Welcome to my site. My name is Fernando Rivera. I was born and raised in
Hartford, CT. Being raised in a tough city, from gangs to prison, I had a
pretty up and down life. My story is a long one. If I were to put it all on
here, you'd either be entertained or die of boredom. I may have lived on this
planet 37 years. But, most people that do what I do now, are looking at
retiring soon. I am only beginning.
I was introduced into Martial Arts at the age of seven. My dad thought that I
would be okay on the streets if I knew how to kick ass. So, he put me into
Tae Kwon Do. I did that for almost ten years. This made me a hell of a street
fighter.
Throughout my youth I got involved with several other martial arts. I fell in
love with anything that had to do with it. I did some Judo and Hapkido too.
When The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the scene, I felt the
sport was made for me. I had to get involved. As the years passed and my
involvement with the street life caused me to do some prison time, I felt I
needed to do something I knew I would be very comfortable doing.
Especially if I wanted to live to be a ripe old age.
About six years ago, I decided to move to Worcester, MA to make positive
changes in my life. i got a job and enrolled in an American Kenpo Karate
school up the street from my house. Being that I had extensive martial arts
background, I ranked pretty fast.
I earned my Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate May 6th of 2008.
While browsing the web, I came across an am league looking for fighters.
Hell, I signed up. I then signed up for any and all that would accept
applications. Soon after, a pro league out of the Boston, MA area, the WFL
was the first to call me. When asked what team I belonged to, I gave my
Karate's school name East West Kenpo Karate. That was the birth of Team
EWKK...
Hartford, CT. Being raised in a tough city, from gangs to prison, I had a
pretty up and down life. My story is a long one. If I were to put it all on
here, you'd either be entertained or die of boredom. I may have lived on this
planet 37 years. But, most people that do what I do now, are looking at
retiring soon. I am only beginning.
I was introduced into Martial Arts at the age of seven. My dad thought that I
would be okay on the streets if I knew how to kick ass. So, he put me into
Tae Kwon Do. I did that for almost ten years. This made me a hell of a street
fighter.
Throughout my youth I got involved with several other martial arts. I fell in
love with anything that had to do with it. I did some Judo and Hapkido too.
When The Ultimate Fighting Championship came to the scene, I felt the
sport was made for me. I had to get involved. As the years passed and my
involvement with the street life caused me to do some prison time, I felt I
needed to do something I knew I would be very comfortable doing.
Especially if I wanted to live to be a ripe old age.
About six years ago, I decided to move to Worcester, MA to make positive
changes in my life. i got a job and enrolled in an American Kenpo Karate
school up the street from my house. Being that I had extensive martial arts
background, I ranked pretty fast.
I earned my Black Belt in American Kenpo Karate May 6th of 2008.
While browsing the web, I came across an am league looking for fighters.
Hell, I signed up. I then signed up for any and all that would accept
applications. Soon after, a pro league out of the Boston, MA area, the WFL
was the first to call me. When asked what team I belonged to, I gave my
Karate's school name East West Kenpo Karate. That was the birth of Team
EWKK...
I weighed 245 pounds for my first fight. I was
still smoking cigarettes at the time. I won my
first pro fight. Apparently the guy I was
fighting got tired before I did. That was an
awesome feeling. I then realized that I did in
fact find something I can do for a while...
My second fight was to David Woodby. This is
when I realized that my first fight was in fact
a pro fight. David was the victor in that
battle. Since then, Dave and I became close
friends and training partners. We then
decided that we would join forces. Team
EWKK - Hoodlum MMA Fighting Systems was
created,. (EWKK standing for East West
Kenpo Karate at time the school I was in).
People ask, “Why Hoodlum”? Well, the word
Hoodlum is a term for being street tough. It
derived from a gang’s or group’s call to unite,
“Huddle’em” and ready themselves for a
fight... We thought it was perfect. It stuck.
As you look through my site, you will see any
and all that is me. The real Fernando Rivera.
From my experiences in my up and down life
to the life I have created for myself and my
family now. Any one who says they can’t
make their dreams come true is just lying to
themselves.
Enjoy...
still smoking cigarettes at the time. I won my
first pro fight. Apparently the guy I was
fighting got tired before I did. That was an
awesome feeling. I then realized that I did in
fact find something I can do for a while...
My second fight was to David Woodby. This is
when I realized that my first fight was in fact
a pro fight. David was the victor in that
battle. Since then, Dave and I became close
friends and training partners. We then
decided that we would join forces. Team
EWKK - Hoodlum MMA Fighting Systems was
created,. (EWKK standing for East West
Kenpo Karate at time the school I was in).
People ask, “Why Hoodlum”? Well, the word
Hoodlum is a term for being street tough. It
derived from a gang’s or group’s call to unite,
“Huddle’em” and ready themselves for a
fight... We thought it was perfect. It stuck.
As you look through my site, you will see any
and all that is me. The real Fernando Rivera.
From my experiences in my up and down life
to the life I have created for myself and my
family now. Any one who says they can’t
make their dreams come true is just lying to
themselves.
Enjoy...
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Matt Hammil and I... |
| Jorge Rivera and I |
| Ex UFC Champ Rich Franklin and I |
Listen to internet radio with MMA With The Solid One on Blog Talk Radio