Gerardo Julio Gallegos

Below is the profile for MWG client, Gerardo Julio Gallegos. For updates on Julio, his fighting career and charitable events, be sure to bookmark his profile page.

Gerardo Julio Gallegos is a new breed of fighter. Fighting not only for the honor that victory brings, Julio fights for a cause – to raise money for cancer awareness. In addition to the work he has already done with his endorser, Fight Ribbon Clothing Company, Julio has set a goal for himself: to raise $1,000,000.00 for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Some may say that such a goal is too lofty, too hard to achieve. But it is Julio’s dogged determination both in and out of the cage that cause his supporters to have no doubt that Julio will achieve this goal. In addition to financially, Julio donates freely of his time to help support the cause of cancer awareness as he has spent time visiting with cancer patients at hospitals such as St. Jude and Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, KY.

Fighting out of Reaction MMA in Lexington, KY, Julio has an amateur record of 8-2 and a professional record of 3-1. Fans can next see him in action Friday, March 19th live on HDNet, fighting TUF veteran Shane Primm at XFC 10: Night of Champions.

Julio’s sponsors:

• Fight Ribbon Clothing Company
• Wassmer Properties
• Talent Bookkeeping
• Genesis Trade Exchange
• Full Tilt Poker
• RevGear
• No Limits: Innovative Strength Training
• Ford’s Fitness Center
• David Sperow DMD
• Still Cuttin Up
• Health Source Chiropractic
• Premier Periodontics
• Submission Effects

There are many positive things that can be said about Julio, including how he took a tragedy early in life and turned it into the driving force behind his neverending desire to succeed. However, Julio’s story was best framed by former FightTicker.com writer and co-host of the official radio show of Pro MMA Now, The Cageside Beat, Mike Menninger. Menninger’s profile of Julio is perhaps one of the poignant profiles ever written. Mike spent some time speaking with Julio prior to his fight with CT Turner at an XFC event in Knoxville, TN. Menninger’s profile is reprinted in its entirety here with permission from the author.

Finding Peace in the Cage: A Profile of Gerardo Julio Gallegos

By: Mike Menninger

On a cool spring evening in 2009, the XFC hosted a mixed martial arts event in Knoxville, Tennessee called XFC 8 “Regional Conflict.” The application of the moniker may seem obvious to some. But for at least one man on the card getting his professional fight legs under, conflict is far from just a catchy title.

Gerardo Julio Gallegos (he goes by Julio) is an impressive, if unassuming member of his community. He has put together an amazing resume – one that goes beyond the scope of MMA… one that deserves recognition. Gallegos, however, is the type to deflect such praise to those that have helped him along the way. Make no mistake, this character trait certainly does not imply that he lacks pride in his accomplishments. Rather, it demonstrates the quiet strength he now possesses – a strength he cultivated from personal experiences that suggest a lifetime much longer than the quarter century he owns.

Gallegos grew up in Kentucky, spending the majority of his formative years in Lexington. To this day, Gallegos vows that his parents were good to him. But before he reached high school, Gallegos’ family suffered a tragedy to which few can relate and none could possibly understand. In a heated argument between his parents, Gallegos’ father shot and killed his mother before turning the gun on himself, literally tearing apart his family, destroying the family name, and leaving a void that Gallegos understandably filled with adolescent rage.

The young man was angry. Anger fueled his life. He was able to channel some of that anger into a wrestling and football career at Danville High School. The anger propelled him to become a star defensive end, tight end, and fullback and earned him MVP honors at the 1-A state championship game. The anger pushed him to become a high-caliber wrester – he won his district at 185lbs. and finished second at regionals.

But his anger also held him back. He was, as he describes it today, a “punk.” He made a habit of starting fights with others. In fact, one fight he picked with his wrestling coach resulted in Gallegos being kicked off the team right before the state meet, which he was among the favorites to win.

For years, so went the life of Julio Gallegos. He never let go of the anger and spent the next several years beyond high school reliving his past by provoking others into fights at every turn. If trouble did not find him, you can believe that he went looking for it. To this day, Gallegos admits that he had no idea how to handle the ire that boiled in his blood.

It is difficult for anyone to stand in judgment of such behavior, as he was robbed of something that cannot ever be replaced. If not for a jail-induced epiphany, a little divine intervention, and a kick in the ass courtesy of his fiancée Zeena, it is difficult to imagine where Gallegos would be today.

Zeena, by all accounts, is a smart and passionate woman. And she saw something in Gallegos that few others did at the time. She suggested he find a legitimate way to channel his anger, one which did not carry with it the possibility of jail time. Taking the initiative, she found a way to contact a local MMA promoter and got Gallegos his first amateur fight in June of 2007.

He won the fight, but the true victory did not show up in the win-loss column. Rather, the victory was that this moment marked the beginning of the about-face his life would take. He was no longer a punk – he was a real, and soon to be professional, fighter.

It would be easy to assume that Gallegos used MMA as an outlet for his anger, bottling it up between fights and simply unleashing it on his opponent the next time he entered the cage, almost like a trained pit bull. But organized fighting proved to be catharsis of a different sort for Gallegos. As he describes getting into MMA:

“It was a blessing. [All of a sudden], fighting was not about hurting someone. It was about facing my own problems and my own shadows. It felt like home facing my problems [in this way]. You can’t run from your problems when you’re in the cage. It was like counseling [that I never got growing up] every time I stepped into the cage. Since I started, I’ve met a lot of good friends, and there’s a high level of respect in the fight game. MMA is something I really enjoy, and it puts peace in my life.”

A peace he craved, but never had, since that fateful day.

For Gallegos, MMA certainly is about finding and respecting one’s self. Yet he acknowledges that it is much more than that. It is just as much about respecting others. Any words other than his could do no justice to their intent: “I know that people are putting their heart and soul into something [MMA]. To bad mouth an opponent is to bad mouth myself. You can’t be hating on another for doing exactly what you’re doing.” Gallegos recognizes that his youth, though understandable, was misguided; MMA offers him redemption for those mistakes. He sees fighting with a new, mature set of eyes, in a way he was unable to comprehend before.

Now, Gallegos leads a relatively quiet life in Lexington. He and Zeena own and operate a cleaning business which demands a tremendous amount of their time. Zeena has been and continues to be an integral part of Gallegos’ life as a mixed martial artist by helping him manage his career and, more importantly, always supporting him.

They also have a one-year-old daughter, Bralynn. Gallegos admits that he had reservations about being a father, given what he had endured in his own childhood. But once Bralynn entered his life, he had no doubt how much he loved her and that he was going to be a great father. Gallegos embraces his inner child as well, admitting that he is eager to do “kid stuff” again with Bralynn, like going back to Chuck E. Cheese, to have a good time without looking ridiculous.

Gallegos, who refuses to take life too seriously any more, has been quoted as saying he wants to get married on April 1. Ironically, he is serious about that.

Owning and operating his own business gives Gallegos the flexibility he needs to train. He spends, on average, 3-4 hours at the gym per day. He admits that, like most mixed martial artists, his major goal is to be a world champion. And though professional fighting for Gallegos is not about hitting the proverbial monetary jackpot, he would love to turn it into his full-time job.

Perhaps the greatest impetus driving him to success in MMA is selfish, but not in the way one might anticipate. Being of proud Mexican heritage, Gallegos seeks to salvage a name tarnished by the acts of his father. But in the same vein, his goals remain steadfastly altruistic. Gallegos is involved with Fight Ribbon, an MMA apparel company which donates a portion of its proceeds directly to the American Cancer Society. Because cancer has affected people close to him and his family, it is important for Gallegos to increase awareness. He said that, if by fighting in the cage, he can help someone, young or old, forget about a minute of pain, he feels like he has accomplished something real.

Gallegos is hardly the punk kid he used to be.

While Gallegos does not like to dwell on past fights too much, he does believe that he learns ten times more from a loss than he does from a win. He recalls one of his early fights against Victor O’Donnell, in which he lost a close decision. In that fight, Gallegos essentially knocked O’Donnell out, and when he chased him to the canvas to finish him, he woke O’Donnell up. O’Donnell slapped a triangle on him that sent Gallegos off to dreamland, only to be hit by a shot to the face that not only broke his sleep, but also broke his nose. He was able to escape, and the fight went the distance. But from that fight, Gallegos says he gained a brother in O’Donnell.

This mentality seems to be the way Gallegos approaches all of his fights. This weekend, he will be facing C.T. Turner in what has the makings of the fight of the night. Remember that first fight Zeena set up for Gallegos? That was against Turner. The two had a great match that Gallegos won in the second round by referee stoppage. Gallegos has only compliments to offer about Turner, noting that Turner is a good guy and has been nothing but respectful. He acknowledges that pride may be on the line for Turner, but he refuses to focus on that. Gallegos began training for this fight after taking only three days off after his last fight in February. If he was not training, he would go crazy, he says.

Gallegos has become a skilled boxer and feels he has the edge over Turner in the striking game, though he was careful to imply no offense to Turner, noting that Turner’s power was not something to be taken lightly. In fact, Gallegos acknowledged that Turner, who excels in Brazilian jiu jitsu, has the advantage on the ground. While Gallegos prides himself on being well-rounded and usually trains the same way for every fight, he was not shy in expressing that he has worked more than normal on his ground game and on judo throws in preparation for this fight. That being said, he is not afraid to fight this fight on the mat and would love to silence those who criticize his ground game.

Gallegos puts the utmost importance on cardio when training for a fight. He is prepared to go the distance every time he enters the cage. And to make sure his cardio never suffers, Gallegos walks around only 8-10 lbs. over his fighting weight of 185lbs. He peaks in training about two and a half weeks before a fight and tones things down for the last week to week-and-a-half to let his body rest and energize.

The XFC has been good to Gallegos. This will be his second professional fight with the organization, and he hopes to negotiate a longer contract with them. This is a testament to the type of operation John Prisco runs.

Gallegos will be sporting his Fight for Life USA gear this weekend. Hopefully he will be displaying a new walk-out shirt that FFLUSA developed exclusively for him, though certain sponsorship issues may prevent that from happening. Either way, Gallegos will ensure that someone is wearing the new shirt, in the name of getting the Fight for Life USA message out there.

Gallegos did want to thank the following people: his fiancée, Zeena; Brent and Scott from Fight for Life USA, for the opportunity to do something great for the sport and for other people; Darrin Van Horn; Larry Combs and Darren Durham from Submit Pit; Rob Nickerson from Reaction Fight Team. his endurance coach, Willie Ray from No Limits; Jimmy Ovadi from Abajujitsu; and the people from FightTicker.com. (I can assure you it was I that should be, and was, thanking him.)

Julio Gallegos ought to be celebrated for what he has accomplished, not only in the cage (8-2 amateur, 1-0 professional), but also in life. He may only reluctantly accept such praise, which should endear him to his fans more. He represents everything that is right in MMA. Gallegos will undoubtedly make a great husband and father, and he is an outstanding role model for anyone who has faced adversity and seeks to overcome it, whether that person is a fighter or not. Gallegos will always remember what created that angry kid he used to be. And because of that, he is the man he is today.
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Mike Menninger’s note: Julio was nothing but gracious in taking the time to talk to me. The article practically wrote itself. All the personal information contained in this article was told to me directly by Julio, and he allowed me to put it in print. I truly am grateful for the opportunity to get to know him.

Tags: Featured, Gerardo Julio Gallegos, Profiles, XFC

Category: Featured, Profiles