Is The Next Step The UFC For “The Mountain”?

Local Mixed Martial-Arts (MMA) fighter and West Valley Alumni Jared Vanderaa put on a clinic at the most recent smash global event. His opponent was Tony Lopez, a true veteran of the sport with 61 wins and 30 losses on his record. From the moment the first-round bell rang, Vanderaa dominated the fight, landing jabs, leg kicks, and putting together three and four punch combos. Tony Lopez struggled to get anything going in the striking department. He then decided to try to wrestle Vanderaa which was not a great idea. Vanderaa’s MMA base is centered around wrestling and technical boxing while Tony Lopez is a kick-boxer and karate technician. On paper, standing and striking should have been Lopez’s world. When he engaged in wrestling with Vanderaa it looked like Vanderaa was wrestling an amateur. Vanderaa controlled the clinch with ease, landing huge shots. When it went to the ground: Vanderaa was able to pull guard, move into dominant positions, land huge ground and pound shots, and even threaten submissions. Tony Lopez found himself in a top position one time during the fight, late in the second round, but Vanderaa was able to scramble and retain the dominant position.

Jared Vanderaa went on to win the fight via Unanimous Decision. With this win, his record improves to 10-4 and he has to have gained the scout’s attention at the UFC. Vanderaa is now a double heavyweight champion of two different organizations (Evolution Fighting Championship in South Africa & Smash Global).  As stated in previous articles, Jared Vanderaa’s record doesn’t fully express how dominant he really is. Two of his losses came from controversial decisions, and one came from a very late submission in a fight that Vanderaa was winning on the cards. He only has suffered one loss that was a clear defeat. It is completely plausible that Vanderaa’s record could be 14-1 and with a record like that, being in the Heavyweight division (which is starting to get old and full of veterans), he would definitely be in the UFC already. If you ask Jared Vanderaa about the controversial losses he will say, “it’s just a part of the game.” and make no excuses. 

Steve Orosco (Promoter of Smash Global) had this to say about Jared Vanderaa, “The big guy is now 4-0 in the Smash Global cage. Tony Lopez was a durable opponent and a real test for him. I’m excited to see what’s next for the KING.” Jared Vanderaa will be back at Team Quest Athletic Center/Dan Henderson Athletic Center immediately to start training again. He is looking for a big fight and has teased match ups against legendary Heavyweight Matt Mitrione. The 41-year-old has 13 wins and 7 losses. Matt Mitrione currently is on a two-loss losing streak and a no-contest in his last three fights. He may be looking for a “Tune-Up” fight and Vanderaa would be an ideal opponent for him. They have similar fighting styles. Vanderaa would certainly be an underdog in this fight, mainly because he doesn’t have the notoriety. However if “The Mountain” could shock the world by defeating someone of that caliber. It would show the world that he is ready to compete with the upper echelon of the Heavyweight MMA fighters in both Bellator & UFC.   

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A Tough Match For Our Hometown Heavyweight Champ

Jared Vanderaa took on Renan Ferreria at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium last Friday night. Legacy Fighting Alliance put on the fight; it was a heavyweight bout that was important to both men. Jared Vanderaa is currently the Heavyweight Champion in South Africa for EFC, Renan Ferreria is a fighter from Brazil training underneath legendary Brazilian fighters “Big Nog” & “Little Nog” it was heavily suggested before this fight that the winner would get an opportunity to challenge for the LFA Heavyweight Belt or might even get that call that most MMA fighters dream of from Dana White at the UFC.

In the first round, both fighters looked excited and ready to fight; they met in the center of the cage and started trading hard punches and leg kicks. There were a few scrambles and grappling exchanges, but the majority of the first round consisted of great striking exchanges. Jared Vanderaa weighed in at 264 and is listed as 6’5″ he is certainly a huge man, but his opponent Renan is listed as 6’10” and weighed in at 248 pounds. Renan definitely looked like the bigger man, but that doesn’t always mean better, Jared looked great in the grappling transitions and to me appeared to be stronger and got the better of those exchanges. 

In the second round, Renan landed a great right straight that came right down the pipe. Renan’s arms are so long that it looked like Jared miscalculated the distance and let the punch clip him. Vanderaa is usually great at slipping shots like that. The punch put Jared on the mat, but didn’t really hurt him. He appeared to be composed and defended Renan’s barrage of punches from the top. Renan landed a couple of huge elbows that split Jared’s forehead and opened him up, Vanderaa fought his way up to a standing position. The fighters were now both on their feet. Vanderaa executed a beautiful trip and took Renan to the ground. Vanderaa was controlling this position until it looked like he took a deep breath in and threw a punch straight down, at that moment Renan started to position himself to finish the fight, seconds later Jared Vanderaa was caught in a deep triangle choke and tapped out.

Renan Ferreria will have his eyes set on the LFA Heavyweight Championship since currently, the title is vacant. His next bout will probably be in early 2020 and for the belt or in the UFC as a rookie with that organization.

Jared Vanderaa will have to wait for the California Commission to make a decision about a medical suspension since Vanderaa took some huge shots. Vanderaa will be looking at Dana White’s Contender Series for his next fight in order to regain traction on the road to the UFC. Maybe there is a title defense in his future. Either way, we expect Jared Vanderaa to bounce back stronger than ever and keep representing Hemet & San Jacinto in the cage. 

The Hemet & San Jacinto would like to congratulate Jared Vanderaa on an amazing fight and can’t wait for his next match! We wish you a speedy recovery Champ!

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Shout out to the 15 girl roster, who played a spectacular tournament even though they were down a player. Players on the Girls Softball team include Avilika Arana, Lucero Barreras, Priscilla Bidriezca, Felicity Bonilla, Kyeyera Cameron, Crystal Devore, Annalise Domenigoni, Jianna Esparaza, Reyna Garcia, Vanessa Garcia, Keilani Macintosh, Ellianna Pasley, Lillian Phelps, Rhiannon Rodriguez, and Miriam Manzo. The coaching staff of this team did an amazing job getting the girls ready to play, a special thanks go out to them from Valley-Wide, Tera Felipe, Rueben Felipe, Keith Brastisax, and Vanessa Felipe.

The 14U Baseball All-Star team got in on the action taking first place in the Southeast Region District Championship, showing all of the spectators that baseball in the San Jacinto Valley is the real deal and when they see our teams showing up to the games they should be scared of us. The boys’ roster included 13 players, Ritchie Flores, Steven Felipe, Ethan Medina, A.J. Ledesma, Gino Guiliano, Isaac Estanislao, Jose Gonzalez, Soowut Rodrigues, Dylan LaChappa, Donnelly Felix, Armando Avena, Fernando Ortiz, and Christian Tinoco. Valley-Wide would like to recognize the hard-working coaching staff of the boys’ baseball team and thank them for all the time and dedication they put into it. Steve Felipe, Randy Medina, Sarah Ledesma, and Nicolas Ledesma.

Both teams proved last weekend that with hard work and determination you can fight through adversity to become a champion, the players on both All-Star teams get to look at those trophies and remember the great times they had during the season, the sweat of the long hard practices, sore shoulders, tired feet, grueling summer heat, and how it all paid off!

Valley-Wide has proven over the years that it’s the number one place to get your kids involved in recreational sports in our local valley, they have a great program backed by many amazing parent volunteers. Valley-Wide does a great job weeding out the bad apples and encouraging the coaches that are there for the kids to come back. Many coaches teach the value of sportsmanship and love to train kids to become champions in everything they put their hands to.

Congratulations All-Stars! Keep up the momentum and bring home another trophy! The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle salutes you.

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