By Louie St. George III The Daily TimesFARMINGTON — Not that Rylan Sandoval needed any extra motivation for his mixed martial arts fight Saturday, but that's the reality two weeks after his sponsor and good friend, Josh Bell, committed suicide.
Sandoval will try to improve his record to 6-0 Saturday at Ute Mountain Casino in Cortez in a 155-pound tussle against Aztec's Ambross Teasyatwho.
Sandoval, a budding 23-year-old talent from Farmington, is dedicating the weekend fight to Bell, who owned The Zone — a clothing store in the Animas Valley Mall that serves as Sandoval's lone sponsor. The two friends talked the same day Bell killed himself at the age of 22.
"I've got the most anger in my mind than about any fight I've had," Sandoval said of the emotions stemming from Bell's death. "I haven't really been angry for any of my fights, but for this fight, I'm really mad." While the main event is Saturday evening, Sandoval faces an equally daunting task today and Friday. Boasting a current weight of 167 pounds, he needs to drop down to 155 by 7 p.m. Friday — roughly 24 hours before the fight. Thus, Sandoval will be dieting to the extreme. He admits the past week has included meals comprised primarily of salad and turkey. Water, too. Through Wednesday, Sandoval was consuming two gallons of water a day, a technique designed to help him make weight. "I'm really nervous," he said when asked about losing 12 pounds. "I'm going to take it easy, but I'm not going to drink hardly anything, not going to eat too much at all. And then run again (today)." Friday offers more of the same.
"Put on the plastic suit in the morning and sit in the sun until I sweat off 12 pounds," Sandoval quipped. A technical fighter, Sandoval is a kickboxing specialist. He likes to stay on his feet and force his opponent to adapt to his style. So far, that approach has worked as Sandoval sports an unblemished mark that includes two knockouts and a pair of submissions. Saturday, his first bout since February when he successfully defended his Desert Xtreme Lightweight belt, Sandoval will hook up with Teasyatwho, who he described as more of a street fighter. The bout is slated for three five-minute rounds, though Sandoval hopes to cut it short via a knockout.
"I feel like I'm really well-rounded," he said. "I'm going to keep on my feet and just try and knock him out." Sandoval wasn't supposed to fight Teasyatwho, but Donny Martinez backed out — the second time that's happened — leaving Sandoval looking for an opponent. His battle Saturday is one of 13 fights on the King of the Cage card. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., and tickets are still available. Mixed martial arts derived from the former no-holds barred clashes, though MMA is more technical, rewards talent over sheer power and prohibits a handful of nasty moves — eye-gouging, headbutts and groin shots, for example. Sandoval, who trains twice a day in addition to four- and five-mile runs, practices a little bit of everything at the Team 4 Corners gym. He kickboxes, spars, wrestles and performs jujitsu and plyometrics. All the hard work gets put to the test Saturday, when Sandoval hopes to continue his ascent of the MMA ranks. And naturally, 6-0 sounds much better than 5-1. "Hopefully, I'll be 6-0. That's extremely important — I don't want to lose until I've gotten into a big company," he said. "I refuse to lose in my head." Team 4 Corners owner and Sandoval's trainer, Floyd Sword, expects a mismatch between his pupil and Teasyatwho. "Honestly, I think his opponent made a mistake by saying he'd fight him. Rylan's at another level," Sword said, before noting that Teasyatwho could be chasing retribution for a previous loss to another Team 4 Corners fighter. "He might be looking for some
redemption, but he picked the wrong guy."
