CORPUS CHRISTI, TX, October 18, 2011 – This past weekend in South Padre, STFC 17 Fightfest at Bikefest 2 played host for the successful professional MMA debut of one of Texas’ up-and-coming light heavyweights in Roger Narvaez, otherwise known to his friends and teammates as the “Silverback.”
Now a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu brown belt under the combined Full Contact Fighter / Paragon gym based in Corpus, Roger has been training diligently under coaches Hector Munoz and Aurelio Gallegos – prepping for this moment by plying his trade on the East Texas MMA scene (e.g. Texas Rage in the Cage) as an amateur before deciding to move on to the pro ranks.
Talking about his background, the Corpus Christie veteran firefighter / EMT talked about his lifelong passion for martial arts leading up to his pro career.
“Technically I didn’t start training BJJ/MMA until about 4 yrs ago but I started in martial arts when I was 7 years old. I trained in Tae Kwon Do for years and obtained a second degree black belt under Master Clifford Mckenzie here in Corpus Christi. Then a few years back, I started training under Hector “H-Train” Munoz and kept at it from there. I picked up on jits pretty quick and climbed the belt ladder through competitions. I began fighting amateur around 2 years ago and so far have been successful in every fight. I have a great team and great support at home which allows me to be successful.”
With a solid environment in which to hone his skills, Narvaez finally made the move to go pro this past Saturday, winning in spectacular fashion by beating Weslaco, TX native Julio Villareal by TKO at 1:47 in the very first round. Describing the fight for TXMMA.com, Roger spoke about the satisfaction of finally winning as a pro.
“I wanted to keep the fight standing to show my improved stand up. I kept on the outside peppering him with jabs and lead hand hooks. He rushed in and I caught him with knee. I was surprised that he clinched since he has more of a boxing base but I gladly took advantage and took him down. I landed in side mount, landed a few knees to the body and a couple of short shots from that position. I then took mount and began to rain down some heavy ground and pound. I forgot I was allowed to elbow when I heard my coach yelling “elbow, elbow”. I threw the hardest elbow I could and it landed flush and cut him. Once I knew he was hurt I didn’t let up and ended the fight. It felt great to win my pro debut. I trained for this fight harder than I have ever trained for a fight before. As always I had a lot of nerves which is normal for me but once that cage door shuts, the animal in me just comes out.”
Moving forward, “The Silverback” now plans on taking his fight career just as methodically as he has been rather than rushing into big fights right away.
“For now I am going straight back to training,” he said about his desire to continue getting better right after last weekend’s fight. “My buddy Corey Bellino has a fight November 11, for STFC 18 in McAllen so that’s on my primary agenda for now, to help him. I enjoyed fighting for STFC and would like to take another fight in that organization but if something else comes up and I feel the time is right then that’s a decision I will make at that point in time. I don’t want to be one of those fighters who just rushes into their career. I waited four years before turning pro so there is definitely no reason to rush into picking up fights, especially since 1 or 2 losses has the potential to set someone back big time in this sport. I have trained in martial arts all my life and I owe it to myself to do this the right way.”
Fighter Acknowledgements
On a side note, I just want to take a few minutes to thank a few sponsors and close family and friends. Absolute Air, Lou Man’s Wireless, Ez Pawn, The Bottle Shop, Swolle Fitness Apparell, Dirty Unlimited, Results Personal Training, Armadillo Chiropractic, Rock’s Discount Vitamins and Supplements, Merikan Brand. I have to also give a shout out to good friend Pete Hernandez for helping me through my camp. Thanks pop for always being there and to my brother for driving 12 hrs on more than one occasion to see me in action. Also forever and always “love u mama”, RIP.
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