T HE G REEN W AVE G AZETTE
P AGE 6
Ultimate Manny
Hard Working MMA Fighter Bermudez is a Pro
Manny Bermudez (Cage Titans–
Promotional)
“Some people
get too amped
up….
That’s why they
make
mistakes.”
Manny
Bermudez
Sarah Tornato
Staff Writer
that instead of playing anything else
in high school.
Manny Bermudez (Class of 2012)
started training in mixed martial arts
(MMA), a full contact method of
fighting that combines grappling
methods with blows using the hands
and feet, while still a student at
AHS. MMA requires skill, courage
and lots of hard work, and so far
Bermudez has used all of that to his
advantage. A featherweight at 5 foot
6 inches tall, 145 pounds, he posted
a record of 7-1 as an amateur before
turning pro and winning his first
paid fight last June. He has won four
more times, including a recent, rear
-naked choke submission against
veteran Evan Parker during a televised match at Twin River Casino.
As we publish, Bermudez is ranked
seventh among New England Pro
Featherweights and 27th nationally.
He beat Dan Dubuque (2-1) on
January 30 at Plymouth Memorial
Hall, a Cage Titans event held postinterview. In between fights and
training, Bermudez had time for a
few questions.
What do you do to prepare for
a match? How long do you
practice? Since I do it professionally, I never stop. I’ll train six days a
week for a couple of hours each day.
The main thing is to get comfortable. When that’s out of the way,
fighting is just doing what you’ve
done a million times in training.
Some people get too amped up and
crazy and that’s because they get
scared. That’s why they make mistakes that get them in trouble in
fights.
When did you start fighting?
How did you get started? I
started training about eight years
ago. You can’t actually fight until
you turn 18, so a couple days after
my birthday I fought for the first
time. I picked up the sport from
seeing it on TV, and I just happened
to have a great gym (South Shore
SportFighting in Norwell). Training
there was better for me than soccer
or any other sports, so I stuck with
A sure hit starring
Leah Alessi, Nicole
Bradbury, Lindsey
Collins, Dave Lyons,
Mike Nickley and
Travis Torchetti
How long do you go between
fights? Sometimes, you just have to
take fights as they come. I fought in
the first week of January and I’m
looking to get back in there against a
tough dude on January 30 (Dan
Dubuque).
What do other fighters have to
look out for when they fight
you? I do a lot of everything. I’ve
been fighting at a weight class higher
than mine for my professional fights,
so I’m going up against bigger,
stronger guys, and I’m still finishing
them in the first round. Usually my
boxing sets up a takedown, and
punches and elbows on the ground
set up chokes.
What do you hope to accomplish as a fighter? I’d love to fight
in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting
Championship) one day, and to
make a living from fighting. It’s a
tough sport, but if I can do that, I’d
be a happy camper.
What’s the best part about
being a fighter? What’s the
worst? The best part of fighting
must be that moment when the
pressure’s on you to perform and
there’s a critical moment in which
you know that you’ve won mentally.
The worst part might have to be
losing weight for it, or dealing with
the people that surround you once
you start doing well.
Have you dealt with any setbacks? How do you get back
up on your feet after a loss?
Losing sucks, but it’s a part of the
sport. It weeds out people that don’t
want to be there when times get
tough. The people that stick around
are the ones that understand that.
(I’ve also had) a couple of injuries. Thankfully, they haven’t been
anything that have put me out of
commission for more than a couple
months.
What do you do other than
fight? I train people in private lessons down at my gym. The lessons
vary in anything from boxing and
wrestling to MMA and conditioning.
I also attend Bridgewater State University.
Who gives you the most support? Do you have a mentor/
coach? Family and friends that
come down to watch me fight give
me a huge amount of support. My
friends are always checking in to see
how I’m doing. My coach Bill Mahoney at South Shore Sportfighting
has been a mentor for me since the
day I stepped in his gym.