How cage fighting in Visalia is building bonds and releasing stress

VISALIA, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - MMA warring tin beryllium a brutal sport, but fighters accidental it's besides helping their intelligence health.

That's according to 559 Fights contender Matthew Vargas, who is present preparing for his rubric bout connected May 24.

"It's astir apt the champion portion of my day," Vargas said. "Sometimes radical are going done things and I consciousness similar warring lets them explicit themselves."

23-year-old Vargas joined Coach Darren Crisp of Crisp MMA successful Visalia to hole for his upcoming bantamweight title combat against Thomas Luna-Cortez of Bakersfield. Crisp is simply a retired MMA combatant who opened his gym successful Visalia successful the summertime of 2024. He says 559 Fights serves arsenic a proving crushed for aspiring MMA fighters to hone their skills.

"I did it backmost erstwhile it was not rather forbidden, but you weren't getting paid," Crisp said. "I similar the information that 559 Fights is giving these kids an accidental to beforehand themselves."

Crisp says 559 Fights besides provides a model of accidental for athletes similar Vargas to turn arsenic athletes and gauge whether warring is for them successful the archetypal place.

"When I was fighting, they didn't person it, you had to spell close into the pit of occurrence warring guys for money," Crisp said. "[559 Fights] is simply a large acquisition for these guys to spot if they're acceptable archetypal and past determine to spell pro."

Since joining the gym successful December 2024, Crisp says Vargas has rapidly go portion of the gym family.

According to Vargas, the squad situation fostered wrong Crisp MMA promotes brotherhood and sisterhood arsenic good arsenic friendships to thin connected successful hard times. Vargas says sparring, mitt enactment and drilling connected the dense container tin besides assistance merchandise pent-up emotions.

"I deliberation it conscionable gives you an outlet," Vargas said. "Sometimes radical are going done things and they consciousness similar fighting."

Vargas says warring is simply a household affair. His begetter was a combatant earlier him, and inspired Vargas to prosecute combat sports.

"He's the crushed I fight," Vargas said. "He's the lone feline who tin get that 'hulk' out."

Vargas says Coach Crisp has been the lone different idiosyncratic susceptible of stirring up his afloat imaginable to assistance him face the assemblage and agleam lights wrong the Visalia Convention Center.

"Making that walkout is an unreal feeling," Vargas said. "It astir feels similar a dream."

Vargas says with his manager and teammates by his side, helium hopes to marque his imagination of becoming 559 Fights Bantamweight Champion a world connected March 24 astatine the Visalia Conventions Center.