The “Road To ONE” heavyweight tournament will continue on Saturday, December 18, at RUF Nation’s latest offering, RUF 45: Winter Wars. The event, broadcasting from the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona, will feature two quarterfinal contests.
Quintero, Chism-Brungard Gives Thoughts on RUF 45
The athletes are excited to get going and recognize the opportunity winning the tournament would provide. Two of the athletes, on opposite sides of the bracket, talked about their upcoming bouts and what joining ONE Championship would mean for their careers.
“Heading into Winter Wars, I’m focusing on improving on my weaknesses. I’m a true gym warrior, that is always in the gym training,” said Michael Quintero, who meets Terrance Jean-Jacques in the co-main event.
“But lately, I have really decided to work on rounding out my game. I’m training at Kings MMA. It has forced me to elevate my game and get some world-class training in with Rafael Cordeiro and the young, hungry stable.”
The Kings MMA representative enters as the self-proclaimed favorite. After years of work, he is hoping his confidence carries him through to the semifinal round.
“I believe I’m the favorite to win because I’ve paid my dues. I’ve trained with the best and never miss a workout,” said Quintero.
“I’ve developed the necessary skills on the ground and on the feet that most heavyweights aren’t willing to put that work and sacrifice in. I’m a legit threat with both my grappling and striking now.”
In the main event, Cameron Chism-Brungard takes on Eduardo Perez. Chism-Brungard is also supremely confident, but he was a bit more animated in stating why he felt he would walk out of Winter Wars with a victory.
“Because I’m the most creative fighter in the tournament,” he said, “I’m able to do things people my size dream about. Plus, I walk out to a Disney song, and that’s a vibe.”
Both men went on to reflect on what the ultimate “Road To ONE” prize would mean to them when asked about winning the tournament.
“Winning the Road to ONE would be the ultimate crowning achievement in my career. I have given 12 years of my life to the pursuit of becoming the best martial artist I can be,” said Quintero.
“To fight in ONE would be a dream come true. I’ve fantasized about fighting overseas since the beginning. And to be able to do it in one of the most prestigious organizations in the world, and be part of such an amazing roster of global talent, would be epic.”
For Chism-Brungard, it was less about the monetary rewards and more about what the platform would allow him to accomplish. The talented 27-year-old spoke about pushing his message to the world thanks to the opportunity that the tournament would allow him to have.
“It’d be huge because then there are more eyes on me, and I can have more people hear my message and be the spark to help people speak up on mental health and not feel ashamed,” said Chism-Brungard.
“Fighting is just the tool to help expand my reach to help others open up.”
“The money is cool, but it’s not what I’m after. Yeah, it’d help a lot, because I live in a small city with not many other fighters or gyms. So I can get to bigger gyms and really grow. And I can buy my kids the things they want and need and they’d like that. But to them, I’m still just ‘dad.’ Money or no money, I’m the guy they count on and look up to, even without money. I’m one of the richest people because what they give me is worth more than anything in the world.”
The two aspiring ONE heavyweight athletes try to take the next step at RUF 45: Winter Wars. Access can be purchased for the pay-per-view event on the RUF Nation website for $14.99.
For those in the Phoenix area, tickets are still available on the Celebrity Theatre website.
