St. Patrick's Day 2010 marked my debut as a Co-Host on the Radio Show Rear Naked Choke with long time veteran Joe Rizzo. The show featured two fighters on the opposite ends of the fight spectrum.
The first was Jay Herion a 19 and 4 Strike Force Fighter who is entering a pivotal point in his career. At age 33 he has proved himself to be a top notch fighter and waits patiently to get his big break. The other is female upstart Zoila Frausto an undefeated (5-0) Strike Force fighter on the verge of making a name for herself in the growing sport of woman's MMA.
Jay is at a crossroads. He's in a position he's worked all of his life for: peaking at the right age with 19 wins and only 4 losses to big name UFC fighters in the heavily contested middle weight division, he's reached the elite level. Unfortunately he's forced to do something he's not trained to do, wait. Currently he is in contract negotiations with Strike Force. If an agreement can't be reached in the next 30 days, he will be released from his contract. One would assume he would pursue a more lucrative contract with the the BIG SHOW known s the UFC.
In the meantime he's training, living clean (hell he wasn't even going out for St. Pat's- oh the humanity!) and biding his time for his shot at the title.
As a fighter, you're main concern is well, fighting. Staying in shape, improving your skill set and winning bouts. But that's only part of the big picture. You still have to get booked for fights. Fighters like Jay who have been around the block know the deal and put their faith in management to get them the best deal possible.
The problem he faces, like all fighters, is time. The longer he's kept waiting, the lower his stock goes. It's like the fabled "Japanese Inspection" made famous in the 1990's film Days of Thunder.
"You see when you see, when the Japs get in a load of lettuce they're not sure they wanna let in the country, why they'll just let it sit there on the dock 'til they get good and ready to look at. But then of course, it's all gone rotten... ain't nothing left to inspect."
Lettuce is a perishable item, like fighters. The longer things drag out, the more a fighter is forgotten. He loses his cache and then eventually his skill. By not fighting reputable opponents, he doesn't get challenged and nothing can replace good ring experience. Add to that the cold hard fact that he's simply aging he may never get his shot. His career may end, never reaching it's full potential.
What amazed me the most about Jay were his wrestling accomplishments. He only began wrestling in 9th grade. In high school he became a 2 time county champ and state place winner in New York which is no small task. Across the country there are only a handful of states that consistently produce great wrestlers: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Iowa, Oklahoma, Ohio and California to name a few.
In college he was a Junior College National Champion. While it might not sound like much, Junior College (Juco) is much harder than Division 2 and Division 3. The athletes in the Juco's are primarily there for academic reasons. Great wrestlers who fail to meet the college academic standards continue their careers in the Juco's until they get picked up by a Division 1 school. Being a Juco National Champ is no joke.
At the end of the day, you would hope that the best fighters get to fight, but that's not always the case. I hope Jay gets his much deserved shot at glory.
Zoila Frausto is jumping up a weight to fight Miesha Tate at the March 26th Strike Force event. There's a lot of "trash talking" around this fight and it's shaping up to be the most watched under card event.
Zoila was extremely easy to talk to and almost gave us the goods on her "Girls Night Out" in Vegas, Entourage Style. I asked my co-host Joe if we could get a remote camera on that, of course I volunteered to cover the shoot...the things we do for you people.
One of the issues surrounding woman's MMA is the beauty and the beast controversy. It seems promoters are opting for Beauty over Brawn when it comes to pairing fights. The obvious angle is the GLOW (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) model where attractive women beat themselves up in the ring. The question is do MMA fans want to see quality fights or good looking fighters? In the end it will be the fans who decide when the powers that be tally the receipts at the box office. Of course Zoila, wasn't concerned with any of that shit, she just wants to fight anyone she can get her gloves on!
In the end she was a good sport. Joe put her up to calling me "Fresh Meat" since it was my first time behind the mic. But hell, I didn't see it that way. Anytime a 26 year old woman calls a 42 year man "Fresh Meat" its a compliment.
To check out the full interview visit the link below.
RNC Radio live: Zoila Frausto and Jay Hieron
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