Fight Path: Ulysses Gomez out to prove he's not "Useless" in Bellator tourney
The Gomez family has its share of international athletic experience, but it was new to second-oldest child Ulysses Gomez in 2007, when the son of a furniture store owner and used-car salesman purchased his ticket to Turkey.
A former soccer player like his star brother, Gomez had built himself into a well-rounded fighter after he began training in 2001. He was successful in grappling tournaments before he tried Pankration, a fighting form with ancient roots that combined boxing and wrestling.
So there he was, in the 2007 FILA World Wrestling Championships, representing Team USA in Pankration.
"Somebody asked me how I thought I would do," Gomez told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I said I would either lose my first match or smash everybody. I was either out of my league, or they wouldn't be on my level."
Gomez found out soon enough. With a strong performance, he won a gold medal, and he was then ready for his mixed-martial-arts career.
After winning Tachi Palace Fights' flyweight (125-pound) belt, the 27-year-old Gomez makes his debut next week in the Bellator Fighting Championships bantamweight tournament, the next step in a career that has seen him go 6-1 using skills developed during his years of grappling, boxing and Pankration.
Following the athletic example set by older brother Herculez, who played for the United States in the World Cup this summer and has become a professional soccer star in Mexico, Gomez has blazed his own path in MMA, which he hopes can continue with his Bellator opportunity.
"People say, 'This is the biggest fight of your career,' but I hope not," Gomez said. "I see it as the first step of many, hopefully taking me on to even more things after I'm done fighting. But for now, I want to keep improving and winning."
A gifted family
Gomez was born in California to a family with a Mexican heritage. His parents owned a furniture store in Los Angeles before moving the family to Las Vegas when he was about 11 and finding work in dealing used cars.
His two brothers and two sisters all came in quick succession, and Gomez jokes about his family options based on his ethnicity.
"Being Hispanic, there are three things people do: fighting, soccer and construction," Gomez joked. "Well, I don't like soccer, and I don't like yard work."
But another family member took to soccer. Herculez Gomez, 13 months older than Ulysses, became a star in the sport and eventually became a scoring champion in the top Mexican league. Even six months before the World Cup began, he was barely on the U.S. team's radar, but he performed well leading up to the picking of the teams.
An exhibition game near the final roster cuts fell on Ulysses Gomez' birthday, which was a good sign. Herculez always scored on his birthday, he said.
The tradition continued, and Herculez Gomez' goal helped him make the American roster for the world's biggest sporting event.
"There's something I noticed about him playing," Ulysses Gomez said. "I watched him play for his (Major League Soccer) team once in Denver, and before the game you could see his mood change. It was real subtle, but he got real serious, and I could see it. I never felt like that when I played soccer.
"But that's how I feel when I fight, like I'm a little nervous. But about an hour before, I get real serious and very focused. That's how I know it's for me."
Read the rest here
props to Useless!
A former soccer player like his star brother, Gomez had built himself into a well-rounded fighter after he began training in 2001. He was successful in grappling tournaments before he tried Pankration, a fighting form with ancient roots that combined boxing and wrestling.
So there he was, in the 2007 FILA World Wrestling Championships, representing Team USA in Pankration.
"Somebody asked me how I thought I would do," Gomez told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I said I would either lose my first match or smash everybody. I was either out of my league, or they wouldn't be on my level."
Gomez found out soon enough. With a strong performance, he won a gold medal, and he was then ready for his mixed-martial-arts career.
After winning Tachi Palace Fights' flyweight (125-pound) belt, the 27-year-old Gomez makes his debut next week in the Bellator Fighting Championships bantamweight tournament, the next step in a career that has seen him go 6-1 using skills developed during his years of grappling, boxing and Pankration.
Following the athletic example set by older brother Herculez, who played for the United States in the World Cup this summer and has become a professional soccer star in Mexico, Gomez has blazed his own path in MMA, which he hopes can continue with his Bellator opportunity.
"People say, 'This is the biggest fight of your career,' but I hope not," Gomez said. "I see it as the first step of many, hopefully taking me on to even more things after I'm done fighting. But for now, I want to keep improving and winning."
A gifted family
Gomez was born in California to a family with a Mexican heritage. His parents owned a furniture store in Los Angeles before moving the family to Las Vegas when he was about 11 and finding work in dealing used cars.
His two brothers and two sisters all came in quick succession, and Gomez jokes about his family options based on his ethnicity.
"Being Hispanic, there are three things people do: fighting, soccer and construction," Gomez joked. "Well, I don't like soccer, and I don't like yard work."
But another family member took to soccer. Herculez Gomez, 13 months older than Ulysses, became a star in the sport and eventually became a scoring champion in the top Mexican league. Even six months before the World Cup began, he was barely on the U.S. team's radar, but he performed well leading up to the picking of the teams.
An exhibition game near the final roster cuts fell on Ulysses Gomez' birthday, which was a good sign. Herculez always scored on his birthday, he said.
The tradition continued, and Herculez Gomez' goal helped him make the American roster for the world's biggest sporting event.
"There's something I noticed about him playing," Ulysses Gomez said. "I watched him play for his (Major League Soccer) team once in Denver, and before the game you could see his mood change. It was real subtle, but he got real serious, and I could see it. I never felt like that when I played soccer.
"But that's how I feel when I fight, like I'm a little nervous. But about an hour before, I get real serious and very focused. That's how I know it's for me."
Read the rest here
props to Useless!