A world away: UFC fighter and Soldier reunite

By Staff Sgt. Teresa J. Cleveland / Published April 12, 2017
JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va.,

As sweat drips from their brow, grunts can be heard as fists and feet hit punching bags and trainers’ shouts echo off the gym walls. In this moment, two gyms for mixed martial arts in Kailua, O’ahu, Hawaii, are partnering together to train, in the hopes of leading their fighters into the world of UFC and other MMA competitions.

Eleven years later, on April 6, 2017, two of those fighters met again unexpectedly on the opposite side of the continental U.S., at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. One, a UFC fighter who first appeared in mainstream entertainment and media on the reality show “The Ultimate Fighter,” and the other, a U.S. Army combatives instructor.

U.S. Army Spc. Johnathan Cruz, who serves as a Public Health Command, Fort Bragg Atlantic animal care specialist and combatives instructor; and Brad Tavares, an American mixed-martial artist, who competes in the middleweight division of the UFC, both learned their MMA fighting styles while training together in those Hawaii gyms. Although each has utilized their skills in different capacities, they say the fundamentals have remained the same.

“It was crazy when I first walked in today, I didn’t expect to see anybody that I knew,” said Brad Tavares, UFC middleweight fighter. “It was really nice to see someone that I know, and it kind of brought everything back from ‘back in the day’ when we used to train together.”

For Cruz, joining the Army has not only allowed him to support his family and serve his country, but also incorporate MMA when training Soldiers.

“Brad and I were actually talking about how we grew up with that warrior ethos in our head from the MMA training we received,” said Cruz. “So it’s something that I get to use now and incorporate into influencing the young minds of Soldiers, Airmen and Sailors. I get to give these service members a taste of what the warrior ethos is like through mental toughness, physical toughness, body weight exercises and team unity.”

While Soldiers gave demonstrations on different close-quarter combat team techniques, the two friends reminisced on their old stomping grounds and friends who took other paths. They spoke of the similarities and differences between their careers.

“A lot of people have this misinterpretation that we (only) do MMA,” said Cruz. “We have the ability to do that, but we try to gear more towards the operational environment and what we’re going to do in a deployed setting.”

Whether in the ring or downrange, both Tavares and Cruz agreed that having the right mindset and skills are essential for performing hand-to-hand combat in any setting.

“I fight for a living, but I’m in a cage; it’s controlled, its one person that I’m up against, and there are rules in place to keep me protected to a certain extent. I feel really fortunate to be on this trip - to see all these Soldiers. It takes a different type of person to do (what they do),” said Tavares. “I can’t speak to what a Soldier feels before they go to battle or, when they go on deployment, it’s not just a win or a loss on their record -- a loss for them could mean they’re not coming home, or a fellow comrade isn’t coming home, so the stakes are way higher.”

After the combat demonstrations concluded, Cruz and Tavares talked about their past working out together, and after 11 years and almost 5,000 miles away, it is clear the bonds these two fighters made from their training together transcends, not only time and distance, but career paths as well.