By TXMMA Staff
BJJ Black Belt making pro debut tonight at Tripe A MMA IV in Fort Worth
Fort Worth, TX, January 16, 2013 – We post often about Texas’ most recognizable stars but take equal joy in shining light on up-and-coming prospects as well in hopes of identifying the stars of tomorrow. Such is the case with this latest interview featuring Burleson native Marc Ayub. A self-described “computer nerd” by day, Ayub also moonlights as an MMA/BJJ practitioner who recently achieved the rank of BJJ black belt under Chris Story at Evolve BJJ He’s hasn’t been active too recently when it comes to the cage but did post a 3-1 record as an amateur stemming from 2009-2012. Now over a year since his last fight he’s making the move up to the pro level tonight, January 16th when steps in opposite Richard Bailey at Triple A MMA IV: Caged Hostility in Fort Worth.
We recently caught up with Mark to gain some more insight on who he is and introduce him to our readers prior to the event:
TXMMA Interview – Marc Ayub (Evolve BJJ)
TXMMA: Before we get to the fight, tell us a little bit about yourself and your background in MMA/BJJ/combat sports.
Marc Ayub: My name is Marc, I am 30 yrs old and I am from Burleson, TX. I work full time for a computer company doing information storage, I am kind of a nerd hehe. When I am not working I am working out and training. I started MMA/BJJ about 7 years ago. I started out at a Catch Wrestling/Jeet Kune Do/Kickboxing school. I spent 2 years there and eventually drifted to a BJJ school named Evolve BJJ and a Muay Thai school named New World Combat. I’ve been there ever since and I love it at both places. I took my 1st amateur fight in 2009 but soon after that is when I switched schools and I was sidelined with injuries so I took some time off from fighting but still trained and did BJJ tournaments when I could. I picked up fighting again in early 2012. I fought in Oklahoma and won the 185lb title for Elite Fighting Championship. I fought 2 more times that year and was sidelined another year from an injury. I focused more on my BJJ and tournaments for a while. I have competed at the Pan Ams and many other tournaments. A few months ago I received my black belt in BJJ.
TXMMA: You fought 4 times as an amateur between 2009 and 2012. What was that experience like?
Marc Ayub: It was a very good experience, there are a lot of great amateur fighters out there and that really helped me to transiton to the pro level. I fought here in Texas and in Oklahoma so that gave me the oppurtinity to see lots of different types of fighters which has helped me greatly. I wish I had more fights between 2009 and 2012 but injuries, working full time and life kind of got in the way but that’s just part of the game. I’m here now and ready to keep fighting.
TXMMA: This will be your first pro fight. Do you anticipate anything being different than your past experience?
Marc Ayub: No I don’t, like I said before even all the amateur competition around here is very tough and skilled. I trained for all my amateur fights like a pro would train. The only thing different now is we’re getting paid.
TXMMA: Who’s been getting you ready for this? Tell us a bit about the team about you.
Marc Ayub: I train my Muay Thai at New World Combat which is one of the best Muay Thai schools in all of Texas. It is led by Fairtex certified Francisco Zambrano who is my head coach. This school has produced a lot of great Muay Thai fighters that compete in Muay Thai on a regular basis so I am constantly learning new stuff and growing as a fighter from Coach Francisco and the team. I train my BJJ at Evolve BJJ under Chris Story, that’s who I got my black belt under. We are part of Nova Uniao – USA. Professor Story is a 1st degree black belt under Professor Bruno Bastos. We have a great team at Evolve, those guys are always competing at Pans, Worlds and all the other IBJJF tournaments so they know exactly how to push me to my limits.
TXMMA: What are some of your goals in this sport? Is this a one-off thing or do you plan on being a regular player on the Texas MMA scene?
Marc Ayub:I want to take this as far as I can, I know I took some time off but I’m back now and ready to be a regular player on the scene. Some of my goals are just to be recognized by the Texas MMA community and be seen on more fight cards. I would love to work my way up and fight for a belt in any of these awesome fight organizations.
TXMMA: What do you know about your opponent? Any expectations?
Marc Ayub: Honestly I don’t know much about my opponent, he was a last minute replacement due to my 1st opponent getting injured. I haven’t been able to find any of his fight videos. All I know is that he’s young, he’s 20 year old, so he’s going to be fresh, full of energy and looking to make a name for himself. Also that some of his last fights went to decision so he probably has good cardio. I’m expecting him to probably push the pace, have good endurance and make it a standup war.
TXMMA: What should fans expect to see from you in this fight?
Marc Ayub: Fans should expect to see more standup from me, I have good standup skills that I want to show off. Most people think since I am a black belt in BJJ that I prefer the ground game or look for it which isn’t true. In fact my past opponents usually were the ones that wanted to take me to the ground, I tried to stand and bang. But if this fight goes to the ground I’m not complaining, I am comfortable there.
TXMMA: Any last words for the fans or anything else you’d like to cover?
Marc Ayub: Get ready it’s going to be a great fight with lots of action! I’m not the type to try and out point somebody, I’m there to make it exciting for the fans and give it my all. I’d like to give a special thanks to the fans for coming to support us and my coaches and training partners for all their time and work they put into training me for this fight.