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Fighters From Mexico
As the enormous popularity of Mexican boxers such as Oscar De La Hoya and Julio Cesar Chavez will attest, Mexico remains a sleeping dragon in the global spread of MMA, an as-yet untapped market of enormous potential for both new fans, and new fighters. Mexico is known for its unbridled passion for boxing and for the extraordinary fighting spirit of its top boxers, a martial arts enthusiasm which is mirrored more light-heartedly in the acrobatic, theatrical and wildly popular Lucha Livre pro-wrestling shows that dot the countryside. Given such favorable preconditions for MMA growth, Mexico is second perhaps only to China in terms of its potential as a new mass audience for the sport. While the UFC has yet to bring an event to Mexico City (a city of over 21 million inhabitants), plans to do so have been in the works for a number of years, and the day is not far off.
Many of the top MMA fighters in the world sharing a Mexican heritage are in fact Mexican-American, and, despite being American born, in many cases identify deeply with their Mexican ancestry. Such fighters include Tito Ortiz (born Santa Ana, California), who for many years entered the Octagon sporting twin Mexican and American flags sewn back-to-back; Diego Sanchez (born Alberquerque, New Mexico), whose cage entrances have been accompanied by Mariachi; Cain Velazquez (born Salinas, California), who has famously inked "Brown Pride" across his neckline in large gothic lettering; and "El Matador," Roger Huerta (born Los Angeles, California), the first MMA fighter to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Fewer high profile fighters are currently identified as Mexican by birth, but among those standouts born in Mexico are the appropriately-nicknamed Efrain "Hecho en Mexico" Escudero, winner of Season 8 of Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter, who sports wins over Cole Miller and Dan Lauzon in the Octagon.
