Respect in the Cage

My article for the Press Enterprise Newspaper
www.PE.com

Fontana fighter a showman

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
By BREANNA ARMSTRONG
Special to The Press-Enterprise
Fontana's Bobby Green is a fighter. It appears that's always been the case.

This former foster child who once participated in fight clubs when not wrestling while at Fontana Miller High School has now become a headliner.

A rising Mixed Martial Arts fighter, Green is in the main event on Friday's "Respect in the Cage II" MMA event at the Fox Theatre in Pomona.

Green (10-2), who fights out of Pinnacle Jiu Jitsu in Redlands, is scheduled to face Sevak Magakian (7-2) in a 155-pound bout that headlines the card.

Aaron Arana, of Redlands, and Green's teammate at Pinnacle, is also on the card. Arana (2-1) is scheduled to face Vincent Martinez (0-4) in a 135-pound bout.

"I'm excited for this fight, and to be the main event," Green said. "This is a big fight, and I want this fight to show the new me."

Green is most known for his fight against Dan Lauzon on January's Affliction card. Green lost but has remained a memorable contender in the sport with his confidence and showmanship.

"I don't care about getting the win; I just want to put on a show," Green said. "I want to be your favorite fighter, and if I'm not, I want to know why."

At Miller, where he graduated in 2004, Green was a wrestler good enough to advance to the CIF-Southern Section Masters Meet. But it seems Green was always a fighter.

"In high school, my friends and I would start these backyard fight clubs," he said. "I was doing what I do now for free and without gloves back then."

Green, now 23, said he was in foster homes as a youth until Shana Vasquez and her son Jesse, now 19, took him in.

"Then when I turned 15, I met these really great people, they have become my family ever since," Green said.

Green started training in MMA two years ago and has taken many of his 12 professional fights on short notice. He took his previous fight on 20-minutes' notice for the King of the Cage-Jolted event in October when he defeated Jeff Torch (1-4) by submission in the first round.

"The training alone has been preparation for Bobby," said Jake Benhey, owner and trainer of Pinnacle Jiu Jitsu. "He has already had 12 fights and (Friday) is his first fight that he has actually been training for. There are only a handful of people that have the athleticism that Bobby has, so over the next six months, be prepared to see a different Bobby Green."

When Green used to train, it would consist of a series of broken workouts just two weeks before a fight. Now he has increased his training to five days a week and makes training his job.

"We all now know that his career is going to take off," Shana Vasquez said. "He is everything to me. And even though he is gone training a lot, we know that it is going to be worth it in the end. Bobby will be a star."

Arana, 22, is a 2005 Redlands High grad and former varsity wrestler who is taking his fourth fight since his professional debut in February.

"I am feeling really good about this fight," he said. "I have been training really hard and I am ready."

Said Benhey: "Aaron is a very well-rounded fighter; he has great work ethic and is easy to coach. He is hard working and is a very pleasant kid to work with."