Our good friend, Jorge Rivera

There are some friends who you value so much it is really hard to qualify into words.

I met Jorge Rivera three years ago in the same city where he ended his career: Nashville, Tennessee. For that fight, RU was not his largest sponsor, we were a small company that very few people knew, and given the general state of the MMA industry even now, there was no reason to believe we would even exist for his next fight. Furthermore, while fighters are generally very reclusive and private during the buildup to a fight, Jorge had also just lost his seventeen year old daughter, a pain that I can only imagine, and hope to never have to go through. In short, I didn’t expect any of his attention when I arrived at his hotel door to drop off shirts. I wanted to give him his gear, shake his hand, and get out of his way.

Instead, when that hotel door opened, I was greeted by an incredibly hospitable, thoughtful, and giving person who treated me as if we had known each other for years. He refused to let me excuse myself, introduced me to people in the industry I would have never known otherwise, and was incredibly open about his life. By the end of the day before weigh-ins, I felt like I had known Jorge, Matt Phinney, and Tim Burrill for years. I could see in Jorge a man that had made mistakes in life, but through them had acquired incredible wisdom and perspective, and wanted to impart that on those around him. For a guy who had achieved this level as a professional athlete, I was truly amazed by his humility and kindness.

By the time he entered the cage with Nissen Osterneck, hiding a broken hand and partially dislocated shoulder I might add, I felt like my brother was stepping in there. I don’t remember wanting anyone to win so badly in my life.

And he did.

It wasn’t pretty. He gassed early on and we all thought he’d get finished as a result, but he kept on pushing and pushing and refusing to quit. He did what Jorge does best: he fought.

And I don’t mean that in the sense of MMA. Jorge’s had every reason to give up in his life – sometimes because of self-made bad decisions and sometimes because of chance, but I can tell you honestly, he’s had a rough go at it. What makes him special, and what makes me look up to him, even as I examine situations I’d never be in, is that he has never shied from the struggle. When life hits him, he hits back harder. When he can’t hit anymore, he still manages to stand up. He’s not afraid of the fight – he embraces it.

I can’t explain our relationship exactly. Sponsor is almost an afterthought at this point. For my part, I’ve received middle of the night calls about strategy, business, stress, and anything else you can imagine (Jorge, like me, let’s his mind wander at night and can’t sleep). I’ve been there for the highs like beating a very game Nate Quarry in Charlotte with 50 vets cheering him on. I’ve been there for the lows, like watching my friend get kneed in the head and then be disrespected in Australia. Through it all though, it’s just been an honor to be here, to be counted as one of Jorge’s inner circle and to support him as best I could.

So as I sat cageside and Jorge’s last fight started in the same city our friendship had begun, I just wished to God that he would come out on top. As the fight started, I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, as if I was the one about to fight. They began and Jorge had a bad start, but he hung in there, and although he lost the first round, he looked confident going into the second round. He shrugged off a takedown and landed a strong right hand. Moments later, Jorge Rivera’s last fight in the Octagon ended via TKO.

I can honestly tell you I don’t think I would have been happier if the win had been my own.

The first trip to Nashville saw us all go out to a swanky nightclub and party into the night around people we barely knew, seeing people and being seen and all that nonsense. This time around, it was just a small group of us renting out the top floor of a tiny bar: friends, family, and a few loyal vets that have supported Jorge for years.

“I just want to be around the people that matter, Nick,” was Jorge’s guidance.

I remember thinking simply, “I hope to always be on that list.”

Congratulations to a true warrior (in the Cav and in the Cage)on an incredible career. On to the next challenge, sir. We’re here every step of the way.

Love you, brother.

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What can you do?

We here at Ranger Up rarely ask you to do anything, but, in this case, we are asking you to do something not every man can do, but has secretly desired to…rock the stache! If you are one of our lady readers, have your man-friends rock the stache! Tell all of your friends, family, and the random stranger walking down the street that you are growing a glorious moustache for our troops and ask them to donate. Get this out on your facebook page and tweet your little thumbs off about it! We only have 6 weeks to let our inner-porn star out and let that caterpillar find a nice resting place under our noses! Send all of your acquaintances to make donations at http://www.stachebash.org and remind them that they are completely tax deductible (oh… and donate on behalf of Team Ranger UP)!

Here is the best part! I know you are all wondering “Okay, what the hell do I get out of this?” Well, here is your incentive: The guys here at Ranger Up are bribing you to contribute…yes, BRIBING!

Donations up to 50 dollars will receive a $5 Ranger Up gift certificate.
Donations up to 100 dollars will receive a $10 Ranger Up gift certificate.
Donations above 100 dollars will receive a $25 Ranger Up gift certificate.

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In addition, we will be picking one donator to win a trip for two (hotel, airfare, and tickets) to a UFC event with the Ranger Up crew (that, my friends, is priceless). You get one entry into the drawing for every $25 you donate.

Our methodology may be unfair, but it’s for a great cause, so that makes it fair…right?

All you have to do is forward your receipt email to customerservice@rangerup.com

Time to RTFU
If you are man enough to accept the challenge, I will even create a page for all of our manliness for the world to see and show the other teams just how deep we really roll. Send pictures of your stupendous-stache to ru.damnright@gmail.com (just don’t forget your name) and I will get them up for the world to see your manliness flow!

So get off your ass and feed the stache…it’s all for a great cause!

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As reported by Adam Wells of Bleacher Report:

Jorge Rivera has launched an unprecedented YouTube video campaign that MMA has never seen before—all in order to get under Michael Bisping’s skin—in hopes that the brash Brit will make a tactical error during their upcoming fight. This is psychological of warfare 101—use your enemy’s weakness as your strength. And though not every MMA fan likes it, we’re all interested in the outcome, which accomplishes Rivera’s mission.

Jorge Rivera is 38 years old and is staring retirement in the face. Only the legendary Randy Couture has had a successful MMA career at the highest echelons of the sport into his 40′s and all of us are on the long slide to incontinence and irrelevance.

So Rivera is using his last fit years to make a name for himself. He wants to look out for his future and the future of his family by making money in the sport now. He targeted a bigger name with a hot temper and baited him into taking a fight that he shouldn’t have. Rivera made an in jest video and Bisping put his mouth on the hook. That was a strategic error that Bisping’s future opponents are taking note of.

MMA is not boxing and for the most part, MMA fans do not like the braggadocio and machismo of boxing’s well known trash talkers. But MMA fans also know that a bad blood fight is infinitely more interesting than a boring fight. They spend a lot of money to watch these pay-per-views and is there anything wrong with some extra snuff to make them tune in? We know these guys can fight, some better then others, but what’s wrong with a little bit of showmanship from at least one of the fighters to makes things more interesting, and helps tel (sell) the story. So, Rivera used the incredible power of YouTube to sell a product and make people want to watch. That brings in more pay-per-views, which makes his employer happy; it improves everyone’s bottom line.

For his part, Bisping has held back from true retaliation, but the British middleweight is known for not being able to control his emotions and we all know he’s seething inside at the ridicule—unless of course, he was in on the act from the beginning—and then kudos on the masterful performance. During every pre-fight interview, Bisping is asked about the videos, not about his own skill and career path, not about his desire to bring a UFC belt back to England, but about YouTube. That in itself has to aggravating and his only real comeback is, “I do my talking in the cage.” That’s what every boring fighter says, Mike.

In reality, the pressure is not on Rivera, but rather Bisping. Rivera says Bisping has never knocked anyone out and he uses his cardio and striking to point his way to a decision. This is an undisputed fact and unless Bisping does something spectacular, Rivera will be correct in his accusations.

Bisping counters by saying he wins fights and in the end, that’s all that matters. He says Jorge’s a relic who’s not worthy of this fight and afterward he’ll be back to the undercard, and that very well may pan out. He says he’s going to make a mess of Jorge; he says he’s going to show the world his KO power. So now, Bisping has talked his way into a corner because anything less than a stellar KO of Rivera is a loss to all tuning in.

Whether you laughed at the YouTube videos or cringed, Rivera has accomplished his mission. He’s rattled his opponent’s cage and has gotten people to take interest because he knows that it’s better to go out there and fight like hell than to run around the cage like Kalib Starnes. Whether you love Jorge Rivera or want to see Bisping knock his block off, Rivera has successfully sold a fight, and more of us are buying because of it.

Ask yourself this: Have you ever been so jacked up to watch a Michael Bisping fight?

Hopefully, they don’t ruin it by hugging after the fight is over.

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Congratulations to Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera who defeated Rob Kimmons by TKO at UFC 104 in Los Angeles last weekend. Rivera ups his record to 17-7 with this win, but instead of resting on his laurels and taking it easy, Rivera graciously agreed to train Marines at Ranger Up’s Train the Troops event at Camp Pendleton, California. That’s just one reason we respect the hell out of him. Rivera is a former Armored Cavalryman who’s endured hardships that would break lesser men, including the loss of his teenage daughter last year and the death of his trainer and friend, Eric Armington. Yet despite those setbacks and various nagging injuries, he soldiers on and even donates his time to giving free combatives seminars to troops here in the U.S. and abroad. RU Nick spent a good deal of time with Rivera at Ultimate Fight Night 18 and found out first hand what makes El Conquistador tick. Check out his story at Fight! magazine’s website here.

Jorge Rivera models our St Michael shirt in his own special way

Jorge “El Conquistador” Rivera has been an MMA fighter since 2001 when it was still a backwater sport and he had to drive from Boston to West Virginia to find a fight. Talk about dedication. Since then he’s racked up an impressive record of 18-7 with notable wins over David Loiseau, Dennis Hallman, Edwin DeWees, Nate Marquardt, Nissen Osterneck, and Kendall Grove. Of his seven losses, three were to top ten fighters in Anderson Silva, Rich Franklin, and Martin Kampman. Few middleweights in the world have faced stiffer competition. Rivera was a member of The Ultimate Fighter season 4 and trains out of Boston, Mass.

But before all of that Rivera was cleaning mud out of tracks as a 19K Armored Cav Scout with A/1-70 Armor at Fort Polk, Louisiana. He helped move the unit from Fort Polk to Fort Hood, Texas before his enlistment ended in 1991. 

Why we like him #1- He’s never had a fight fail to be televised. No matter how many times the UFC puts Rivera on the undercard, his fight always makes it to TV because he’s so damn exciting. If you haven’t seen the beatdown he gave Kendall Grove, Google it.

Why we like him #2-He volunteers to visit troops overseas. Rivera just got back from a trip to Korea where he gave an MMA seminar to soldiers and then visited the DMZ. Ask him about the Bridge of No Return. He can tell you all about it. 

Why we like him #3- Before a fight he shaves his head with a huge blade like a Mongol. How can you not respect that?

Looking for the Ranger Up El Conquistador shirt? Click here