("Did you not see the ‘No Solicitors’ sign?" PicProps: 360Fitness.Com)
At this point, it’s pretty hard to imagine Jorge Rivera as anything besides the grizzled 38-year-old MMA veteran who’s compiled 12 fights in the Octagon during an on-again, off-again seven-year career with the UFC. Maybe that’s why Rivera’s Sunday trip down memory lane with serious journalist Ben Fowlkes – which we’re led to believe is the first installment of a recurring series by MMA Fighting where fighters reflect on their first pro bouts – is so damned compelling.
Back in 2001, Rivera was just a wet-behind-the-ears 29-year-old when he showed up at a “Reality Superfighting” event called “Attack at the Track” in Chester, WV to make his pro debut against Hammer House competitor and future UFC washout Brandon Lee Hinkle. Details on the exact location are sketchy, but from the clever name we can only assume the show took place at some kind of seedy dog/horse/stock car racing venue in a town boasting a population of 2,592, according to its own Wikipedia page. Sounds lovely.
"I really just wanted to know how good I was, because I honestly had no idea,” remembers Rivera, who’d had a couple amateur fights before turning pro. “It turned out the other guy was much better."