Tough Love: Fighters' visit packs a punch

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer | Friday, July 14, 2006 11:23 PM PDT ∞

CAMP PENDLETON ---- They come with names like The Boogeyman, Da Spyder, The Truth and The Natural. And they come in style.

Just as soon as most of this group of tough guys were out of the black Hummer they rolled up in Friday morning, they were surrounded by about 150 cami-clad Marines, many with cell phone cameras at the ready.

Such was the greeting at Camp Pendleton for a handful of fighters who specialize in mixed martial arts and who brawl as a part of the increasingly popular Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC.

On Friday, four big names in the sport made the rounds at Camp Pendleton, shaking hands with Marines and giving out fighting tips. Finding themselves at the center of photo-hungry Marines were UFC Hall of Famer Randy "The Natural" Couture, Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister, Kendall "Da Spyder" Grove and Brandon "The Truth" Vera.

Also along for the ride, and for the photo ops, were about a half-dozen UFC ring girls.

"I fight because I love the sport," the tattooed 23-year-old Maui native Grove said. "But it is also a profession."

Fighting has been his day job for two years now, and he snagged one of the two titles as "The Ultimate Fighter" ---- which brought him a six-figure contract.

The sport ---- which traces its official beginnings back about a dozen years ---- mixes martial arts, boxing and wrestling. The punches and kicks are real. So is the blood.

The appeal of UFC?

"Full-contact fighting," said Camp Pendleton Marine Isaac Ruiz, who took time off from work Friday to meet the fighters he sees on TV. "We watch it every time there is a main event."

Once pushed underground, the sport appears on the fast-track to the mainstream. In January 2005, cable channel Spike TV debuted its "The Ultimate Fighter" series, chronicling the training and matches of 16 up-and-coming competitors fighting for a UFC contract.

During its most recent season, the Spike TV show nabbed an average audience of 2.2 million viewers, roping in more men between the ages of 25 and 35 than Game 6 of the NBA's Western Conference semifinal series between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers, according to the UFC.

Lister is a familiar face to fans of the Spike show; he was an assistant coach working alongside ultimate fighting star Tito Ortiz.

The sport got a boost in California last year, when the state Legislature approved a bill regulating it and the state's athletic commission sanctioned it.

"It was a very big thing for our sport," the effervescent Grove said Friday of the California action. "Now, its going to open more doors. Hopefully, New York City. Madison Square Garden."

Vera, who spent time in the Air Force, said his goal is to be the first seven-figure UFC fighter. Vera trains three hours a day when he's not prepping for a fight ---- and as many as six hours of "intense working" a day when there's a fight in his near future.

The 28-year-old said he moved from Norfolk, Virginia, to California because "It's the Mecca for fighters."

"There are four criteria for being a fighter," Vera teased. "Broke, bad credit, no regular job and no place to stay."

Lt. Ted Vickers, a Camp Pendleton spokesman, said the fighters called on Monday and asked if they could come out and greet the troops.

"This is great for the Marine Corps," said a smiling Vickers, who admitted that he follows the sport "religiously."

Couture, 43, recently finished shooting a movie with funny man Rob Schneider, and said he is heading to Iraq for 10 days at the end of the month.

The UFC Hall of Famer has been fighting since 1997 and headed into retirement in February as the only man to hold the UFC's light heavyweight and heavyweight titles.

Couture said he's "very delighted" by the increased popularity of the sport and credited the TV show as "a big factor."

Staff Sgt. Joe Caputo of New Mexico counts himself as a fan of the sport. The 30-year-old Marine noted that "the same thing we do on the battlefield, they do in the ring."

The UFC fighters weren't on hand for an exhibition, just a meet and greet with the Marines, who clamored around them for pictures, handshakes and autographs.

But the Marines were also up for a good scuffle, so pretty soon they formed a circle and a few of them went head to head, with the fighters behind them, coaching them, yelling out tips.

Good tips, too. One of the impromptu fighters, Cpl. Joe Alvarado of Texas, quickly ended up pinned by his competitor, Cpl. Benjamin Honacker of Ohio. But Lister stood nearby, telling Alvarado how to get out of what appeared to be a losing struggle to get on top. Within seconds, Alvarado ended up on top of his opponent.

After the battle, a sweaty, out-of-breath Alvarado said Lister's lesson could be a life-saver. Alvarado, Honacker and many more of the military police officers in the crowd are headed back to Iraq at the end of August.

"Always train for these kinds of moments," Alvarado said of hand-to-hand combat. "When you are rolling down the road in Iraq, anything can happen."

Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.