By Felix Rodriguez, Staff Writer
Salinas is working diligently during his training camps and in between fights to improve on every facet of MMA. His goal is to turn weakness into strength and avoid becoming a one-dimensional fighter that’s over reliant on striking. So far all the hard work and preparation has been paying off for this exciting up-and-comer. His ability on the ground is starting to catch up with his striking skills, and he’s becoming an increasingly hard proposition to deal with for opponents, because he’s really starting to put it all together inside the cage.
The 6’1 bantamweight has been able to show off more layers of his constantly evolving skill set from one fight to the next. Salinas’ seemed experienced beyond his years when he last saw action against Derek D’Arcangeli at SCC2. Young Gun showed great pace and maturity as a fighter, by not over-committing to a quick stoppage, after nearly finishing D’Arcangeli with a head kick early in Round 1. Salinas avoided a reckless mistake by waiting for the right moment to present itself and he finished his opponent with a guillotine in Round 2.
The Houston-based fighter with an amateur record of 5-1 will look to add another scalp to his belt at Superior Combative Championship 3. Salinas will face Edward Longoria on March 29th, and he’s been training six times a week to make a statement against him. Young Gun believes he’s a “dangerous” fighter with a mental edge over his opponents because he fights as if he has “nothing to gain or lose.” He is “ready to bang” and would “love to stand up for all 3 rounds” against Longoria.
Salinas intends to fight without “anger nor bad intention of hurting” Longoria, because this fight is “ nothing personal” and “just a friendly competition.” He was very candid about the importance of preparing mentally to stare across another man in a locked cage; “Many things run through my head before a fight. What if the other guy trained more? What if he’s better? What if I lose; what will I tell people?” He believes “the fear and excitement really plays with [his] head. But as soon as they call his name, and his music starts, “the transformation begins.” Once the door closes he doesn’t see anything. “No cage no fans in the crowd, nothing.” All he sees is “the ring floor and my opponent. The thing that runs through my mind when I see him is” fear no man” I’ll kill him before he kills me…every time,” said Salinas. Needless to say, Young Gun’s mental and physical preparations are done and he is ready to have another exciting performance for the crowd at Galveston Island’s Convention Center.
When asked if Salinas had anything else to say, the likeable young fighter told TXMMA, “I just want to give a big thank you to all my sponsors and my fans. Thank you to my coaches Martinez, Vincent better known as Sarge, big Joe, Eric and Pol, and everyone at Champions Factory. I wouldn’t be here without you. Last big thank you goes out to Mike Calimbas, this man has taken the time to put me out there and has taken almost all the killer MMA/BJJ pictures that I have on my Facebook, so thank you very much for the support.”
SCC3 will take place on Saturday March 29th, at Galveston Island’s Convention Center. Fights start at 7:00pm and end at midnight. These hungry fighters never fail to disappoint, make sure to go support them and our local fight scene!!