We spoke to Roger prior to the fight to get his thoughts on this matchup and what’s in store for him in the near future.
Rocks Xtreme MMA 2 Pre-Fight Interview – Roger Narvaez (FCF / Paragon)
Roger, thanks for talking to us as always. How would describe yourself to the average fan who may not have heard of you yet?
I am a husband, a father, and a fighter. I love my family and everything I do in my life revolves around them. As a fighter I am at the point where it is all or nothing. I have a job that financially takes care of my family so l I feel no pressure when it comes to fighting. I fight because it’s who I am and what I do. At this l point in my career I feel like I’m just getting warmed up. Right now its game time so I am totally focused on my diet, weight cut, and pre fight prep. 2013 is going to be a big year for the Silverback. By the end of this year I plan on becoming the best 185’er in the state.
What’s been your greatest challenge so far as someone trying to make it big in MMA?
So far the greatest challenge has been managing family with fighting. Luckily I have a wonderful wife who is also my biggest fan. Although the fighting pays big dividends financially, I often times have to sacrifice spending time with my family to train. I miss things like my stepson’s baseball games, practices, school functions etc. So when i am training all I think about is putting forth 110% to make sure that time spent away is not in vain.
What or who has been your great influence as a fighter?
Honestly my team. I train with animals on a daily basis and although we may not have a huge team there isn’t one person that isn’t tough. We always try to break one another so no one else can. My team inspires and influence s me at the same time. If I am slacking then they beat me up. When I am down they pick me up. We have something special and I wouldn’t trade teams for anything. Full Contact and Paragon is a brotherhood not just a team.
Now you’re fighting for Rock’s Xtreme MMA this Saturday. You fought for them back in August right? How did that go and what have you been up to since then?
Overall it was a good fight (with Aaron Glynn) where I pretty much took no damage. I wanted to stand a little bit longer than it did but I saw an opening for a takedown and took it. Once it hit the ground we were in my world and the rest is pretty much history. I finished the fight with a RNC at the end of the first round. After that I took a little time to enjoy the holidays but as soon as the New Year came around I began putting in work. I have been continually improving my boxing and hopefully with this fight I have a chance to showcase it in front of my family, friends, and fans.
Who are you fighting and how do you feel about the matchup?
I am fighting Matt Jones out of BTT Texas in San Antonio. He is a tough dude who is the definition of a fighter. I have been following him for a while and know he is going to be down to scrap. I appreciate that he took this fight on 3 weeks’ notice and look forward to doing battle with him on the 23rd.
Now you’re fighting Chris Spicer for Legacy in May. Why take this fight also?
Rock has always helped me out with my supplements and he is the first fight promoter to bring these events to Corpus in a while. Rock is all about getting the local talent acknowledged and is truly an awesome promoter. Anytime I can fight at home is awesome. It’s nice to be able to cut weight, eat, and sleep in your home town. I also love to feed off of the hometown crowd. Everything about fighting at home is awesome! There is no other way to put it. As far as the Spicer fight, it’s another tough fight but not even thinking about that until I get past Jones.
How do you think the fight is going to go?
I see this fight going my way either way it goes. Matt is tough but I just don’t feel he is on my level. I consider myself to be one of the best 185ers in the state and although I’m sure he can hang there is absolutely no way I am losing this fight. I don’t give predictions. I feel predictions are for the cocky and that is not me. The only thing I can guarantee is that he is going to hit me and I am going to hit him, one of us is going to break and it isn’t going to be me. Don’t have anything other than “May the best man win.”
Any last words before Saturday?
I just want to thank the Summit Church here in Corpus Christi for guiding me and my family spiritually. Without Christ we are nothing. Thx to all of my sponsors: Rocks Discount Vitamins and Supplements, Aaron’s Plumbing, TreyningIII, Adcock Pipe and Supply, TD Trucking, Takeaway Gourmet, Lightning Fluids, Dynamic Drilling, Hardstyle Kettlebell Club, Ilseng engineering, Dr. James Tanner, JMI Industries.