The Heart of a Champion

MMA Sport issue 10 interview exclusive with Roger Huerta

When a fighter is 6-0 in the UFC including a 19 second KO, it becomes very difficult to ignore. If that’s not enough, add a recent submission win over top lightweight Clay Guida and you have a fighter who is getting closer to a title shot. His inspirational life story, incredible conditioning and tremendous determination will be very difficult to defeat. He may not wear a belt yet, but he does wear the Heart of a Champion.

Mmasports: Congratulations on your win against Clay Guida, what are your thoughts on the fight?
Roger: I have nothing but good thoughts on this fight. It was a fight that viewers got to see what MMA is all about. Two guys giving it everything they could in an action packed fight. You got to see good wrestling, scrambling, striking, stamina and most of all, amazing heart from both fighters.

Mmasports: Were you concerned going into the third round that you might have been behind on points?
Roger: I wasn't concerned, more like I knew I had to come out with everything I had in order to win the fight. I just knew I was going to win. It took that one punch late in the second round to get me going.

Mmasports: What was your game plan for the fight?
Roger: I really didn't have a huge game plan for the fight. I did want to be the one dictating the pace of the fight, but as you saw it was a fight that both fighters were just never going to stop, whatsoever.

Mmasports: What have you been doing since the fight?
Roger: After the fight I went back home to St. Paul Minnesota and just tried to relax with my guys. We threw a big dinner the following Saturday to celebrate the win. But really I have just been eating a lot.

Mmasports: You always look relaxed in a fight, what goes through your mind?
Roger: In my fights I'm always thinking about the next move. Truthfully time just gets to slow down for me in there. I love fighting, I love to compete. But I just know that we are more than prepared for whatever is going to happen in there.

Mmasports: You are now 6-0 in the UFC, what's next for you?
Roger: I'm going to take a few months off. Going to spend some time with family and friends. I'm also looking into finishing school this spring.

Mmasports: Who are the people you train with and how important are they?
Roger: Justin Hagen - sports conditioning coach, Dave Menne - MMA coach, Shaun Hallenbck - Running partner. These guys are my rock. They push me to keep going forward no matter what. They are my brothers.

Mmasports: Your conditioning is incredible, what do you owe that to?
Roger: I owe my conditioning to Justin Hagen. He knows how to raise my heart rate when I'm training. We're just always making changes during training so that we never get use to the workouts.

Mmasports: You started wrestling, what made you want to make the move to MMA?
Roger: I wrestled for Augsburg College my freshmen year and started doing MMA shortly after that. Fell in love with the sport and just knew that, that's what I wanted to do for a career.

Mmasports: So what does Roger Huerta do for fun?
Roger: Funny how you say that because this year I haven't been able to do to much since I was always training and doing PR for the UFC. But I love to travel, love being in warm places. I hang out with my friends, family. Just anything that involves being active.

Mmasports: How did you get the nickname "El Matador"?
Roger: My training partners gave me the name. They would say that I just looked so methodical when I was fighting.

Mmasports: You had a difficult childhood, tell us a little about that?
Roger: Well I basically grew up with no parents. Made myself go to school knowing that it was the only way out for me to become something of myself. Just wasn't your typical childhood life.

Mmasports: You've started a program called 'myfight4kids', tell us about that?
Roger: I started this because I want to give kids the chance that every kid should have, to become whatever they want to become in their lifetime. Showing them that even though they were dealt a band hand as kids that they don't have to take it if they don't want to. Myfight4kids is only the beginning of something good that can come out of the sport of MMA.

Mmasports: Is it true you'll be taking some time off from fighting?
Roger: Yes it is true that I will be taking some time off. As of right now, I'm not planning on fighting till sometime next fall.

Mmasports: Tell us about your training routine when you're preparing for a fight?
Roger: Yes it is true that I will be taking some time off. As of Train about 6 to 8 hours a day that consist of a mix of cardio, weight training, MMA training and healthy eating.

Mmasports: Any last comments?
Roger: Would like to thank my family and friends for all their love and support. Would also like to say thanks to all of the fans of MMA for continuing to keep supporting and for helping it grow. Thanks and God Bless.