“Remembering the past gives power to the present”
In Part One of the Definitive Photo History of Houston MMA, this series discussed many significant events in the growth of the sport.
Starting in the year 2001, Houston witnessed the birth of the city’s MMA fighting history as that marked the first time we saw truly organized shows put on by Renegades Extreme Fighting and owner Saul Soliz. Moving on through the years, we saw the framework for a bright future for both fighters and the Mixed Martial Arts community on a whole as pivotal figures mentioned (and some unnamed helped) build the framework for what would event become a state-sanctioned sport.
Speaking of which, our last stopping point, the year 2005, was when everything changed for MMA in Houston and all over the state as the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) updated their rulebook to adopt standardized MMA rules, effectively ending the old days of pancrase-style fighting and ushering in the era of modern MMA here in Texas.
With that development, Houston opened up as a destination city for MMA events – a fact which would make itself evident in the years ahead and even now in present-day. That initial year actually hinted at the city’s potential as World Extreme Fighting made its way to the city in July of 2005. I neglected to mention the WEF event in part one of this series but I can say with conviction that it was one of the most anticipated events of the year. Aside from being something new as opposed to the well-respected but established Renegades, the WEF event was also held at the Toyota Center, marking the largest venue for any MMA promotion at the time and a precursor to Renegades, the UFC, Strikeforce, and others as the first to hold an event there. I vividly remember being there as we fans witnessed a Texas-sized showdown between Lee King of Houston and Nick “The Ghost” Gonzalez to open the card and staying until UFC-veteran Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman close the evening with an elbow TKO of Anthony Rea to cap off an exciting night of fights. Fun times indeed. Who knew it could get much bigger? Well actually, I’m sure we all did but it was fun to be there as history continued to unfold.
We now continue on through our photo journey of the city’s fighting history by recapping the years 2006-2007. As always, I’m not a human encyclopedia so if I missed anything, please let me know and I shall add it in so this can be an accurate reference point for everybody.
2006 – “Expanding Ambitions in Texas; Houston UFC-ready?”
With MMA now regulated throughout the state, promotions began expanding to hold shows in as many cities as they could, with likely aims to establish and corner the new (or refreshed) market of Texas fight fans.
For example, in the DFW area, Ultimate Texas Showdown continued on from their 2005 beginnings to hold shows in Dallas, Plano, and Frisco, providing another avenue for Houston mma-veterans like Dave Phillips, Rocky Long, and Joe Christopher to cultivate their careers. Also notable for UTS was the fact that it was also a staging ground for other names like (now UFC-fighters) Shane Carwin, TJ Waldburger, and Anthony Njokuani.
Meanwhile here in Houston, MMA was on and popping as well. Renegades Extreme Fighting held six shows on the year, with four being in Houston. The year actually started off with a bang on January 21st on an 11-fight REF card as Steve Garcia knocked Tim Snyder out cold literally as the bell rung to close round one of their first fight. That loss would be avenged in the future but for now, it was time for Renegades to feature other fighters – like Todd Moore who defeated UFC-vet TJ Waldburger in March and Jon Kirk, who had one heck of a stellar year, beating Mike Altman, Luis Reyes, and Chad Cook. I also recall other fighters like Eddie Avelar, Jesse Vasquez, and Rocky Long, amongst many others as having standout years.
The year 2006 ended with much excitement and anticipation as the mainstream press asked the question, “Is Houston ready for the UFC,” as Jeremy Botter did via the Houston Chronicle in October of 2006.
2007 – “Houston MMA Captures National Attention; Suffers Greatest Tragedy”
The year started off with a bang as Renegades Extreme Fighting enjoyed the peak of its popularity following a successful statewide campaign the year prior. Capitalizing on that momentum, the promotion put on a nine-fight card highlighted by performances from Houston MMA legends Jon Kirk, Aaron Rosa, and Jose Santibanez. Also fighting on the card were names like Kierre Gooch, Jesse Vasquez, and Jason Palacios, who I distinctly remember as an absolute beast during that time period.
From there, 2007 was highlighted as the year Houston MMA went national. While trainer Saul Soliz was busy working with fighters like former-UFC champions Tito Ortiz, Ricco Rodriguez and many others, other promotions entered the city’s MMA scene.
Not to be outdone, the most-popular MMA promotion in the world made its lone Houston appearance to date with UFC 69: Shootout on April 7, 2007. That card featured many great fights, with the most popular among them perhaps being a tilt between two Texans as Roger Huerta and Leonard Garcia put on a fight of the night performance and made a name for themselves. In particular, Huerta endeared himself to fans by actually looking up at the Toyota Center’s big-screen projectors to place his elbows while he couldn’t see his opponent. The night was capped off by one of the biggest upsets in UFC history as Matt “The Terror” Serra upset the highly-regarded Georges St. Pierre to win the welterweight title from GSP via TKO. In hindsight, that was definitely a flagship event for Houston’s MMA scene as that UFC fight week brought a Superbowl-like atmosphere to the city complete with autograph signing events and newsworthy weigh-ins.
Fresh off the momentum of the UFC, IFL, and his own successful past shows and training experience, Saul Soliz was all set to put on a successful event at the Toyota Center on October 20, 2007. As he stated in this interview, this overnight success in the making was to define the growth of MMA. “We went from a 300-seat venue to a 7,500 venue at the Toyota Center so I’m very pleased and very happy that MMA is growing at a breakneck speed.”
That REF event indeed lived up to its billing as the fighters put on a spectacular show. Daniel Pineda fought in Houston for the first time, taking out Kierre Gooch after taking his first two bouts in Austin and Corpus. Mike “The Greek” Bronzoulis made his professional debut, losing to Matt Rangel by armbar submission in the first round. Tim Snyder got revenge with a knockout of his own against Steve Garcia. Those and many other fighters made that one a night to remember.
What followed for the Houston and National MMA community was a tragedy nobody could have foreshadowed.
The state never issued any sort of moratorium after Sam’s passing but I think this is a fitting point for this history lesson to stop for now. We’ll talk more of Houston’s MMA history in the near future.
RIP Sam Vasquez. The Texas MMA community mourns you to this day.
