Matt Manzanares grew up in a town that hosts what the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association named the Large Outdoor Rodeo of the Year.
The rodeo, called the "Daddy of 'em All," is part of the Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyo. The 10-day festival in July is an annual event in the town, something that has drawn Manzanares since his youth and to which he now takes his nephew and two daughters annually.
But ride a bull? That's not something he ever really considered.
Become a regionally competitive youth boxer? Fine. Mixed-martial-arts fighter? No problem.
But rodeo?
"It can look pretty cool, but you have to have some big cojones to do that," Manzanares told MMAJunkie. "I just let guys punch me instead."
But the opponents haven't been getting in too many good shots lately. After starting his career 5-0, Manzanares signed a three-fight contract with Resurrection Fighting Alliance and will make his RFA debut on June 30 against Aaron Ely at RFA 3. The 125-pounder made it through a nine-year boxing career and 17-fight amateur MMA career before becoming a professional MMA fighter, which means he has plenty of experience in a struggle.
With his RFA bout, which appears on a card in Kearney, Neb., along with UFC veteran and "The Ultimate Fighter 2" champion Joe Stevenson taking on Dakota Cochrane, the 25-year-old Manzanares will continue a commitment to MMA that grew out of a desire to take care of his young family, which includes a wife and three kids they raise.
As a lifelong Cheyenne resident, as his parents have been, Manzanares first represented his hometown by traveling the country in the youth boxing circuit. Now he does it in the MMA cage.
"So far I feel like I've been pretty much able to fight the fights my way, doing the things I want to do," he said. "But there are no guarantees, so you have to prepare your best each time."
A Cheyenne boxer
Manzanares' family has been in Cheyenne for several generations. Both of his parents grew up in the town, where the kids often played football or basketball in the many open spaces.
Starting at age 8, Manzanares began a commitment to boxing that would last nearly a decade. A few of his uncles had tried the sport when younger, and Manzanares followed his older brother into the gym for his own beginning.
The only problem was finding enough competition for someone that young in his area. He laughs now that his first six or seven fights came against the same undersized youth – because both were only about 50 pounds.
"After a while all we wanted was to fight someone else," he said.
He was soon traveling to several states using his natural footwork as a head start in the sport. By the time he was 14, he was competing in the Junior Olympics against other boxers who would later form professional careers, including Devon Alexander and Victor Ortiz.
Perhaps the biggest preparation for his later MMA career was the time commitment, as he spent up to five days per week in the gym. Even though he stopped boxing at age 17, finished high school and later learned he had an unexpected daughter with a high school girlfriend, one recurring theme was developed from his time in the boxing gym he would use later.
"Preparation is the key thing," he said. "If you put the effort in during your time in the gym, everything else will take care of itself."
Putting in the work
Manzanares had known about MMA since the time he started boxing, when his older brother helped him watch the tapes. But as he got more serious about boxing and turned less attention to other parts of the combat sports world, he didn't much follow MMA.
Then he stopped boxing and graduated from high school. When he learned he had a daughter, he reconnected with the old girlfriend and settled into several part-time jobs to help make things work.
A friend knew Manzanares had a history in boxing, and he connected him with a trainer he knew in Cheyenne who worked with MMA fighters. Even before he started, he knew he would only do it if he could make a commitment.
"I asked my wife, 'What do you think?' She said, 'I'm behind you, but just don't take shortcuts,'" Manzanares said. "That really helped me focus in on what I wanted to do."
But he didn't rush. Not wanting to only use his boxing skills when he started fighting, Manzanares took significant time to work on his ground game and jiu-jitsu. When he felt he was ready, he took his first amateur fight, which happened in his hometown in front of the people who knew him as a boxer.
"I wanted to show them it wasn't a joke, that I could do more than (box)," he said. "I came in, we fought, he took me down, and then I armbarred him. I won it on the ground."
Eventually, after 17 trips to the cage, Manzanares had compiled nearly 100 amateur fights in boxing and MMA. He used his amateur career to learn how to train, diet and prepare himself for a fight, so when he felt he took it seriously enough, he wanted to be a pro.
Five wins later, Manzanares has signed with a promotion in its early stages. He hopes that his own pro career, in early stages itself, can find a springboard in it.
Just a guy from Cheyenne who didn't take the path to the rodeo.
"We go every year," Manzanares said of the Cheyenne Frontier Days. "I just get my rush somewhere else."
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