SAN ANTONIO, TX, June 21, 2012 – Up next in our UWF Tournament of Warriors Finale interview series we speak to Adan De La Garza of Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ / Pete Spratt Muay Thai.
The 27 year old will be making his second UWF appearance on the undercard of the June 30th event scheduled for Corpus Christi’s American Bank Center in search for his second win as a pro. He debuted back in November in the organization’s first show with a unanimous decision victory over fellow debuting fighter Alfredo Castro Jr. He’ll have a markedly different challenge now when he takes on 4-0 Jimmy Flick of FCFA Paragon / Flick MMA – a fighter who hasn’t lost in 11 combined fights as an amateur and pro.
We recently caught up with Adan to get his thoughts on the fight, how he’s getting ready for it, and what he feels it will take to beat his highly-touted opponent.
UWF Pre-Fight Interview – Adan De La Garza (RPBJJ / Pete Spratt Muay Thai)
First of all, for those fans that haven’t seen you yet, give us a little background on you as a fighter.
I am from Pharr, TX – born and raised. I am fighting out of Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ and Pete Spratt Muay Thai. I currently have a professional record of 1-0.
Before you turned pro you had a pretty challenging amateur career. What did you take from that experience?
Ahh, the amateur career… I did a lot of learning. I’m glad I did it! One of the biggest lessons I learned is that I should only fight at my natural weight class. I learned a bunch of things after every fight. I learned not to leave fights in the hands of the judges. Split Decisions are a tough pill to swallow. I knew I was better than what it said on paper. I figured if I wasn’t getting the results I wanted, I needed to change things up. I changed things up. It was good experience. I feel I am in a good place now.
Nice. How would you describe yourself as a fighter now at this point?
I am student of the game. I am fresh to the pro scene with only one pro fight under my belt. I am excited to continue the learning process and to become as successful as I can. I would like to say that I am well-rounded… I feel comfortable on my feet and on the ground.
What motivates you to compete in this sport?
Like a lot of boys, growing up I dreamt of one day becoming a professional athlete. I played sports almost year round for most of my life. I was never a star athlete by any means. I was the “smallest kid on the football team” type of guy. …So I realized being a pro football player was probably never going to happen. I kind of got the idea after wrestling in high school. MMA has given me an opportunity to realize my dream. A professional sport with weight classes, Fantastic! I compete to test myself. I think the human body is an amazing weapon. I love to push my body to the limit. It’s amazing what you can do or make your body do when you believe you can!
How do you spend your time when you’re not at the gym?
Tell us about your training environment. What’s that like at RPBJJ / Pete Spratt Muay Thai?
Beastly! There are some beastly guys down at RBJJ/PSMT. We have some guys that are extremely competitive at the international level in BJJ. Coach Spratt is coaching up some sick strikers. A lot of hard work goes on in there. Learning from coaches that produce UFC fighters and have years of competition experience on the world’s biggest stages and highest levels is inspirational.
Looking ahead to the 30th, how does it feel to be fighting for UWF again?
What can you tell us about the org having fought for them once already? Fighting for UWF again is awesome! Mr. Enriquez gave me an amazing opportunity to make my professional debut in my hometown at UWF 1. I am really grateful for that! I was actually set to compete in their second show that was set back as UWF had a great opportunity to co-promote a nationally televised event. Staying true to his word, Oscar offered me a spot on the Tournament of Champions Finale card. I’m glad to be a part of it and it’s cool that they still had me in mind. UWF is shaping up to be a sick promotion. They give fans the opportunity to catch the action live on iPPV if they are not able to make it out, so we know they care about the fans also.
What about the fans that will be there live at the ABC in Corpus. What can they expect from you?
I’m coming to put on a show. I work hard, so they can expect an exciting fight for sure!
What do you know about your opponent Jimmy Flick? How do you expect this fight to go?
Any last words before the fight?
I am ready to go! I can’t wait to get in there and compete and test myself. I want to thank my family for their support! Without them this would not be possible. I want to thank my BJJ coaches Rodrigo Pinheiro and Daniel “White Shark” Pinheiro for taking my ground game to the next level. I want to thank my striking coach Pete” The Secret Weapon” Spratt, for all the knowledge he has shared with me. I want to thank all of my teammates for beating me up every day and pushing me to the limit. My coaches and teammates inspire me everyday to be the best athlete I can be; not only do they “talk the talk; but they walk the walk”. I want to thank my sponsors South Texas Baseball Academy and ValleyFit for their support. I also want to thank UWF for the opportunity to throw down. I would also like to thank Mike Calimbas of TXMMA.COM for all he does for the sport, the athletes and for the fans.