The beauty of the sport that is MMA is that fighters come to the cage from all backgrounds. The sport attracts everything from athletes in other spots and wrestlers to teachers and blue collar workers. While some paths are more common than others, there is no ‘right’ way to come to MMA.
BFL heavyweight champion Caio Machado may been seen as a hot prospect now, but once upon a time, a career in MMA seemed pretty unlikely to all who knew him. However, it was always kind of right there for him.
“I went throw two and a half – almost three – years of law school back home. I was doing that and while I was doing that I was training in Brazil. I was doing BJJ, muay thai – I always kept training,” Machado explained. “But I realized at some point that being a lawyer, working in an office, wasn’t for me.”
When he decided that he needed a change of pace, Canada was a natural spot to look. The Brazilian-born fighter had spent time in high school as an exchange student north of the border, and loved him time there. A move there in adulthood helped him realize that it’s where he belongs on a more permanent basis.
“I wasn’t clear what would be my next step. I talked with my parents and searched around – and I was looking for opportunities to work abroad, study abroad, and kind of get a fresh perspective and get out of my city, get out of my same routine,” he shared. “That’s what brought me to Vancouver. I had a great time here. Through all the time I was here, I knew I was in the right place, but I wasn’t sure why I was here.”
After arriving he looked for a place to start training the martial arts he’s always loved. He found Franco Kickboxing Pankration and the coaching of Chris Franco. Shortly after he was in a cage and never looking back.
“When I got my first opportunity to get into the cage, I knew at that spot, this is what I’m doing,” Machado said. “Staying in Canada was just a matter of, I like my coaches, I like my team that I have. I met a really special girl that is my fiance right now, Gabby, and my son was born here.”
Of course there was still the matter of explaining to his parents that he was staying in Canada to fight professionally. While it wasn’t easy to explain in words to them what he was doing, he continues to try to prove it to them, and everyone else, with his actions.
“At first they didn’t agree with me, they didn’t understand. They took it as, ‘oh, it’s a hobby, but when are you going to start actually working?” he recalled. “I told them, that’s the career. That’s the job. I know I have something pretty special here and if you give me a chance I’ll prove to you and the rest of the world – that’s what I’ve been trying to do since.”
He looks to take a big step towards proving it when he steps into the cage in the Apex this Tuesday. Machado takes on Kevin Szaflarski on the first week of Dana White’s Contender Series with a UFC contract on the line.
You can hear the entire audio of this interview at 2:25.
