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Ep. #110 – Alberto Trujillo

Alberto Trujillo is a mixed martial artist who competes is the current Cage Fury FC Flyweight Champion. The Alliance MMA product is now 5-1 as a professional which includes three stoppages.

Transcript

Alberto Trujillo: All right boom, we are back with the 110th edition of the quarantine cast. I will be joined by alberto trujillo. I probably butchered that last name um, but he had a. He had a huge uh, huge title fight at cffc cffc and won the flyweight strap over santo caratolo, who a lot of people have been high on so uh a huge performance by uh by him and without further ado i’ll uh i’ll bring him on hey man. How’S it going hey, hi how’s it going not too bad um. So how are you feeling man huge win for you um for cffc and uh? How does it feel to get that uh get that w uh? It feels really good yeah uh. Definitely, like you said uh, some people are hyping them up a lot and i’m glad i was able to de-roll that train yeah. He uh you were the heavy underdog going into that fight. Uh did, does it feel a little bit better, knowing like like? I proved all those doubters wrong, uh yeah. I guess i really don’t pay attention to like if i got doubters or any of that stuff uh, i believe in myself. My team believes in me and then the people that are around me believe in me. So as long as i have them, i’m good to go, you had a long layoff, obviously with the pandemic and everything it was a little over a year since we had last seen you back in september of 2019. So so what was the biggest change for you? In that, in that time, off, uh i’ve been working a lot with coach eric resc and he’s been focusing a lot of uh on the grappling a lot of on the little details. So i was able to improve on my boxing uh, which i just played a little better this time, because the opponent was a little shorter. Usually i end up fighting people that are taller than me, so i have to wrestle them, or at least i feel like i have to wrestle them to even at the playing field uh. But i was able to box a little more with cartel because we were about the same height. Did you uh? One of the things i noticed about your fight was the amount of pressure you applied. You were right in his face. The entire time was that part of the strategy like get in there and and show you pressure and is the the fact that you do that related to to the fact that you do give up so much size in these fights uh. It was the plan not specifically for him, but because the coaches know that that’s how i fight i’m a pressure fighter. I like to come forward. I never like to back up and then the reason i do pressure a lot. It is to try to always close the distance you uh, you’ve primarily competed for for kombucha. Was it different for you to compete for a new new organization and what went behind the decision to uh to fight for cffc? Was it the title or what was the the ultimate reason for for making that switch uh? The ultimate switch was because uh right now combat is not making shows not putting on, shows cfcc was and then um. The title was just a plus really. I really wasn’t too worried about the title: do you uh, do you have goals of going back to kombate once they open things up or are you happy there at cffc uh, i’m happy there at cffc uh? I would like to make a ufc debut, hopefully early next year, if possible. I think that’s a! I think, that’s a great point too, because that flyweight division right now is really in need of talent uh in the ufc. They have guys, i think, there’s a fighter in there there’s a rook out of shadow who’s. I think three and two, so i think you know you have a five in one record, very good uh. Have you considered uh even competing on the contender series or um? The other show the ultimate fighter now that they offer that for tabanom weights. Is that something that you’ve considered or would you like a direct shot at the ufc uh? I would i would like those i would like to compete in the contender series. If they they made a flight show, i would definitely get on there. Uh, my coaches and manager have been trying to give me a fight on there. It’S just uh. I guess, because the amount of fights i had or stuff like that, you know how it can be. I haven’t been able to get on so hopefully here soon i know my manager uh tko they’re they’re talking to some of the people out there. So hopefully soon i can get a fight in there is that the ultimate goal to uh to compete for the ufc or what was the goal when you uh, when you entered the sport, what was the the ultimate dream in mma? Get the ufc built? Definitely yeah with uh with that being said that that flyweight strap is uh. I think that fight’s happening later this month with davis and figueroa and alex perez, don’t know how much you know about either one of those guys if you had the opportunity to meet either one. But what’s your prediction for that fight? Um, i don’t know i i haven’t looked either one. I know i’ve seen figaro when he uh beat uh joseph uh. He beat him twice, that’s about as much information as i got. I am uh predictions um. I guess we were all takes it because of his power and strength. Yeah, it’s pretty hard, it’s pretty athletic. I want to talk about your training at alliance. I mean one of the the best teams uh, you know in all of california. They they’ve, you know guys, like dominic cruz, have have come out of there, how big uh, how big has alliance been been for you in your career, uh, huge uh, you know you’re in there, like you, said, dominique cruz uh. You always have uh jeremy stevens energy. I’M learning from people like phil davis, uh. I get to turn with angela hill uh, my lady tina pettigrew. She fights for invicta lauren, who was in the ufc. It really helped me out because they have a lot of skill. Obviously they have a lot of uh to come on a lot of skills and a lot of uh. I can’t remember the word i’m trying to think of, but they they they’re teaching me a lot too. You know and they work with me um. I also train with wilson hayes who fought for the title at some point yeah. So it’s it’s a really good team. They help me out. I help them out and we work as a team. You know yeah. I was going to bring up the that. I noticed a picture of you with with wilson hayes and brandon moreno. What was that, like? I mean three three, three crazy good flyweights i mean, like you, said: ray’s compete for the uh. The belt brandon moreno is probably a fight away from a title shot. So so great group of guys there and and what’s uh what was the lesson from from those two um. I mean there’s levels to this right and then they’re at a higher level and uh, even though i’m not at their level. Yet i’m definitely on the right track. I feel like um yeah, so just got to keep doing what i’m doing, keep going to the gym and then uh. Eventually, if i don’t meet them, i hope to pass them someday. You know, do you feel? Do you feel like surrounding yourself with killers really is uh motivating like i i can imagine if i went in there and i got beat up day in day out um. It eventually just knocked my morale, like, oh, my god, i’ll never get there uh for you is it. Is it motivation to see like oh man, i just i just beat around? I just beat him for one round. You know these little victories. Do. Do they motivate you yeah, they they definitely add up and then obviously i do have my days where i’m like crap man. What am i doing, i’m doing something wrong. Am i doing this right or whatever, but then i have to remind myself, obviously um. They have been doing this longer than i have and then they obviously have uh. What’S the word, i’m looking for they they’ve been doing this longer than i have and then yeah they have. They have a lot of experience, guys like brandon mourinho. There we go there. We go experience, that’s the word i was looking for. Thank you uh. They have a lot of experience right and then, like you, said, uh little victories when i went around when i went just in exchange, i’m like all right. I got this right. That’S how i keep myself moving when you, when you won your last fight. You said you felt like you were in his backyard, even though you are competing in california. What? Why is that? Why? Why do you feel like, even though you’re you’re winning fights in california, you feel like you’re in the opponent’s backyard, because i’m from arkansas i’m originally from arkansas and i was raised? I was born in florida and i was raised in arkansas. So even when i do shows in california i really don’t know, i don’t have a huge crowd out here, because i don’t really know a whole lot of people. So, every time i do end up fighting in california, i usually fight local from like san diego or wherever, and then he has this crowd right. So usually, when i go out to the fights it’s uh, it’s always my opponent’s crowd. It’S hardly ever been my crowd. Even though you’re competing and you’ve been training there, your entire most your career most of the career yep, it’s it’s because i don’t really talk a whole lot, so i don’t really make a lot of friends. So i don’t know, i’m quiet, that’s why yeah i mean um yeah. I mean i thought you had a tremendous appoi tremendous performance uh. I did go back and i watched your camilo fight and what was the biggest lesson you you took from that fight that you applied in your two fighters, your two fights after that um. So what happened with camilo is, i got a week and a half notice and then, since i hadn’t had news about a fight, i felt like i slacked a little bit off of my training right and then we had the fight and then i ended up losing And i’m like i’m, never gon na. Let this happen to me again ever so. I make sure that, even though, if there was no fight notice or of upcoming fight, i made sure that i stayed ready in case an opportunity came up and if it was a day and a half or two days or whatever amount of time, they gave me That i would be ready and that’s that’s what changed really do you find it’s hard to be motivated if there’s no opponent on a sheet of paper like i find if there’s no, if i don’t know who i’m fighting, how i find it would be hard to Wake up in the morning and go to the gym. You know where is wherever like. If you had an opponent who you know is hungry, you know is coming to kill you i feel like my motivation would be on a whole other level. Do you find it harder to to be motivated when, when you don’t know when or who you’re gon na fight uh, not not anymore, because the job camilo fight? Now i’m like oh yeah, you remember you got that one lost man, you better get your ass up! That being said, i mean: do you have any nagging injuries from your last fight and how quickly uh would you be willing to uh to get back in there uh i just uh. There was because i was doing a lot of calf kicks and there was one where he turned the shin outward and i ended up kicking the shin and then that that’s been a little swollen since, but i think about another week. This should be good to go. Um i would like to take about a month or so to fix some of the things that i saw in there before i started another camp, so if possible, maybe in january i would like to get back in there. I want to talk about the the early days you had a very successful amateur career um. Was there a point where you were like? Maybe i should hold on a little bit longer i mean you had a six fight, six fight winning streak as an amateur or you know a lot of guys, just jump it and say you know what i’m just going to take some pro fights. What was the reason for for taking those six fights, um experience, and then i had my uh. I wanted the experience from those fights and then i had my coach coach day day recall. He just told me it’s time to go pro after those six, i’m like all right. You tell me what to do i’ll. Do it it’s funny. How guys are like you know, whatever coach tells me um? Where did you learn that that sort of discipline and how did you get into the sport? How did i learn that type of discipline, i’m gon na, say my mom? My mom definitely disappointed me a lot. She’S mexican, so she was a little bit old. She was very strict and then what was your other question? I forgot um, oh, how did you end up? You know following the uh going down the mma route um, so i started watching ufc and i think the first fight i saw was uh nate diaz. I can’t remember he got somebody in the triangle and he started flicking everybody off yeah. That was yeah. I think it was kurt was not it wasn’t kurt pellegrino, i think it might have been, but i know what you mean. He had the guy in the triangle choke and then he was flicking everybody off. I’M like dude, that’s so cool this guy’s winning off his back and then shortly right after i had a a friend that showed up to soccer practice, because i used to play a lot of soccer, showed up to soccer practice and he said uh. There’S a guy. Coming to our gym, that’s gon na teach uh ufc, i’m like! Oh, that’s cool. That’S i’ve been wanting to do some of that stuff, and then we showed up to the gym and it was this old skinny old man and i’m like hey i’m here for the ufc class or something like that he’s like yeah, i’m doing it i’m, like you Sure, like you, don’t look like much and then he gave the first class and then he tapped everybody out and i’m like all right. This guy’s the real deal and then i just stuck with him for a while. His name is scott devlin. He was in the army, he was an army ranger and then i just stayed with him for about a year before he moved out to do some other stuff, and then i just i just stuck with it ever since. It’S crazy how like, when, when you hear people’s stories about how they they got involved in it and and that’s actually probably one of the the weirder ones where i i just tried it and fell in love and and uh and just kept kept going at it. Um it’s funny because when you think about mexico, martial arts, i think lucha libre and boxing um, usually mma – isn’t up there. What do you think it will take before that? Really is predominant in mexico, i mean you guys, like cain, velasquez, afraid, escudero and yuya rodriguez are starting to do it. But what do you think it will really take before we see like an influx of mexican mma um, we’re probably gon na need a fighter like chavez, i think julio, says travis. If we can get something like that in mma, i think uh mexico will definitely get behind it. Is that your would that be a dream of yours too? You know going and maybe competing in a mexico. Obviously right now, it’s probably not realistic. With the with the pandemic and everything, but is, would that be something that that you’d like to do somewhere down the line? Maybe a ufc card or a bellator card compete in mexico, uh yeah? I would like to do that. I don’t know how, like i, i do have family in mexico and they they love me and they support me, but everybody else since i’m not from there. I don’t know how they, if they will be behind me or not so depending on the hack. I guess the next couple of years on my career is uh, whether i get my mexico crowd behind me or not yeah. It’S it’s! It’S a good point uh. If you’re fighting a mexican you’re, probably not going to be cheered, but if you’re fighting an american they’ll be behind you, especially if you win yeah yeah yeah, that’s it one of the things about the the mexican crowds, whether it’s in in soccer or boxing or whatever It is, is that passion? What do you think separates mexico’s passion for further athletes from the united states? I think it’s, the moms, the moms yeah, the moms. I don’t know they just do things a little different. You know uh. I remember my mom, for instance, when i was growing up, she would tell me a lot of stories about her growing up and how hard it was, and somehow her pain, transfers on to me and then that pain. I let it out like for her, if that makes sense, yeah yeah right, because then, when i get my hand raised, it’s like she’s getting her embrace right. So i feel like like all right. I made her happy. You know that pain that all she went through. Like it was worth it for something, at least that’s how i feel yeah, i have a my mom’s from spain so very similar in the way that uh brought up a lot of a lot of discipline but uh. You know uh always been uh mama’s boy. In terms of whatever i do is for her type thing, and i i do think that uh, that’s something that separates uh hispanic moms from a lot of others is the way they the way they discipline the way they they bring up their kids and – and it Shows in terms of of how they uh how they return the favor for them later on for uh for people who haven’t seen you fight um, who maybe missed your last fight, it was remarkable. But what would you say uh? How would you describe your fighting style and who would you relate yourself to um someone in the ufc or someone who used to fight in the ufc huh? That’S a good question. Oh, it’s my style, like i guess, no matter how, like i’m willing to take five punches to land one, but i know they once i land that one that i got you for sure right and then once i land one i know i can land two once I land two and i’ll probably be able to land three. Once i start landing three. I know i got you for sure uh. Who would i relate my fighting style to i don’t know i don’t know. I know i used to watch a lot of uh juan de la silva when he was in pride. I remember i always wanted to be like kim. I know i’m nowhere near him, but i guess he’s one of the few that uh what to come. Inspired me for sure, hopefully that answer your question last uh last question and i’ll: let you go what uh is there any sponsors? Anyone you want to plug or anyone you want to thank before before we cut this absolutely uh, all my coaches at alliance, mma, all my training partners at alliance and bonita martial arts academy sponsors. I would like to thank genesis, recovery, san, diego uh, solas hemp, debbie pettigrew, with their uh debbie, portraits casa de coronado, that’s out in tj my mom and there’s uh. She owns this business too. Her business name is polita’s mexican store, um fight duck. They they helped me put all my medicals and fight rope, and then i just wanted to make a quick point. Uh told anybody, that’s listening out there uh, i have a nephew, that’s in the hospital at the moment, he’s not doing too well. If you guys could please keep him my brother and his wife and uh your prayers? Please thank you uh once again man, i know you’re going through a hard time. We were supposed to do this a few days ago, so i hope all is well with you and your family uh. If there’s anything i can do just. Let me know thoughts and prayers with you all and uh man stay safe out there and uh best of luck with your next uh, your next fight. Whenever that happens, to be thank you very much appreciate it all right man, all the best, all right. You too take care all right there, you have it alberto trujillo. I appreciate him taking the time we were supposed to do this a few days ago. Um he did like he said he had that uh, that family had some family issues um. Hopefully that gets sorted for him soon, but i’ve been a fan of his for a little while. If you haven’t watched his fight with santo, i highly recommend it. He is uh, he is very violent and i love it um and you can expect to see him in the ufc very very soon. If you haven’t yet make sure you like comment and subscribe, and we will see you guys next time.

Sergio Pineiro

Sergio Pineiro is the Founder of FighterPath.com and host of the Quarantinecast podcast. Based in Canada he is both a sports journalist and MMA enthusiast. He practices the sport but has a passion for the individual stories of training, fighting and living the fighting lifestyle.

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