Ryan Castro Fights Manny “Rage” Gomez At ECF 5 for Lightweight TItle
This Sunday, Extreme Cage Fighting 5 “Going May Ham” takes place in Astoria, Queens at the Melrose Ballroom. East West MMA’s Ryan Castro will be entering the cage against Manny “Rage” Gomez for the 155-pound lightweight ECF title. The Melrose Ballroom doors swing open at 3 p.m. and the first bout jumps off immediately at 3 p.m. EST.
Castro (4-1), trains out of the Coram, long Island gym, East West MMA. Castro, much like his teammate Moore (7-1), are amateurs that spend 5-7 days a week at the gym training as if they’re professional fighters. Castro has been training now for over a year at East West MMA under Head Coach Bobby Beltran, and fight for 8 months.
“A week of training camp consists of strength and conditioning at Team Extreme in Ronkonkoma! Those guys push me hard everyday, they have a really tough program and are one of my team’s sponsors.” Castro said, discussing his week of training with My MMA News. In addition to training at his two gyms, he also runs and lifts weights at his normal fitness gym. “Then I’ll train with my team for many hours at East West (East West MMA), where we are always training and sparring with everything on a daily basis.”
Castro, 22, has goals short and long-term goals set for himself. His short-term goals are to win the ECF lightweight title, and to make his presence known on the amateur level by dominating all of his foe’s. Castro’s long-term goals are to turn professional within the next year and one day to ultimately become a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championships) champion.
The East Patchogue native will be turning 23 on June 2, was expected to fight this past Saturday at MMA Platinum Gloves 9 until his opponent decided on the day of the fight not to show up, even though he arrived to the weigh-ins the night before. “To be Honest I don’t really know how to change that. My job is to train, fight, and be ready every time I agree to a fight. I expect my opponents to do the same but regardless the outcome I stay focused and leave it in the hands of the promotion.”
The orthodox fighter is a stocky 5’7″ fighter that cuts down to 155-pounds to fight. He walks around at 175-pounds and weighed in over 200-pounds due to lifting before he became involved in mixed martial arts. Castro passes everyone’s eye-test when he enters the cage. Then the fight begins. He’s a tough individual that loves to stay in the thickness of the action.
“My favorite way to finish a fight is definitely by submission. I get more satisfaction out of tapping my opponents out rather then knocking them out.” Said Castro. Most wrestlers and grapplers will explain to you the satisfaction of knowing that you can prove your dominance onto an opponent by taking them down and submitting them. Which is why this is an intriguing answer by Castro, because of his known striking skills. It gives fans a sense of what level of mental toughness Ryan Castro has.
Castro is a tough individual that isn’t afraid of standing with a foe or bringing the action to the canvas. He’s known for his boxing skills and heart inside the cage. Accompanied with great cardio, Castro makes for exciting action anytime he steps inside the cage.
Be sure to catch his lightweight ECF title fight this Sunday at the Melrose Ballroom in Astoria, Queens, New York. To Purchase tickets to ECF 5, visit www.extremecagefighting.com or call 347.743.2539. Be sure to return to MyMMANews.com for the results of Ryan Castro’s ECF 5 155-pound title bout.
