Grizzled veteran Roger
Huerta has seen it all in his many years of fighting.
The 41-year-old Huerta, who has competed for a number of major
organizations over the years, is returning to the sport after over
three years away. “El Matador” will be making his Professional Fighters League debut at
PFL Glasgow on Saturday, competing lighter than he ever has in
his lengthy career.
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The first MMA fighter to ever grace the cover of “Sports
Illustrated,” Huerta is well aware that his athletic prime is well
behind him. Having lost four in a row—a career-tying losing
streak—he introduces himself to PFL with plenty of pressure on him.
After dropping four straight under the Bellator MMA banner, Huerta hopes that this shift in
organization will give him a new lease on life. The longtime vet
sees this newly merged company of Bellator and PFL as a new
opportunity not just for himself but for other athletes in the
sport. Huerta spoke to media about his newfound interest in MMA
tournament structures in MMA, and what is in store for him going
forward.
“It’s amazing what PFL is doing,” Huerta gushed. “I’ve always seen
this game as compared to the NBA, the NFL, etc. I would like
fighters to be respected as such. There is so much that goes into
this game, that no other discipline or any other sport does. We
have to really multitask, this is a sport, this is the ultimate
game. I like to represent that.”
While he is not currently part of a PFL season, be it general or
Europe, the Texas native hopes that appearance will not be his last
with PFL. Should he win, he has his sights set on a more structured
system like a PFL tourney, where he knows when and where he will be
fighting next.
“Absolutely, you know that as soon as one fight happens, win or
lose, you can get put on the next event. Therefore, you can fully
focus on your skill sets,” Huerta discussed in regards to a yearly
fight series with a season and playoffs.
Barring something unexpected, Huerta’s return to action will not
just be a one-off. His debut with the PFL will commence a
multi-fight deal, and he plans on seeing things through to the
bitter end.
“For me it’s not just this fight. We signed a four-fight deal and
I’m going to go ahead and honor that,” “El Matador” said. “At the
same time, I’m grateful that I’m able to get that from them. I
guess this is just a road map to where I want to go and I think
that I’m championship caliber, and I’d like to put my name in that
hat.”
Taking on a well-traveled foe in Robert
Whiteford, who is also coming off a long layoff, Huerta paid
his respect to his upcoming opponent for the experience he has.
“He’s trained with a good team,” Huerta admitted. “It’s not like
he’s a rookie, he’s a veteran, he knows the game, he’s been around
good fighters and good athletes. I’m expecting a veteran fight, I’m
sure these guys have a gameplan to beat me, but I am MMA. I am it.
This time around, I’m really going to go show that. I’ve fully
dedicated everything to this. It’s been three years non-stop, not
just from when I signed.”
With nearly 40 professional fights to his resume, “El Matador”
returns with one simple message for those who may be getting a
reminder of him, or new-age fans seeing him for the first time:
“What you see is what you get.”