Corpus Christi native and recent Ultimate Fighting Championship signee Roger Narvaez is living a dream: the 6'3, 185-pound mixed martial artist from Texas is a loving family man, full-time fireman/paramedic and has reached the world-famous UFC Octagon.
Narvaez's martial arts path commenced at a young age, as his family always appreciated movies that involved the various disciplines which interested him. Speaking to ConvictedArtist.com, "Silverback" recalled, "When I was in the first grade, my dad got me into Tae-kwon-do and I really loved it; I excelled at it. I decided to take a break when I was 13 and by that time, I had already achieved my second degree black belt and qualified for the Junior Olympic trials. Unfortunately, we didn't have the travel money to make that trip [to the Junior Olympic Trials]." During his high school years, Narvaez took a break from martial arts "mainly because of football" but maintained that he "always loved martial arts."
After high school was over, Narvaez eventually landed a job with the local fire department. As a city firefighter, "Silverback" was focused on strength as opposed to conditioning. He explained, "I used to pump a lot of iron and eat a lot of food, but no cardio. I was weighing 278 [pounds] and fighting fires [in that shape] was not easy. I was hurting."
Luckily, a friend from his teenage years would lead Narvaez back to the martial arts world and, eventually, to the cage. "An old high school friend of mine named Hector Munoz was fighting and teaching [martial arts], so I went [to train] with him just to get in shape," Narvaez continued. "I took up Jiu-Jitsu and I fell in love with it. I was on the mat [training] for four to five hours on my days off. I got my blue belt in eleven months and my purple belt right under three years."
The environment of fellow teammates competing led to "Silverback" challenging himself via Jiu-jitsu tournaments. Seeing fellow stable mates enter the mixed martial arts cage further pushed Narvaez to the amateur circuit, eventually progressing to a professional career. "I couldn't get amateur fights after a while so I turned pro and, again, I found a lot of success," Narvaez reported. "The Lord has blessed me with an injury free career up to this point and I've now accomplished being signed to the UFC."
Going into his initial UFC fight against Patrick "Durkin" Cummins, "Silverback" was an undefeated fighter in six professional bouts. The Cummins scrap would present some problems even before getting into the cage: Narvaez was called in on short notice, fighting at a higher weight class and facing Olympic caliber wrestling skills in "Durkin." "Silverback" recalled it as a "whirlwind" as he had been notified only (approximately) 26 days before the fight, and spent the first weeks completing medical tests and paperwork. However, Narvaez rebuked the idea of being at a disadvantage, explaining, "I was in training for another fight. The problem was that I wasn't training to fight at an elevation of 7000 feet. Here in Corpus [Christi], we train at sea-level and I was training to fight in Houston, Texas, not Albuquerque [New Mexico]."
Narvaez reported that it was not until he was in his hotel room on the day of the Cummins fight that the situation overwhelmed him. "I was left in my room by myself, so it really hit me; I broke down and started to cry," he remembered. "But I'm a man of faith, so I fell to my knees, prayed and I can tell you that I've never been moved by the Lord like that before. I was completely calm from that point."
After the brief discomfort, the experience turned into a dream as "Silverback" peacefully passed his time, waiting for his moment. He described, "Seeing the crowd, my name on the big screen and seeing guys pat me down that I've seen on television before was unbelievable. Also, walking into the octagon and turning to my right and seeing Bruce Buffer standing there - it was all just incredible."
Unfortunately for Narvaez, Cummins best him that night via a second round stoppage. Despite the setback, "Silverback" felt that there were several positives gained from this experience, as "I stayed healthy and was able to hold my own in there with a world-class guy like Cummins. He never really landed anything big and I thought it was an early stoppage. I really felt like I belonged in with that caliber of fighter. The altitude did affect me and I ran out of gas." Narvaez remained undeterred, adding, "My motivation is ever stronger now and I got right back to training the Tuesday after my fight and I haven't stopped since. I'm looking to fight again soon and I feel that I'm going to be successful."
Narvaez is aware of the many hands that have helped him in his success. He expressed that, "I want to thank Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, as without him, nothing is possible. I also want to thank my wife as she supports me. I also want to thank Full Contact Fight Academy, Weapons at Hand, Paragon Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, American Revolution and 4oz Fight Club for helping me with training. I also have to thank my sponsors like Hard style Kettlebell Club, Rock's Discount Victims, Babcock Pipe and Supply, Supreme Drilling, Dynamic Drilling, Smoothie King and the list goes on and on. Without all of the support I get from my sponsors, I wouldn't be able to do this so I'm grateful."
Sergio L. Martinez
www.convictedartist.com
