By TXMMA Staff
Bush Ban’s Gerzan Chaw heading into Friday night’s Texas City Throwdown reinvigorated and hungry for a win
HOUSTON, TX, March 12, 2014 – There’s a certain duality between love & war. Oftentimes in history one has often intertwined with the other and the results recorded for all time. In a less dramatic sense than say Helen of Troy and the Trojan War, love is still often the pretext for man’s motivation for fighting.
Such is the case for Bushi Ban’s Gerzan Chaw (3-3). He fights this Friday, March 14th at the Texas City Throwdown opposite Eric Valdez (3-1). With six fights under his belt, this fighter is no stranger to the cage but he might have some new motivations this time. Gerzan recently got married and will head into this fight with an eye towards the future – not just in MMA but in life.
“We went to Nicaragua where my dad is from and got married on the beach,” he says. He and his new wife Kaylei got married on the beach there. They then spent their honeymoon on the Corn Islands, a secluded island destination right of the coast. For them that experience was beautiful but they had to come back to reality sometime. So here they are again but this time they come back married and Gerzan’s fighting career has taken on a whole new meaning. He’s not just looking to fight because he loves it anymore. MMA will now help put food on the table for his family so the importance of winning has become that much more magnified.
Good for him his new bride is supportive.
“My wife (Kaylei) supports my fighting and scolds me if I get beat up so if anything I’ll just get stronger. She has helped become a better person so I’ll keep looking to the future (with her and with fighting). Married life is pretty cool. It makes things easier when you have a partner who is a team player. My motivation (now) is my wife, my school, and myself. I usually wouldn’t let those pressures affect me but now I realize I shouldn’t ignore them but embrace them and make them strength and power to push forward. If winning wasn’t important I wouldn’t be fighting. Especially now I have other goals in life but being a champion is one that has a smaller window. I need to get my record back on track and get championship opportunities. Also, I want to make some money and I can’t just let him (Valdez) take it from me now can I?”
Speaking of his opponent, Eric Valdez is not a fighter to take likely. Training out Metro Fight Club Eric has gotten off to an even better start as a pro than Gerzan has and he’s got motivations of his own. He’s also the person standing between Chaw and a two-fight losing streak, something the Bushi Ban fighter definitely doesn’t want to have.
“Losing to Darrion (Caldwell) sucked but I learned a lot about myself and what kind of mind set I should have before and during a fight. I believe I become more dangerous after every loss and this time won’t be any different. I’m feeling really confident and excited heading into this fight. Eric seems fairly well rounded. He seems to have good cardio so it could easily go all three rounds if we don’t finish each other. Of course if I can finish him really that would be amazing for me. I’ve heard him say he can rely on his wrestling but I’m not too worried after fighting Darrion. The only thing I don’t want to happen is a ‘laying on top of each other dry humping’ situation for this fight because that would suck for the fans..Otherwise I’m going to find a way to win however I can.”
“I thank God for allowing me to be physically able to do what I’m doing. Once again thanks to my wife for putting up with me when I’m cutting weight. I love you. I have great parents that support me. Grand Master Zulfi (Ahmed) is my mentor in martial arts and in my personal life. I have to say thanks to all my training partners and the growing MMA team at Bushi Ban. I’ve had some awesome support from friends and sponsors. Even sponsors that are my friends like Dr. Orsak with St. Michael’s Emergency Rooms. They are always friendly and do great stitches. Thanks to Gabriel Ayala at Mainline Ink. He is a great artist and friend. Be sure to check his shop and other artists out. Trubloodline MMA has been coming out with some cool apparel and they do a lot for myself and others at Bushi Ban. Thank you Mike and TXMMA for promoting my sport and actually caring about us fighters too. That’s al. I’ll see at the fights Friday!”