wore a beanie with a four-leaf clover. And the fans booed anyway. When I got back home, The Pav told me Punishment Athletics was not going to pay because I didn't wear the Punishment Athletics beanie. He told me that because I was fighting Griffin in Ireland, I could have come out in a Lucky Charms leprechaun suit and that the crowd would have still rooted for Griffin.

Sometimes you learn things the hard way.

Anyway, I am proud to say my only three career losses have been to the current UFC champ, the undefeated No. 1 contender Rashad Evans (who won a decision victory over me even though I broke my ankle in the first round), and Irvin. Not a bad trio.

The comeback

After taking some time off, I began suffering some injuries in training that prevented me from going to the gym. There were also the financial pressures that were fueled by the drastic change in the real-estate market.

The Mexican-American fans that have always been so supportive of me always stopped me, no matter where I traveled for my fights or to help teammates, and asked me when I was going to come back and fight again. They always told me there wasn't a good Chicano MMA fighter that represented the people.

My first comeback fight was against UFC and "TUF" veteran Rob "Maximus" McDonald at a Hardcore Fighting show in Canada. This kid was tough and was built like a guy from the movie "300."

While there were a few fight promotions interested in me for some reason, Hardcore was the most aggressive – and that surprised me because I didn't think there was a big Latino market in Canada.

My conerman backed out at the last minute in that fight, so Pavia stepped up to the plate. He did a great job getting me through the fight, and I was determined to win. Losing was not an option. Even though it was brutal and bloody, he would not let me quit and was great in helping to get my breathing under control and seeing openings in the fight.

I got the win, and it was a big one for me.

During the fight I could hear him, and we executed perfectly. Pavia has been the reason I am back in the sport. He has believed in me since the day I met him. He understands the fact that I have three kids to feed, really cares for his fighters like they are his blood, and always makes the right moves that best fit my career.

Fight camp

It's been almost seven months since that fight, and I'm now ready for my next one. I'll be headlining Saturday's "A Night of Combat II" event in Las Vegas. It's a stacked card with guys like John Alessio, Jay Hieron, Salmon and others.

Anyway, I needed to properly prepare for this fight while being away from all distractions, and I had the opportunity to stay at Pavia's house for two weeks to focus on my fight, which is against legendary K-1 champion Rick "The Jet" Rufus.

Razor Rob lives at the house, and they always seem to have fighters passing through and staying in the guest room. It is a great location to train because it is downtown Huntington Beach, and it is a block from the ocean, which motivates you to run and do sand wind sprints. During this time, I trained at HB Ultimate and surrounded my self with pro fighters. I was lucky to spend a lot of time with Zach Light, who was a big help, Benji Radach, Sean Salmon, Ortiz, Razor Rob, Tiki, superstar wrestler Mark Munoz, Josh "The Punk" Thompson, Brady Fink and even Mike Bisping helped as well. We all helped each other with diet, training and generally supported each other with the fighter lifestyle.

I understand that Rufus wants to be a 205-pound champion in MMA some day, but he has "Sick Dog" standing in his way, and he will not make it past me. I have too many reasons to win. While the money is important, I fight for my family. I fight for the Mexican-American fans. I fight for Norwalk, Calif. I fight for La Raza.

It's all the motivation I need.

My thank yous

As a fighter we rely on many factors outside of our control to be successful. The guys at MMAagents.com that support Ken and me are great. Thanks go to Nate, Danny, Julian, Sean, Tony and Joe.

I also have to thank my sponsors. TapouT, So Cal MMA clothing, Gamma O (that stuff really works), Jesus Didn't Tap (that's a tough dude), Kill It (cool logo) and Dr. Kessler have supported me generously for this fight. I would like to thank Randy and Kim Couture for promoting this event and giving me the chance to show my skills as the main event on HDNet.

Most importantly I want to thank my wife, Heather. Without her support and understanding, I would never be able to chase my dreams and represent my people. We have been together for a solid 15 years. She has been a source of strength, and I really appreciate her and my kids.

If you are in Las Vegas on Saturday, come out to the Thomas & Mack Center and check out the fights. If you miss them, the card will be aired on HDNet on Oct. 17. Viva La Raza!

This story originally appeared on es.mmajunkie.com, the Spanish-language version of MMAjunkie.com. Guest columnist Hector "Sick Dog" Ramirez (7-3-1) is a former UFC fighter based in California. In anticipation of his main event fight with Rick Rufus at Saturday's "A Night of Combat II," Ramirez has authored the "Sick Dog Blog" for the Spanish-language version of MMAjunkie.com. His column has been translated for MMAjunkie.com's main site by Karime Gaytan.