After rocky start to pro career, Brandon Lopez now aiming for CFFC title shot
Lopez says there's no time to waste as he looks to book his ticket for one of the sport's top promotions
Brandon Lopez has packed an awful lot of experience into a relatively short time in the sport of MMA. After getting a later start than most in his combat sports journey, Lopez said he really has had no choice.
"I kind of got into the sport kind of late," Lopez admits. "I got in at like 28. I had my wrestling background. I've wrestled my whole life, but actually getting into MMA at 28 was kind of late, so my amateur run was pretty quick, I think. I mean, I did that in like two years.
"I did seven fights and then went straight to the pro ranks, so even as a pro, it was just kind of rushed, in a sense. I honestly would have liked to have a longer amateur career and just kind of get more experience, but, just with everything how it was, I kind of had to rush into it."
Lopez has already banked 11 fights in just over three full years in the professional ranks, but he admits they didn't necessarily net him the results he expected. Undeterred, Lopez made some changes to his training routine and believes he's starting to see the fruits of his labor.
"I changed my gym to Kaizen up here in Tampa and just kind of getting a whole new system to learn the Bang Muay Thai system," Lopez explained. "Coach Vince McGuinness, he was a GLORY kickboxing fighter, so he's very knowledgeable on that system. He's a black belt in that system, so just catching on to that system and incorporating it with my wrestling was just like an awesome thing to have – not just being a threat in the grappling aspect of it, but now having the standup to look forward to using that tool and then, you know, the wrestling can get you out of anything, so that was great.
"Then having my main training partner as Aalon Cruz, and he's tearing it up in Bellator. He's about to have his second Bellator fight now, and hopefully he gets ranked after that. That's who I'm training with every day, so I kind of hold myself to that standard. It's like I'm training with somebody at that level, and I expect myself to be at that level. I know that every day I train, I picture myself being at that higher level – that Bellator, that UFC, PFL level – so that kind of inspires me when I do fight. I've got to get through this regional level and level up to the big leagues."
Lopez is currently riding a two-fight win streak after a slick submission of Jomal Rodriguez in April and a hard-fought decision win over Shlomo Boyd this past November. He'll look to make it three in a row at Thursday's CFFC 122, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Florida's Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa.
There, Lopez (6-5) takes on Brazil's Julio Cesar Chaves (5-5), a man whose name has made it awfully challenging to find footage to build a proper scouting report.
“He's not the boxer, but there's not too much known about the guy," Lopezz said. "You can't really find a lot of footage on him just because of his name. Anytime you look at it, you couldn't really find too much about him, but I'm always game."
Lopez said he'll have no issue reacting to anything he sees from his opponent come Thursday. While his fighting career may have been rushed, it's certainly afforded him quite a bit of experience in a short timeframe, and he's ready to prove he now deserves to be mentioned along with CFFC's top rising talents.
"At the end of the day, I want victory," Lopez said. "I'm definitely going to fight smart, but you know if the finish is there, I'm always going to go for that. At the end of the day, I just want to make a statement, like all my other fights, and just win dominantly. If I can't get a finish right away, at least have a dominant performance where there's no doubt I won that fight, and just keep moving up the ranks.
"After this one, I want to get a title shot or try to get an invitation to the big shows, so that's kind of the plan from here."
