August 31, 2009
Early Stepping Stone Pays Off
Interview by Carlos Martinez
Abe Wagner was under the big stage in just his second professional fight with the Diesel Fighting Championships (The DFC). Since then, Wagner has won a title belt, has a professional record of 6-2, and will appearing on the next Ultimate Fighter heavyweight division on Spike TV. The season is set to air Sept. 16th, 2009 and the DFC caught up with Abe Wagner to see how much his MMA career skyrocketed since DFC I.
DFC - How was it fighting for the DFC? What experiences did you gain?
Abe - I fought in the DFC my second fight ever and I hadn’t even been training a full year yet; it was my first time fighting in a large venue and in a bigger show. If anything acclimated me to fighting in larger arenas and shows without getting too nervous about it. Overall, it was a good stepping stone in my career from the standpoint of getting experience.
DFC - What's your biggest win to date and biggest accomplishment?
Abe - My biggest win to date would probably have to be defeating Matt Anderson in December of 2007 for the Victory Fighting Championship Heavyweight Belt. It was the first belt I won and I was considered a huge underdog going into the fight.
DFC - How are the upcoming preparations going for Ultimate Fighter?
Abe - The Ultimate Fighter season 10 taped from June to July, so it’s already over and done with, but leading up to it, I trained for the show like I would any other fight. Just improving my technique and conditioning.
DFC - What are you doing to prepare yourself?
Abe - As I said before, I was just treating it like I would any other fight. Just training, training and more training.
DFC - How do you feel you size up to the competition?
Abe - Well, going into the competition, I felt like I wouldn’t be outclassed by anyone and that I deserved to be in the cage with anyone that was there.
DFC - Any Predictions?
Abe - At this point, they would be post-dictions, so I’ll skip this one.
DFC - Has football helped your MMA career? What college did you attend and position you played?
Abe - I think more than anything, football helped with my work ethic and mental toughness. Both of those are crucial in the fight game.
DFC - What is you degree in? Have you used it?
Abe - I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I worked as an engineer for the first 4 years out of school. Now I really don’t do much with the engineering, but I work as the Director of Finance and Operations for a large industrial distributor based out of Omaha.
DFC - Any advice for children out there wanting to get into MMA?
Abe - I would say train in every discipline you can, being well rounded in a must in the MMA game today.
After losing his second MMA fight to Sunia Filikitonga, Abe Wagner has found his way onto Spike TV as he fights to be crowned the next Ultimate Fighter starting Sept. 18th. With a bright future, Wagner learned from his early mistake and gained the big show experience in DFC I and has proven that he is a top heavyweight contender. Now, he will be coached by either Rashed Evans or Quinton Rampage, as they are the heavyweight coaches for this upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighter. The DFC is providing future success for their MMA fighters and will continue to do so with upcoming events in 2010.
August 23, 2009
Magrino Excited For Return to the American Airlines Center
Interview by Carlos Martinez
The Diesel Fighting Championships (DFC) recently caught up with Georgia’s own Cole ‘Magrino’ Miller to discuss his up coming fight. Cole Miller fought for the DFC when it brought mixed martial arts (MMA) into the American Airlines Center (AAC) for the first time, and the fighter now known as Magrino makes his return to the AAC for the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) against Efrain Escudero.
DFC - Cole, the DFC brought the first MMA event to the American Airlines Center, are you excited for a return?
Cole - “I am very excited to be returning to Dallas, Texas to fight. This will be my 3rd time fighting in Texas and my 2nd time at the AAC. I really like the people in Texas, they are very nice and the fans are great and supportive as well. Even the athletic commission there is very cool. I'm 2-0 in Texas as well, and when I fight on UFC 103 it will be the 2 year anniversary of my win against Leonard Garcia so I am getting a lot of good vibes about this fight.”
Since Cole fought in the DFC, he fought on the Ultimate Fighter reality series, and has won 6 out of his last 7 fights. After beating Saul Mitchell with a triangle choke in the 1st round, Cole has built a 15-3 professional record. Within those 15 wins Cole recognizes 2 of them as his biggest to date.
Cole - “My biggest win to date for myself was Jorge Gurgel at UFC 86. As far as exposure is concerned, it was probably my last win against Junie Browning in April this year. It was my first time fighting on a main card of a UFC event and a lot of people were able to see this bout and that is obviously very important, but the victory that means most to me was against Gurgel.”
DFC - What did you gain from your DFC experience?
Cole - “Fighting for the DFC was a good experience. Coming from fighting on smaller shows around the country, the DFC was the first time I'd had a fight that had all the production of the bigger show, fighting in a large arena, video interviews and photo shoots, and fighting on television as well. It was good to experience the production of a larger show, it made me more comfortable when I arrived at the Ultimate fighter and started fighting in the UFC.”
Anybody that knows Cole knows that he is a committed fighter and is one of the hardest workers in the gym. This work has paid off by winning his last 2 UFC fights. Aiming for 3 in a row we asked Cole about his upcoming fight.
DFC - How are the upcoming preparations going for Sept. 19th and your fight against Efrain Escudero?
Cole - “Things are going well right now. Training has really kicked up since I am 6 weeks away so I am really getting into the heat of my training camp. No more easy days, and zero distractions right now. I'm all business until the fight.”
DFC - He is undefeated (12-0), what's the strategy in getting him that first loss?
Cole - “I'm going to go out there and just fight him with my style and that is to try to finish him the whole time. I think going in there and trying to just win isn’t going to be a good game plan. Winning is his specialty. He's a smart fighter and has a strong wrestling background. He'll do whatever it takes to win; I'll be ready to die. So I will do everything it takes to finish the fight with a knockout or to put him to sleep with a choke.”
DFC - Nine of his wins come by submission, does that concern you?
Cole - “Not really, my jiu jitsu and submission skills are better than his so that’s not really an issue. He is dangerous and has many skills so I have to pay attention to everything but my jiu jitsu is going to be better than his. Prediction??? “No I’m just going to go in there and fight, and do my best to not compromise my style as a martial artist. Finishing the fight is what is important to me.”
DFC - Any advice for children out there wanting to get into MMA?
Cole - “Yeah, follow your dreams and passions no matter what they are. MMA is a great way to be able to earn a living but its very risky and one has to make many sacrifices to be a fighter. It's not for everyone, but if youre really passionate about MMA , or anything in life, you'll find a way to make it work and be successful at it no matter who tells you that ‘you can't’ or roadblocks that come along your way.”
The DFC has overcome roadblocks, and is gearing up to launch an Atlanta based; four fight card series in 2010. With a successful background that includes helping fighters like Cole Miller build their MMA careers, the DFC looks forward to continue making a positive impact in the sport. The DFC wants to wish Cole Miller future luck and success inside and outside of the cage.
August 13, 2008
 The DFC and President Carlos Martinez, Move to the Atlanta
Metro Area
After his first full successful season as the Georgia Force place-kicker, President of the DFC, Carlos Martinez has found a new home for himself and for The DFC. After bouncing around from Dallas, TX, Phoenix, AZ, and Ventura, CA, the past 2 years Martinez stats that he is excited to bring MMA to the Atlanta Metro Area. ‘The market in the Southwest Region is unmatched,’ says Martinez. ‘I believe the MMA fans in this part of the Country are in a class of their own and that’s exciting.’
Martinez was selected to the 2008 Al Lucas Unsung Hero Team for his involvement and efforts in the Atlanta Community. Having started a foundation ‘Kicking for the Cure’ Martinez has made an impact within the Ovarian Cancer Community. His Foundation raised over $6,000 for the Ovarian Cancer Institute throughout the 2008 season. Staying busy, Martinez is now involved with The American Boot Camp Company as the Business Development Manager.
read press release
December 15, 2007
Martinez Stopped at
Reckless Abandon
By Rod Collins
Younger brother to the Diesel Fighting Championships President, Alonzo Martinez had a strong showing at the American Airline Center vs. former Pride veteran and UFC champion Yves Edwards. Both fighters weighed in heavy at 156 ¼ for this lightweight fight Thursday afternoon. Alonzo took the first round 10 – 9 on all three judge’s cards with aggressive pressure and non stop strikes. CompuStrike results showed Alonzo connecting with 43 strikes to Yves’ 4 in round one including a right cross that seemed to stun the eventual winner prompting an emergency clinch.
Round two promised more of the same until Yves connected with a sharp punch 30 seconds after the opening bell. The fighters scrambled and Alonzo continued to show strength with a quick reversal. Edwards out connected Martinez’ 18 - 6 according to CompuStrike in round two enabling an eventual take down. Edwards turned a side to full mount before Alonzo gave up his back and began fighting off rear naked choke attempts. Edwards had his hooks in and finally secured the RNC by switching arms for the tap out at 3:09 of the round.
Yves Edwards stated ringside after the fight, “Alonzo is a tough dude. He came out wild and hit me a few times.” Yves was hit 49 times in 484 seconds – a few times indeed.
View photo gallery of Alonzo's fight
View Fight Card of Reckless Abandon
October 13, 2007
HDNet Fights
By Rod Collins
The inaugural Diesel Fighting Championships (DFC) were broadcast by HDNet in June of 2006 from the American Airlines Center (AAC) in Dallas, Texas. On October 13, 2007, HDNet Fights held its own inaugural mixed martial arts event at the AAC. The high definition broadcast of the fight card is scheduled for playback Saturday, October 20, 2007.
The ten bout MMA fight card featured a main event matching up two former world champions in their respective specialties. Jeff Ford and Erik Paulson quickly finished their headline event. After stunning body and head shots connected by Ford on Paulson, Erik was true to his reputation as “a man with a thousand holds” taking his Boxer and Muay Thai opponent to the ground and ending it just after one minute of the 1st round with an arm bar submission.
What might have been the fight of the night was between local MMA man Jason House of Dallas, fighting Austin’s Freddie Espiricueta. House held his own with kicks and right bombs to Espriricueta’s midsection throughout the first round and a half. House began to gas midway through the second round and his face became Freddie’s favorite punching target until the fight’s end resulting in a unanimous decision in Espiricueta’s favor.
“Secret Weapon” Pete Spratt knocked out TJ Waldburger in devastating fashion at 1:57 of the first round to stop a three consecutive loss skid and revenge a previous loss to TJ. Waldburger was unconscious for minutes following the knockout, but exited the cage on his own afterwards.
The DFC welcomes HDNet Fights to this end of the MMA promotion business and looks to continue broadcasting future DFC events with HDNet.
August 7, 2007
The Georgia Force has announced that the team has re-signed four-year AFL veteran K Carlos Martinez.
Martinez, 5-8, 180 pounds, was originally acquired by the Force on May 2, 2007 in a trade that sent OL Reggie Jiles to the Dallas Desperados in exchange for Martinez. He totaled 56 points in seven games with the Force in 2007. Martinez connected on 47 of 56 PATs and three of five field goals in the regular season. In Week 17, he tallied a season-high 12 points by hitting all nine of his PAT attempts and drilling a 27-yard field goal. In his four-year AFL career, Martinez has posted 386 points after connecting on 305 of 338 (90.2 pct.) PATs and 27 of 60 (45.0 pct.) field goals.
View Georgia Force announcement
July 2, 2007
We proudly present the new DFC web site. Check the site often for updates on upcoming events, fight schedules, and free fight videos.
May 23, 2007
On behalf of the DFC Team, we would like to congratulate TheLoneStar Channel on their signing with Time Warner Cable. The DFC is excited about the future of TheLoneStar Channel and the direction of success created by this highly talented organization. Read full press release.
To learn more about TheLoneStar Channel please visit www.thelonestarchannel.com.
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