Exclusive Interview With Alliance MMA Head Coach, Eric Del Fierro

Alliance MMA is based out of Chula Vista, California and is the home to many of the sports rising stars.

Head coach Eric Del Fierro, is among the sports elite leaders and the tutelage he brings to the game is invaluable.

Recently, Del Fierro decided to begin sharing his thoughts in a blog on MTXMMA.com , and according to coach it has been a bit therapeutic.

“Danny Martinez is the one who got me blogging on MTXMMA because he does a blog there and also to get some exposure for the gym (Alliance MMA),” Del Fierro explained. I get a lot of emails and texts from different guys that I’ve known through the sport or coached before. People on Facebook send me messages and I used to be pretty decent at writing. So, I just decided to put these thoughts on paper and It’s actually become a little therapeutic to get on there and blog about things that I believe to be true and the interaction that I have with my athletes.”

From Coach Del Fierro’s point of view, it is that very same interaction he gets from his fighters and the connections that are made between them that gives him true enjoyment in the sport.

“The biggest enjoyment is when I make that connection with a certain athlete that I’m coaching. I have guys that come in and out of my gym all the time and sometimes you work with them and there is no connection,” he said. “Sometimes that connection will never develop and we don’t click, if that happens then I’m not doing them justice by coaching them.”

“So, I get a big satisfaction when we’re in training or in training camp and we find that connection. We both sync up and know we’re going to benefit from each other here. Then, getting to the competition and seeing that guy succeed. That’s the big benefit because every fighter has a passion and competition inside of them and I’m the same way as a coach. I’m doing it because I love the sport and love seeing these guys compete and I love to win.”

Dominick Cruz (15-1) has made the successful fighter-coach connection that Del Fierro speaks of. Three years ago, Cruz made the move to Chula Vista to live and train at Alliance. Over that span he has gone a very impressive 7-1 with the lone loss coming three years ago at a higher weight class.

According to his coach, it has been incredible watching “Dom” climb the ranks to become the WEC Bantamweight Champion.

“It’s been incredible, every fight that kid has had since he’s got to the WEC has been a highlight reel in itself. Everything we’ve worked, the style we developed for him, and like I’ve said before he’s a programmable athlete. Every gameplan we’ve established, I’ve never had to go to plan B with him,” he explained.

“We’ve been very successful with the first gameplan that we’ve put together and a lot of that goes to Dom getting in there and making it work. It’s been a great ride and it’s just the beginning for him.”

The bantamweight champion is by no means the only elite fighter under the tutelage of the coaches at Alliance. By hearing Del Fierro tell it, we should all be looking out for a dominant heavyweight that he has in the UFC.

“Travis Browne (UFC Heavyweight) is 1-0 but no ones really seen anything from him because he’s ended all his fights in the first round. He’s excited to compete and fight, he had a very successful business and he doesn’t need to fight. He loves the competition and he’s fulfilling a dream,” said Del Fierro.

“He shows up to practice everyday because he loves the sport and he’s in there because he’s excited to be competing and to see how far he can get. The kid is just happy and it’s not about the money for him, it’s the competition and figuring out how far he can get. He’s got the biggest fight of his life up next in Cheick Kongo and we’re excited about it and looking forward to it because his focus is just perfect.”

In addition to Cruz and Browne, Del Fierro believes the whole camp has one thing in common, being underdogs. Which, he contributes to them being built like a family.

“We’re an underdog camp and I like it that way. I think these guys look at each other and take things away from another. Part of it is that they’ve all been underdogs from the start and it’s a very rare day that we come in as a favorite,” Del Fierro explained.

“Look at Joey Beltran , he fought Rolles Gracie (-550 favorite) on a weeks notice and everybody thought Rolles was going to kill him but Joey went right in there and got the win. It’s fun as hell watching Joey fight too. ”

The hard work and dedication by the aforementioned fighters, Del Fierro, his coaching staff, and the rest of the camp has paid huge dividends in 2010 leading them to receive credit for their success.

“It’s what they deserve. They work hard and we’ve never brought in the big famous athletes before. We’ve created them and they’re basically home grown,” Del Fierro said. “There’s a big sense of pride to that, that most of the athletes I coach were relatively unknowns until we climbed to the UFC or WEC together. It’s great, the guys love it and the camp is doing great!”