Gomez adds UFC fight to busy schedule

LOS ANGELES - This was already shaping up to be a big weekend for Ulysses Gomez's family even before he got the phone call offering him the opportunity he had been working toward for more than a decade.

His older brother Herculez, a member of the U.S. national soccer team, returns home to Las Vegas on Sunday to lead his Club Santos Laguna squad against Real Madrid at Sam Boyd Stadium.

Ulysses Gomez plans to be at the match, but he first has some business to take care of in Southern California when he makes his Ultimate Fighting Championship debut against John Moraga on the undercard of the UFC on Fox 4 event Saturday at Staples Center.

Gomez said most of his family plans to arrive in Los Angeles on Friday, watch the fight Saturday, and then he'll return with them to Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon to be at the 8 p.m. soccer match.

"It's going to be a crazy weekend, but when it's time for me to focus, I focus pretty well," Gomez said.

There wasn't a whole lot of time to be distracted by the travel logistics. Gomez agreed to take the fight two weeks ago after Ian McCall pulled out of his bout with an injury.

Gomez, who also works as a cabana attendant at the Hard Rock Hotel, was offered a UFC contract and the chance to achieve his dream of fighting in the world's biggest mixed martial arts organization.

The 29-year-old fighter knew he couldn't pass up the chance, even if the circumstances were far from ideal.

"I have always wanted to fight in the UFC, but I always thought when I got the call I would have a full camp and not two weeks' notice," he said. "I'm in a position where people would take a fight on the day of to get this kind of opportunity, so I really couldn't turn the fight down."

It was some words of advice from his girlfriend, Nena, with whom he has an 11-month-old son named Ulysses, that helped convince him to seize the opportunity.

"She said, 'You know, some people train eight to 10 weeks for a fight and get knocked out the first minute. Whatever happens, happens. I know you're ready. You know you're ready. Just believe in yourself.' And she was right," Gomez said.

He had almost given up hope of signing with the UFC for the short term. Gomez assumed when the UFC added the flyweight division this year that he would be among the first few signings. Then he missed out on the division's four-man tournament field, and several 135-pounders announced they would drop to 125 pounds to fill out the division.

"I was training like I was going to be in the tournament, secretly hoping someone would get hurt so I could jump in," he said. "Nobody did, and then guys started to drop down, so I started looking at fights on other shows. The week that I started to figure the UFC wouldn't call me and I had to start looking at other options, that's when they called."

Now that "Useless," a self-deprecating nickname that has stuck with Gomez since his time at Eldorado High School, has made it to the big show, his focus turned to not being satisfied with reaching this goal.

"I don't want to just be a UFC fighter," he said. "I don't want to tell people, 'Yeah, I fight in the UFC.' I want someone when I walk by to be like, 'Yo, that guy fights in the UFC, and that dude is bad.' That's what I want. I'm not in the sport for second place. In fighting, second place hurts, literally.

"I believe I'm the best flyweight in the world. You have to have that mindset. I just have to prove that to everyone else."

The mission starts Saturday in a fight that will air live on Fuel TV (Cable 319) at 2 p.m.

Then, it's time to return home to watch some soccer.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.