NCO trains for mixed martial arts fight on base

  • Published
  • By John Cochran
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
The first thing a visitor to the FIT NHB Fight Gym in downtown Albuquerque, N.M., notices is the steady series of staccato thumps echoing off the walls. It's the sound of solid blows landing squarely on padded targets. In this converted warehouse, fighters train in mixed martial arts, practicing multiple disciplines of combat sports.

Tech. Sgt. David Perez, an amateur featherweight who competes in MMA at 145 pounds, has trained there since 2006. After serving as an instructor at the Airman Leadership School here for the last four years, Sergeant Perez made a permanent change of station move to Fort Meade, Md., in early September.

Before leaving, he put himself through a "farewell gauntlet" Sept. 3, consisting of five 5-minute rounds in the cage with friends who are professional fighters.

"It's always a very humbling experience," Sergeant Perez said. "I consider these fighters to be some of the best in the world. Working with them boosts my skills, because we train with such a multitude of different disciplines, from boxing to Muay Thai, kickboxing, submission grappling, jiu jitsu to wrestling -- we have to concentrate on training in each one for hours at a time."

Sergeant Perez said that unlike having an individual trainer like a Western-style boxer would have, his training is a group effort.

"That's one of the wonderful things about our gym: we all train each other, we work out with each other, we sweat together," he said. "We all share the same coaches."

He will return here to compete in the "King of the Cage" MMA fight card Dec. 4.

Sergeant Perez, who'll return to his roots as a transportation specialist at his next duty station, talked about the rewards of competing in MMA.

"Right now my goal is to make good friends and have fun," he said. "Whatever comes after that is a bonus. On a personal level, it's going to lead me to be a better person. It's going to allow me to reach some of my dreams.

One of my biggest goals is to coach when I get a little older, to share some of the knowledge and skills that I have," Sergeant Perez said. "I'd also like to give the Air Force an opportunity to see what some of our Airmen can do. You always see (Soldiers) and Marines doing certain things. We've got a couple of (Airmen) who are capable of standing up with them and probably beating them, so I want to showcase that."

He had advice for someone who wants to take part in mixed martial arts.

"Make sure you try it out first, so you know it's something you can handle," he said. "It takes a special person to do this."

Sergeant Perez is optimistic that his participation in the MMA event on base will raise people's awareness of and regard for the benefits of combat sports.

"I hope the Air Force sees this as an opportunity to showcase what some of our Airmen are actually doing out there and are capable of doing," Sergeant Perez said. "I want to show that the Air Force has what we call the 'Warrior Ethos' mentality, and we bring just as much of that as our sister services."