DANGEROUS SITUATION

Visalia’s Steve Ramirez is working hard at his new love: mixed martial arts.

By James Gilliland
VSP MMA Columnist

At first, “Dangerous” Steve Ramirez wasn’t interested in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA).

The first fight he attended was World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) 9: Cold Blooded, where his brother was fighting. That’s when everything changed.

“I went to my first fight where I cornered my brother and I was hooked after that,” said Ramirez. “The adrenaline rush… I had never felt anything like that before.”

The Visalia resident has lived in the Central Valley since high school, playing football and wrestling at Golden West.

After high school, he attended College of the Sequoias in Visalia, working on a degree in sports medicine.

“I have always wanted to be in sports or around sports,” said Ramirez.

Steve is a personal trainer, but after watching his brother fight, he decided to take up cage fighting.

In his first fight, he fought Chino Esparza (1-1) in WEC and won by rear naked choke in the first round.

“Forty-seven seconds. I didn’t even mess up my hair. It was over before I knew it,” said Ramirez.

After his debut in WEC, he would continue fighting for the WEC and fight in Gladiator Challenge and King of the Cage, building a record of 6-4.

Ramirez would lose his first fight in PureCombat to Jason Von Flue (14-12-1). In the fight, Ramirez showed heart and tenacity, not tapping out to a rear naked choke.

The referee called the fight after he was unconscious. It also proved to be a lesson to his son, Steve Junior.

“I have always told my son to never give up,” said Ramirez. “I decided I was going to punch and punch until I went to sleep.”

In his next fight, he would make his way into the MMA spotlight against Darvin Wattree (2-3) at PureCombat’s Home Turf.

The bell sounded, and three seconds later, the fight was over. Ramirez threw an overhand right, knocking out Wattree cold. One of the fastest MMA knockouts ever was in the books.

“I had my head down but my eyes were open and I saw the bottom of his feet in the air,” said Ramirez. “I didn’t even feel him on the end of my fist.”

With his recent fight, he stands at 7-5 and is always ready for his next challenge.

“I’m a work out fanatic. I’m always in the gym,” said Ramirez. “It’s the greatest job I’ve ever had.”

When asked who he would like to fight if he could fight anyone, one name came to mind.

“I’d like to fight Joe Rogan,” said Ramirez of the longtime UFC commentator. “I want to see what he’s got. He’s got a big head and I probably wouldn’t miss.”

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