The last time DJ Fuentes took on Erik Perez was in a STFC cage almost 10 years ago for the 145lb title. Fuentes took that fight by submission late in the 3rd round. On April 20, 2018 they will be running back the fight but this time it will be on the national stage for Combate Americas on Univision in Perez’s hometown of Monterrey.

These two fighters who got their start in the Valley have gone through their own paths of success in their respective careers. Perez was the first fighter from STFC to make his debut for UFC in 2012 which helped open the doors for Valley fighters. Perez went on to have six fights in the octagon and with his only losses being Takeya Misugaki by split decision and Bryan Caraway by submission. Perez was in the position to be one of UFC biggest Mexican fighters but somewhere down the line the UFC just gave up on pushing him properly(probably because he didn’t have a “brown pride” tattoo on his chest). The great news for “Goyito” is that he has a new home and is being positioned as the face of Combate Americas.

While Fuentes hasn’t fought under the bright lights of UFC, he still has made quite the name for himself regionally. After his title fight with Perez in 2010 Fuentes went on to defend his STFC featherweight title against Randy Villareal and fought for the UWF promotion against Texas seasoned vet, Nick Gonzalez. Fuentes went on to lose his title to Javier Obregon in 2013 for STFC then returned a month later to fight for the Charlie Clark funded promotion. In his first fight under the “Orale” promotion, he delivered a highlight reel knockout to Gilbert Jimenez but the fight was ruled a “no contest” when Fuentes jumped the cage to celebrate with fans ringside. Footage of the knockout and the celebration can be found below.

The decision to overturn the result didn’t faze Fuentes much in his career as he went on to participate in the HEROFC bout that would grant the winner a contract and the 135lb title of the promotion. Fuentes went on to win the title and contract that night in a slippery affair that saw both men fight the conditions of the mat more than each other. If you ever seen “Here Comes the Boom” then you will understand what I’m saying. After his last title defense in 2015 for HEROFC, Fuentes took about two years off before coming back to fight late last year. Fuentes took on Joel Scott in his debut for Combate Americas and was victorious by unanimous decision. While Fuentes record might not be the most impressive, you can make an argument that he is one of the most decorated fighters in Valley history.

Leading up to this fight there has been a lot of back and forth between Fuentes and Perez on social media. Fuentes believed that he should be paid more in his bout with Perez which is fine by me. I’m all for fighters getting a payday especially when they deserve it. In this case, I felt that Fuentes did deserve it because his bout with Perez would be the main event fight and what he was asking for wasn’t all that outrageous. This went on for about a week or two till both sides, Fuentes’ Team and Combate Americas, agreed on an amount for the fight. You got to give it to Fuentes for believing in himself and knowing his worth, especially when dealing with a force in the world of MMA like Combate Americas. Fuentes has even said in an interview with Combate Americas that he’s given the rematch to Goyito, not the other way around. No shortage of moxie from Fuentes.

Tune in this Friday to Univision at 11pm to see this clash of former STFC fighters. It’s rare we get two fighters from our region showcasing their skills on the main event in a nationally broadcasted event so show your support for these fighters before heading out to enjoy your night.

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Coming off STFC 45, the promotion wasted no time in announcing the next event with Luke Flores returning to STFC to defend his lightweight title against Eli Rodriguez. This title match has been a long time coming for Rodriguez ever since he returned from a hiatus from fighting in 2016. Since his return, Rodriguez has been in one of the best fights in STFC history, took out a journeyman in under a minute, tested himself against an up-and-coming prospect and defeated one of STFC’s most popular fighters.  Flores has been inactive since last August after fighting for a UFC contract and getting his first professional loss. Both fighters will be bringing in a big audience for this fight so I would expect the atmosphere to be electric. If Rodriguez does take the title from Flores, him and his brother, Michael Rodriguez, could be the first brothers to hold titles at the same time for STFC.

The co-main event will feature Victor Martinez taking on Manny Muro. If you been following STFC since the start you already know Martinez’s background. He’s made a name for himself in the regional circuit and has gone on to fight on one of the biggest stages for Latinx fighters, Combate Americas. The one accomplishment that has eluded Martinez is winning a title. His last and only opportunity came against Luke Flores three years ago at STFC 33. Martinez has been a 155lber for the majority of his career so this fight against Muro could easily be a number one contender fight to see who faces the winner of Flores/Rodriguez main event.

Other names appearing on the card are Peter Caballero who has been making a name for himself in the Texas MMA scene. Also appearing on the card is Chris Cuadra who is coming off his first professional loss against Robert Rodriguez(not the Spy Kids director). Cuadra will be looking for his first “W” against the unknown Roberto Villalobos.

STFC 46 is scheduled to take place on May 18th at the Mcallen Convention Center and tickets should be on sale sooner than later. If you looked at the poster carefully, you can see that STFC will be offering the $13 tickets again so y’all better go to the Mcallen Convention Center to scoop them up. One wish I have for this event is for STFC/G-Multi Media to showcase their top-tier production on a national level by offering this event via streaming. This has been done in the past with STFC 36 and possibly another one that I might be forgetting at the moment but that was through GFL.TV  so there was probably some overhead associated with offering the event. If they were to use another medium such as twitch, youtube or even Facebook it could cut the cost down. Again, I’m sure they know this and I could be preaching to the choir.

Another feature that I would like to see the STFC folks continue with is the faceoff series that was introduced for the last event. This helped promote the event and also showcased the personality of each fighter which is an overlooked aspect in promoting. This really shouldn’t just fall on the promotion as they are doing the best they can help promote with radio interviews, promotion on social media and passing out flyers on the streets but I digress.

Stay locked into TheGotchSpecial.com for all STFC 46 news and your chance to win tickets to this banger of an event!

STFC 46 FIGHT CARD

MAIN EVENT 155LB TITLE

Luke Flores vs Eli Rodriguez

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STFC 45 is officially in the books! From the look of things, it was an interesting night, to say the least.

The main event went to a draw so both Aguirre and Herrera are still technically undefeated. Eli Rodriguez continued his dominance by submitting Eduardo Bustillos with a rolling leglock. Rodriguez is now in line for a title but which one is up to the jefes of STFC.   

Cuadra/Rodriguez part dos didn’t ended the same way the first encountered ended- Rodriguez by unanimous decision. Stephen Perez wasted no time in securing the victory by finishing off Isacc Matamoros with a rear-naked choke in the first round.

Fight Results

Robert Aguirre vs John Herrera (Draw)

Eli Rodriguez over Eduardo Bustillos (1:14 of the 2nd round, knee bar even though it’s officially registered as an arm lock by the state)

Robert Rodriguez over Chris Cuadra (Unanimous decision)

Jose Montiel vs Joe Herrera Jr (Herrera pulled out of the fight)

Stephen Perez over Isaac Matamoros (3:14 of the 1st round by RNC)

Lee Cordova over Ramiro Zermeno (2:34 of the 1st round, TKO)

Charles Jones over Enrique Molina (Unanimous decision)

Ryan Childs over Santos Rodriguez (2:29 of the 1st round, RNC)

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It’s officially fight-week! After a number of add and drops from the original card, STFC 45 finally looks to be set in stone and lowkey, this might be one of my favorite STFC cards ever. So let’s start breaking this beast of a card down.

Robert Agurrie vs John Herrera

When STFC 45 was first announced, the card was to feature Robert Aguirre taking on Joel Scott. A few weeks went by and the seasoned Paco Castillo was announced as the fighter who would be replacing Scott who dropped due to injury. That fight fell through and now Victoria’s John Herrera will now be stepping in on short notice to take on Aguirre for his professional debut in the main event of the night. 24-year-old Herrera is a well-known prospect in the Austin area and has been fighting since 2015. Herrera went undefeated in six bouts with four finishes for the local Austin amateur promotion, ICON.  During his amateur stint, Herrera went through some of Austin’s toughest fighters such as  Sean Clements, David Ramirez(who he defeated to win the ICON lightweight title), and Joshua Rogers. Last year, Herrera(ICON lightweight champ) fought Sean Clements(BOH lightweight champ) for what I coined as “The Lightweight King of Austin” because both fighters were lightweight champs of their respective promotion at the time-Herrera won that bout by TKO. Herrera will be making his return after a year and a half hiatus from the cage which is warranted considering he fought six times within a year and a half with two of those fights being title defenses.

Herrera’s professional debut won’t be an easy one. Robert Aguirre has made a name for himself ever since he debuted in STFC going undefeated in four bouts and has finished his last two fights against Isaac Matamoros and Adonis Acevedo. This fight will be uncharted territory for Aguirre as it will be contested at a catchweight of 150lbs, 15lbs more than what he has fought at as a professional. If Aguirre is successful at this weight it’s feasible that he could challenge for the Michael Rodriguez’s STFC lightweight title unless STFC has other plans for Rodriguez.

Eli Rodriguez vs Eduardo Bustillos

In the co-main event of the evening, Eli Rodriguez will be putting up his undefeated streak against Eduardo Bustillos in a 160lb catchweight affair. Since returning to the cage, Rodriguez has been racking up win after win with his most recent victory coming at STFC 43 against top prospect Gunner Cornado. This fight was the first time that Rodriguez let the judges decide the outcome. Bustillos is looking to bounce back after being defeated by Rodriguez’ brother, Micheal Rodriguez, last May for the lightweight bantamweight title. I wouldn’t expect Eli to challenge his brother for the title because it’s not sensible to have brothers fight over it. With that said, if Eli is victorious, he should be next in line for a title shot. STFC announced at the start of the year that they plan to bring back the 170lb title so that could be a possibility for him.

As for Bustillos, I feel this is a fight that Bustillos needs to win in order re-establish himself as a title contender and not a gatekeeper. . With eight fights in STFC, Bustillos has become one of the well-known faces of STFC and has gained a nice fanbase. If you ever been in attendance for one of his fights, you know his fan section is one of the biggest and most vocal which makes for a great atmosphere. Bustillos has shown he has the skills to fight for titles but has been unable to seal the deal in his quest for gold. A win over Rodriguez would be huge for Bustillos’ career and could earn himself another shot at the featherweight or lightweight title.

Chris Cuadra vs Robert Rodriguez

It’s not too often that I get hyped for a match featuring two professional debuting fighters but this fight is an exception. The matchup of Robert Rodriguez looking to avenge his controversial loss to Chris Cuadra in their professional debut is just a great storyline to me.

Last year these two faced each other in an amateur clash that saw the judges unanimously award the fight to Cuadra even with Rodriguez scoring two knockdowns. Cuadra managed to recomposed himself and sunk in a guillotine that nearly finished Rodriguez but recently revealed in the faceoff that he let up on the grip. Both fighters have had a great run after fighting each other. Cuadra went on to defeat Juan Villafana for the Fury promotion but later was defeated by Eddie Torres in a bantamweight title fight for the Texas Clash promotion. After losing to Cuadra in his amateur debut, Rodriguez went on to finish his next two opponents. He learned not to go to the judges.

I’m curious to see where this goes if Rodriguez wins and if he wins by decision. A rubber match is a logical booking decision but would either of them want to fight each other again is the question. That’s a decision that is going to be up to the fighters and the STFC brass.

Rest of the Card

The marquee matchups are worth the price of admission alone but the undercard of STFC 45 is also bringing the heat. There will be a fight pitting Stephen Perez against the returning Isaac Matamoros in a classic striker versus grappler matchup. The fellas sat down with Raul Ramos to discuss this fight and it can be viewed here. Guilherme Da Costa is also scheduled to return to the cage for the first time after suffering a leg injury in 2016 against Gilbert Jimenez. Da Costa will be taking on Jorddy Villegas in a lightweight tilt. This card is so good I’m legit upset I won’t be able to attend. If you attend the fight and stream it or upload it, please tag me.

Fight Card

Robert Aguirre (4-0) vs John Herrera(0-0)

Eli Rodriguez (4-0) vs Eduardo Bustillos (5-3)

Chris Cuadra(0-0) vs Robert Rodriguez(0-0)

Stephen Perez(4-2) vs Isaac Matamoros(1-1)

Jose Montiel(0-0) vs Joe Herrera(0-0)

Guilherme Da Costa(3-2) vs Jorddy Villegas(1-1)

*Amateur*

Enrique Molina(1-0) vs Charles Jones(0-0)

Santos Rodriguez(0-1) vs Ryan Childs(0-2)

Lee Cordova(3-6) vs Ramiro Zermeno(3-5)

Weigh-in

Weight in will be Thursday, March 1 @1:30 @ Ponchos
601 W Expressway 83
McAllen, TX 78501
956-630-2237

Note: Article was updated to correct a mistake. Michael Rodriguez is the bantamweight champion, not the lightweight champ.

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In the latest edition of STFC 45 faceoff, Raul Ramos sits down with Chris Cuadra and Robert Rodriguez to discuss their fight on March 2nd. This fight will be a rematch of their amateur clash that happened at STFC 42 where Cuadra took home the ‘W’ but the victory was marred by controversy. The judges each had 29-28 in favor of Cuadra but some people thought the fight could have gone either way. This fight will be the professional debut for both fighters.

Ramos starts off the interview by asking the man with stone cold eyes, Rodriguez, his reaction towards the matchup when Ramos called him. Rodriguez stated he wanted the matchup to rectify his performance last May because there was lots of talk of who actually won the fight among STFC fans. Cuadra responded by saying that after the fight was done, he knew Rodriguez would be wanting a rematch and that he was willing to give him another shot after the war they went through. Cuarda went on to say he has something to prove this fight and that the fight will not go the distance.

Ramos then asked Rodriguez about his gameplan to which Rodriguez stated that there will be nothing different except that Cuadra won’t be getting up after he drops him. In the past outing, Rodriguez dropped Cuadra about two times but was unable to seal the fight. Cuarda talked about the knockdowns and said the first one did some damage but the second knockout was due to being off balanced and that it wouldn’t happen again because he is working on his footwork and standup. Rodriguez seemed unconcerned and a bit bothered by that statement as he glared at Cuadra while letting Cuadra know that his standup as gotten “whole lot better” and then called into question Cuadra’s stamina.

This is where things started to get a little heated.

Cuadra responded to Rodriguez’s questioning by pointing out that he still won the first round and that Rodriguez was in danger of losing between rounds due to a cut. Rodriguez dismissed the claim stating that since it was in the amateurs, the state had to be cautious. Rodriguez then said it was nothing but a black eye which Cuadra disputed with a smile. Ramos then asked both fighters how they see the fight going and both fighters agreed that there will be a finish.

This barn burner of a fight goes down on March 2nd. Today is the last day for the $13 tickets so go cop them from the Mcallen Convention Center now!

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In this first STFC 45 faceoff, Perez and Matamoros talk about how they felt on receiving the call from STFC Fight Card Architect, Raul Ramos. Perez said he first got booked for the event without an opponent but then a week later was presented, Isaac Matamoros. In a calm and cool demeanor, Perez called Matamoros a “respectable” opponent while a laidback Matamoros went on to say that he was a bit hesitant to take the fight based on the years of experience Perez has under his belt but is “excited as hell” and is looking forward to the fight. Matamoros, a boxer, and MMA fighter gave off the impression that he wasn’t too worried about Perez’s standup game.Ramos followed up with Matamoros about Perez’s standup game by asking if he thinks his striking game is better than Perez to which Matamoros answered “Yeah”. Perez is known for being a decorated ground fighter but what might not be seen on the surface is that he trains with arguably the best striking group out of the Valley, Wolfpack Muay Thai.

The fighters were then asked to look into their crystal ball and to give their predictions for March 2nd at the Mcallen Convention Center. Perez said he’s ready and is training and prepared for everything while Matamoros visualized the fight going to the ground after Perez gets hit. Perez said there will be a finish because he doesn’t want the judges to interfere – I believe this stems back to STFC 34: Battle at the Beach where he lost a split decision to Edgar Juarez and his bout with Juan Pina at STFC 37: Martinez vs Garcia. Matamoros said his coaches are “very confident” that there will be a finish in the first round. If not, Matamoros went on to say that they are training for all aspects of the ground if it does go into the later rounds. Perez responded with a smile by saying “His coaches don’t know me” because Matamoros gym hasn’t been around more than a year.

This is the first of the faceoff series that will build to STFC 45 so be on the lookout for more in the coming days. The last day to get $13 tickets is February 20th at the Mcallen Convention Center so get those fast as you can before the promotion runs out.

Who are you rooting for? Sound off in the comments.

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With a few weeks out from STFC 45, it should also be noted that today, February 16th, is the 10 year anniversary of STFC’s first show(although the name of the promtion was STFL), “New Blood”. This soldout event was hosted at the venue formerly called the Pharr Convention Center and featured four fights with Deuce King taking on Luis Vega in the main event with DJ Fuentes fighting on the undercard. Since then STFC has produced 44 pro MMA events(also one boxing event under the STFC banner) and has featured 320 fights from 315 different fighters from all around the world(I did the math). STFC has provided a platform for fighters, specifically the Rio Grande Valley, to showcase their skills to help them get to the next level. You know the names already but some that come to mind is former two-time division champ and former UFC fighter Frank Trevino, former STFC lightweight champ Diego Ferreira(who will be fighting in Austin this weekend for UFC), Ricardo Palacios(face of Combate Americas), Erik Perez(first UFC signee from STFC who is now fighting for Combate Americas) and Luke Flores(fought for Bellator and an opportunity for a UFC contract).

To help celebrate the anniversary I thought I would put a few of my favorite moments from the promotion and would be delighted if you did the same. Congrats to STFC for reaching this milestone and we look forward to many more years.

Favorite Fights

Eli Rodriguez vs Peyton Burns(STFC 39)

Andrew Garza vs Joshua Trevino(STFC 23)

Mike Bustos vs Victor Martinez (STFC 29)

Most Memorable Knockouts

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STFC dropped the fight card for STFC 45 happening March 3rd at the Mcallen Convention Center and let me tell you- It’s fire!

The first match-up that caught my eye was STFC’s champion in waiting, Robert Aguirre, taking on the seasoned Joel Scott. As most of you know, Aguirre has been tearing it up in STFC and is riding a wave of momentum heading into STFC 45. Joel Scott is no slouch though even with his past fights not showing it. This fight has “Fight of the Night” written all over it.

Also scheduled to appear is Jiu Jitsu ace, Stephen Perez, taking on pro boxer and pro MMA fighter, Isaac Matamoros, in a classic clash of styles. Another notable matchup on the card is actually a rematch between Robert Rodriguez taking on Chris Cuadra who took the first match by unanimous decision. This match will mark the professional debut for both fighters and neither want to start their careers off with an “L”, obviously. This card will also see the return of the Guilherme Farias da Costa who will be taking on Jordy Villegas in his STFC debut. The last time Farias da Costa was in the cage he suffered a loss by injury against Gilbert Jimenez. One more name just announced is Eli Rodriguez who will be putting his undefeated streak on the line against an unnamed opponent.

In some disappointing news, the main event has been scratched from the card. There has been no official announcement on the new main event but one is expected in the coming days.

STFC is starting their new season of chingasos with a bang and with $13 tickets, you can’t go wrong!

Robert Aguirre vs Joel Scott

Stephen Perez vs Isaac Matamoros

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On the dawn of the new year, STFC released their plans for their next show and also on what fans can expect in 2018. The press release can be read below but the gist of it is that the next show will be held on March 2 at the Mcallen Convention Center. The main event for STFC 45 will be Fabian Saldivar taking on Ray “The Judge” Rodriguez which is an absolute barnburner of a matchup.  In addition, the company is restructuring their pricing for their tickets which is huge news. Fans will now be able to enjoy the event for $13 but those tickets must be purchased at the Mcallen Convention Center. This is actually a better option because you can avoid all the transaction fees that apply when you purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.

The other big news is that STFC is planning to bring back the welterweight title and middleweight titles with plans on adding the featherweight title to the mix of things as well. It’s been a minute since there was talk about titles so hearing this news is great to hear. There were discussions of the bantamweight title being up for grabs last year when Agurrie was on a tear but that talk has died down.

We will have more on this as the news becomes available so stay tuned!

This post is to inform everyone of the plans that STFC has for 2018. One of our biggest changes this year will be on our first show of the year which will be held on March 2 2018. We are reducing the prices of our tickets to accommodate a wider audiance. Our new ticket prices are as follows:

$13.00(can be only purchase at the McAllen convention center box office)
$25.00
$35.00
$500.00 table seats 10
$750.00 table seats 10
(Fees may apply)

Also we plan to bring titles back in to the picture. For sure this year we will bring back the 170lb and 185lb title. We are also planing to get the 145lb title back in the mix.

STFC has many great match ups planned for the upcoming year but without the sponsors and the fan support we can not put on these great fights. all of us at STFC hope that everyone will keep showing the same support that everyone has showed in the past.

And last our next show will be held in mcallen texas on March 2 at the McAllen convention center. The official fight card will be announced in a few days but let me just tell you guys the the main event will be.

Fabian Anthony Saldivar vs Ray the judge Rodriguez

(Pending tdlr approval)

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STFC 44 is happening in just one day and the card is stacked with some great fights. The card is headlined by Victor “The Brick” Martinez taking on undefeated Raymond Banda in the main event. Martinez is 3-2 in his last five outings with one of those fights being a title match against Luke Flores back in 2015. During that five-fight run, Martinez went on a veteran hunting spree as he took out James King and Rocky Long in back-to-back fights. The second loss that Martinez suffered in his last five outings took place on the Combate Americas platform where he was unable to sway the judges resulting in a split decision loss. Martinez jumped back into the win column when he returned to STFC in February when he earned a majority decision over Jose Cabral moving. This fight will mark Martinez’s 10th time fighting under the STFC banner.

Raymond Banda will be making his second appearance in the STFC cage as the most of Banda’s fights were fought under the Charlie Clark sponsored platform, HERO FC. During that stint, Banda breezed through the 155lb division picking up a mix of TKO and decision victories.  After Banda’s HERO FC run, he made his first appearance for STFC at STFC 36 where he earned a unanimous decision over Travonne Hobbs. Banda wouldn’t fight again for almost two years. He returned this past February with a submission victory over seasoned veteran Warren Stewart for Texas Rage in the Cage.

The main event has ‘classic’ written all over it. You got two representatives of arguably the two top teams currently in the RGV clashing not only for a win but I would say for bragging rights. Both fighters will have their advantages such as Banda with height and reach but if Martinez can get inside and start unloading his striking combos, it could make for a short night. With respect to all the other fights on this card, I don’t see any of them topping this for ‘Fight of the Night.’

Other local Valley favorites are scheduled to appear on the undercard which will feature two amateur fights before the main card kicks off. Tickets can be purchased at the Mcallen Convention Center, through the fighters or by Ticketmaster.

           Fight Card

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