Blair_Wells#32
12-14-2007, 10:48 AM
Roger Huerta had a very successful 2007, going 5-0, capped off by his submission win over Clay Guida this past weekend at the Ultimate Fighter Finale. But, according to the lightweight phenom it may be the better part of 8 months before fans see him fight again.
In an interview with MMAWeekly Radio, Huerta stated that he was happy with his performance but feels there are still improvements that can be made.
“We really worked on a lot of wrestling and now I know I need to go back into that and work defending those takedowns,” Huerta stated. “It felt really good on my feet, and I knew that he was winning the wrestling and I was winning the stand-up.”
Despite any hiccups Huerta experienced in the bout with Guida, the end result was obviously pleasing, pulling off a rear naked choke in the third and final round to get the victory.
“You can only fool yourself if you’re like ‘I’m winning this fight,’ Huerta said about his mindset entering the final session. “I’m my worst critic, going into the third round I knew that the first round was close and I lost the second round and I really wanted to seal the deal and finish him off for sure in the third round.”
While many fans were expecting Huerta to make another quick comeback to the Octagon to potentially face other lightweight contenders like Frankie Edgar or Kenny Florian, the Texas based fighter is ready to relax and take some much needed time off.
“I’m not fighting for 6, 7, 8 months,” said Huerta. “I did everything I could this year, I tried to keep helping promote the sport, keep making it grow, but I think I didn’t get a lot of R&R. I trained through Thanksgiving for this fight, I didn’t even go home to Texas to spend time with my family.”
“I think I’m going to take some time off. You know the truth is I need to finish school too. I fought 5 times this year and I think that’s the most anybody’s ever done in the UFC and I think I’m going to take some time off.”
Only a few classes away from a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Huerta is not only focused on his fighting career but his future away from the UFC.
Prior to his fight with Clay Guida, many critics were harsh when speaking of Roger Huerta calling him overrated and waiting for Guida to expose him, but he answered those questions with one emphatic answer, finishing his opponent in impressive fashion.
“I believe all the haters keep hating, and everybody else that doesn’t want to believe, believe me if you’re not going to like me for what I can do in there that’s your deal,” Huerta said. “I’ll tell you this much. I’ll never give up, I’ll always keep giving it my best, and I’ll fight my heart out.”
With the huge win over Guida behind him, Huerta will take his time off and spend the holidays with his family in Texas.
In an interview with MMAWeekly Radio, Huerta stated that he was happy with his performance but feels there are still improvements that can be made.
“We really worked on a lot of wrestling and now I know I need to go back into that and work defending those takedowns,” Huerta stated. “It felt really good on my feet, and I knew that he was winning the wrestling and I was winning the stand-up.”
Despite any hiccups Huerta experienced in the bout with Guida, the end result was obviously pleasing, pulling off a rear naked choke in the third and final round to get the victory.
“You can only fool yourself if you’re like ‘I’m winning this fight,’ Huerta said about his mindset entering the final session. “I’m my worst critic, going into the third round I knew that the first round was close and I lost the second round and I really wanted to seal the deal and finish him off for sure in the third round.”
While many fans were expecting Huerta to make another quick comeback to the Octagon to potentially face other lightweight contenders like Frankie Edgar or Kenny Florian, the Texas based fighter is ready to relax and take some much needed time off.
“I’m not fighting for 6, 7, 8 months,” said Huerta. “I did everything I could this year, I tried to keep helping promote the sport, keep making it grow, but I think I didn’t get a lot of R&R. I trained through Thanksgiving for this fight, I didn’t even go home to Texas to spend time with my family.”
“I think I’m going to take some time off. You know the truth is I need to finish school too. I fought 5 times this year and I think that’s the most anybody’s ever done in the UFC and I think I’m going to take some time off.”
Only a few classes away from a bachelor’s degree in Business Management, Huerta is not only focused on his fighting career but his future away from the UFC.
Prior to his fight with Clay Guida, many critics were harsh when speaking of Roger Huerta calling him overrated and waiting for Guida to expose him, but he answered those questions with one emphatic answer, finishing his opponent in impressive fashion.
“I believe all the haters keep hating, and everybody else that doesn’t want to believe, believe me if you’re not going to like me for what I can do in there that’s your deal,” Huerta said. “I’ll tell you this much. I’ll never give up, I’ll always keep giving it my best, and I’ll fight my heart out.”
With the huge win over Guida behind him, Huerta will take his time off and spend the holidays with his family in Texas.