You know the UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter” reality TV show? Where 16 fighters live together, train together, get into mischief together, and ultimately fight each other?
Real Water Corporation is a company based in Las Vegas that produces alkalized drinking water, which is said to use negative ions to hydrate the body more efficiently than regular H2O. Real Water has created its own MMA reality show, featuring amateur MMA fighters who will train to compete in the event “Real MMA: Do you have what it takes to get real?”
Real Water Corp. sponsors Real MMA Fights and reality show
Rudy Morales, a professional fighter who’s fought in Bellator and World Series of Fighting, works as a Real Water Corporation employee. He is one of the main organizers of this project.
“I’ve been given the opportunity to scout talent from all over the country to come to Las Vegas and train with the best,” Rudy said proudly. “I think as an amateur it’s a great opportunity. Not even most pros get this opportunity.”
Contestant Marcus Levester from North Carolina was recruited for season one and after winning a title belt, stayed on for season two.
“I first came to Vegas on Aug 10th last year,” he said, going on to describe their schedule in detail. “We get world class training from top gyms in Vegas, like Syndicate, Drysdale’s, Carlson Gracie, etc. We wake up around 7:30 AM, fix breakfast, cook our lunches, and go to Syndicate MMA. Normally do either gi or no-gi jiujitsu, and then right into wrestling, MMA, or (kickboxing) sparring. After that, we’ll go to the company that sponsors us, Real Water, and do our daily four hours of maintenance tasks. At nighttime practice we do boxing or Muay Thai at Syndicate or Nak Muay Thai, or conditioning at Camp Rhino.”
“Training with coach John Wood at Syndicate is great,” said participant Patrick Cornett, also from Four Seasons, Kentucky. “There are a lot of UFC fighters –Mike Pyle, Vinny Magalhaes, Roxy Modafferi. I’m getting a lot of good experience. I’m learning a lot.”
The fighters live together in a house in Boulder City, NV. Transportation, nutrition, housing, training- everything is taken care of by Real Water Corp.
“The Real Water Corp. owner Brent Jones believes in the sport of MMA and he’s adopted a ‘fighter’s first mentality,’” Rudy explained. “He saw a lack of care for the fighters themselves in other amateur promotions. Real Water currently doesn’t make a profit out of selling tickets for their shows. They make money from selling water. We have a great product that actually works. We don’t advertise on bill boards, but rather word of mouth from athletes and people who want to hydrate and lead a better life.”
Real MMA is getting ready to hold its fifth show on April 17th in the Silverton Casino and hotel.
“I take pride in saying we sold out on our last show,” Morales said. “Actually, we over-sold tickets. And this will be the second season of the reality show.”
Unlike The Ultimate Fighter, sixteen fighters don’t fight each other for a single winner. The Real MMA team, currently five members, trains for eight weeks and then competes against opponents selected from various other gyms. They will then go in front of a board consisting of Brent Jones, Rudy, and the vice present to be judged on talent, heart, discipline, attitude, and the outcome of the fight. If the fighter qualifies for everything, he or she can choose to stay in the house for the next season.
Their lives at home, out of the house, and at training are filmed at various times during the day. Coaches also take the time to demonstrate technique for them and the viewers at home. The footage is shown on a local Las Vegas TV network MYLVTV on Sunday at noon. The episodes are later uploaded to their youtube channel called “Real MMA.”
“It’s my wish that we help people do what they want to do and become professional fighters,” Rudy said passionately. “Real Water helped me out since I was an amateur with cases of water.”
Patrick participated in season one and fought in Real MMA, and is going on to have his first professional fight in Guatemala on March 20th. “My ultimate goal is the UFC, and to inspire, entertain, encourage. My main thing is that I want to inspire people, especially younger people who wanna fight, or maybe do something else. I wanna show that you can give up something, like I’m giving up time with my daughter right now to come do this and follow this dream. I want to be able to inspire and encourage anybody who’s an up-and-coming fight or athlete or in school. Don’t be afraid to go out there and shoot for your dream.”
Bantamweight Hannah Fitzpatrick from Kentucky is a new addition to the team. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for me to come out here. I live out in the middle of nowhere in east Kentucky. I drive two hours for solid martial arts training. Coming here is the best thing I’ve done in the four years I’ve been training.”
She has her sights fixed on April 17th as her next win. As for long term goals, she hopes to fight for Invicta and maybe the UFC one day. “If I make enough money to pay for my college loans and car with fighting, that’s something extra. I can use that to train people later and take it back home where there’s a lot of drug use and kids don’t know what to do.” Hannah holds a physical education degree with a Spanish minor from Berea College, Kentucky.
Serena DeJesus is another new addition to season 2. The twenty-three year old hails from Brazilian Jiu-jitsu United in Philadelphia. “I have wonderful teachers there and I hope to make them and Philadelphia proud. This opportunity to come to Vegas means a lot to me,” she said enthusiastically. “I’m very grateful to Real Water Corporation.”
The Philadelphia native’s dominant style is Muay Thai. “I’m no chump on the ground in jiu-jitsu, but if I can keep it standing, I’ll keep it standing. I like knees and elbows. I like kicking people… like a Chocobo,” she added, citing the Final Fantasy video game character who defeats enemies with its powerful kicks. “My short term goal here is to fight April 17th , win in a fantastic style, and show the crowd who I am. Long term I wish to accumulate enough fights to go pro and fight in the big leagues, be in the UFC, be in Invicta, fight as long as I can, and you know, after that I may retire and go to a nice island. Like Thailand.”
A knee injury put a big hurdle in the path of participant Dominic Edwards, a Las Vegas local. He looks to make a comeback and make a name for himself soon.
Real MMA 5 will take place at the Silverton Casino in The Veil Pavilion, Friday April 17th. Updates to the card can be found on their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/realmixedmartialarts
Check out the first episode of the reality show by clicking on the link to Youtube here: http://youtu.be/xiOHEF0t96o
Follow Real Water and the promising careers of these fighters on social media:
RealMMA: Twitter/ Instagram: @realmmalv / real_mmaLV
Marcus Levester: Instagram : marcus_sog_mma
Patrick Cornett: Twitter / Instagram : @iamDJskills / Patrick_cornettMMA
Serena DeJesus: Twitter / Instagram : @SerenaSouthpaw / SerenaSouthpaw
Hannah Fitzpatrick: Twitter / Instagram: @FighterFitz / Fighterfitz
