Viewed as a long time coming by many fans of the sport, this Saturday, Aaron Rosa is set to make his Octagon-debut against Joey Beltran at UFC 131.
Since making his professional debut in November of 2005, Rosa, who has competed under the ShoXC, Strikeforce, Bellator, Shark Fights and Titan FC banners, registered 16 victories in 19 contests.
In his forthcoming match in the UFC, Rosa is slated to take on Beltran—a veteran of four Octagon appearances—in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Aaron Rosa about his days as a collegiate football player, Dallas Cowboys football and his upcoming match with Joey Beltran.
Were you involved in any martial arts growing up?
I used to watch it all the time; me and my brother used to watch old Kung-Fu movies, but I was never in martial arts. My father was a black-belt in some type of karate when he was really young, but my mom and dad got divorced when I was very young. I always had an interest in it—because of my dad—but I was never really formally involved in any martial arts when I was younger.
What inspired you to try your hand at mixed martial arts?
I just always liked it, man. I watched it; me and my brother would go to Blockbuster Video and rent the old DVDs and the old UFCs when we were younger. I played football, so I was always active in competition, but I wanted to try something different. I moved to San Antonio and then found an MMA school and just tried it out. I kept winning, so I kept doing it.
When you started training, what were your first impressions of the sport?
I loved it; I loved the physicality of it, I loved the competition and putting yourself on the line—knowing that it’s a 50/50 chance. I’ve always been drawn more to the striking aspect of fighting—because I love boxing and karate and the old Kung Fu movies—but grappling is tough, too. It’s really a mixture of everything; I really enjoy the competition.
How far did you make it in football?
I played college football at a Division II school in Texas—I played tight-end.
Did you think that the NFL was a possibility?
No—I never really thought about the NFL. I knew that I wasn’t fast enough for my position—I knew I was big enough—but the tight-ends in the NFL are super-fast, man. I’ve never had a great 40 time, so if I wanted to do anything, I’d have to become a lineman and I didn’t really want to gain that much weight [laughs]. I didn’t see it as something in my future.
Did you look up to any football players when you were coming up?
The Cowboys in the ‘90s—all of ‘em. I’m still a Cowboys fan, but back then; Emmitt Smith, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, Jay Novacek, “Moose” Johnston. I was a little boy in the early ‘90s and I just loved the Cowboys. They kept on winning and it just made them easier to like [laughs].
And you’re still a Cowboys fan?
To this day, man. I’m from Texas, man.
What about the Houston Texans?
Nah [laughs]—they don’t count. I guess they count in Houston, but everywhere else, it’s the Cowboys.
Do you go to many Cowboys games?
That’s one thing I want to do. I live in San Antonio, so Dallas is five or six hours away and I’m always working and training, so I’ve never had a chance to make it out there before. That’s one of my goals; that’s on my bucket-list [laughs]. I go to Spurs games here in San Antonio and I enjoy that, but I’ve never made it to an NFL game.
Do you notice any parallels between your career in football and you career in mixed martial arts?
I don’t know about that. I’ve taken this a lot farther than I took my football career; I’ve made it to the major league in this sport—but hopefully it doesn’t stop there. I want to keep going and I want to keep training and getting better so I can be a champion. Hopefully it doesn’t end like my football career [laughs]; hopefully I can keep going with it. I think football really helped me out, because it instilled a stronger sense of discipline in me and all of my coaches really helped me out. The main thing is that you’ve got to keep on working; if you keep working and getting better and better—that’s the most important part of it, you know what I mean?
Did you think, in the beginning, that mixed martial arts was something that you would be able to excel in?
Kind of. At the gym, I thought that I was decent, but I kept winning and winning, so I was surprised. But I have confidence in myself, you know? You’ve got to; you’ve got to believe in yourself to be in this sport. I thought I did pretty well, but I never thought it would come to the point that I’m at now.
You didn’t, realistically, think that you would make it to the UFC?
That was always a goal, but I was never 100 percent sure—I was never sure. I never said, you know, “I’m going to be in the UFC.” I don’t like saying stuff like that, because you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow—only God knows what’s going to happen tomorrow—but I put in the work and I did what I had to do to get here with God’s help.
What does fighting in the UFC mean to you?
Probably other than getting married and having my baby girl, this is the best feeling that I’ve ever had in my life; I’ve accomplished something that not many people are capable of accomplishing. It’s an awesome feeling, but at the end of the day, I’m not satisfied just being here; I want to continue to do well and continue to win fights—I want to succeed in the UFC.
Do you feel that you belong in the UFC?
I do. I’ve put the work in, my record is pretty good—I just want a chance to prove that I belong in the UFC. I’ve beaten some decent guys and I’ve only lost to guys that have been in the UFC, so I think that I deserve a chance—just a chance.
Was there any hesitation on your behalf to sign that contract?
Oh, hell no [laughs]! It was, “Do you want to fight in the UFC?” “Yes.” “Tomorrow?” “I don’t care—I’m there.” There was no hesitation [laughs]—heck no!
[Laughs] How do you feel about Joey as a first opponent?
It’s a great first-opponent, I think. The guy is super, super tough and he’s got a lot of heart—I really respect the things that he’s done—and I’m basically coming in the same way he got in the UFC, you know what I mean? I’ve got a lot of respect for the guy; he’s a great fighter and he seems like a really nice guy, but I think I match up well against him. I’ve watched him fight and I’ve picked up on little things that he’s done, but I think he’s a great matchup; we both stand and punch—I just think that I have a few more tools in my toolbox to win this fight.
What problems do you think Joey poses to you?
He’s tough as nails [laughs]; the guy gets kicked in the face and he keeps coming forward—that’s the biggest problem. He hasn’t been stopped and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents; he’s just tough, man—tough as nails.
Have you ever fought anyone that pushes the pace like that?
I fought Devin Cole; he likes to push the pace and move forward. I’m not going to put him on the same level as Joey—he was more of a wrestler—but he likes to push the pace. I think it’s going to be a similar fight; we’re just going to keep throwing. He’s going to keep moving forward and I’m going to keep moving forward and we’re just going to keep hitting each other.
Do you make any predictions going into your fights?
I just want to win—I’m not going to say that I’m going to win—but I want this win really bad.
What would a win this weekend mean to you?
Like I said; other than getting married and having my baby girl, this is the most important thing to me. Doing well in the UFC is one of the most important things in my life, so it means a lot.
What does your family think of your career?
My wife is just great; she’s super-supportive. My whole family, though, is really happy for me and they really want me to succeed. My wife is super-supportive; she’s picking up the slack, you know what I mean? I was working full time—11 hours a day—just up until last Tuesday. I couldn’t keep up with the grind anymore; working 11 hours, training and trying to do everything else was just too much. Last Tuesday was my last day at work and she supported me—she’s awesome, man.
Where did you work?
I sold and delivered Red Bull.
Did you enjoy doing that?
It was a decent job—it was just a lot of work. I worked from six in the morning to six at night, so it was an all-day, non-stop pace.
Do you think this has held you back in the past?
No—it just makes you stronger, man. It just makes you realize that you need to take advantage of opportunities when they’re presented to you. Hard-work isn’t a bad thing, you know what I mean? It makes you stronger as a person. I’m not going to say that it held me back; I’m going to take it as a positive and say that it showed me what real work is.
Over the course of your career, have you thought about the day when you could be a full-time fighter?
I dream about that every day [laughs]. This past week and a half has been a dream, man; I wake up and I go run and I train and then go back in the night and do some more training. It’s been a dream; all I have to do is drop off my baby girl at my mother-in-law’s house and not worry about anything besides training—it’s awesome.
You plan on fighting full time now?
It depends what happens, man. Supporting my family is, first-and-foremost, the most important thing to me.
Assuming you win, what’s the next step in your career?
Just keep going, man; just keep going, training and winning fights. I want to be the best—I really do want to be the best—but I’m not looking past this one. I just want to win this fight and go forward.
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