Issue 125

February 2015

Former WEC title challenger and reformed bar-room brawler Chance Farrar is using a lifetime of experience to mold stars of the future.

Chance Farrar believes in bringing life experience to his fighters. And there is plenty the 39-year-old head coach of Yuma MMA can bring – hailing from the University of Life.

At one time, the former WEC featherweight title challenger had a penchant for what he describes as not being able to back down from any fight – even outside the realms of MMA. His day job as a border patrol officer working for Homeland Security gave him an insight, which he is passing on meticulously to a group of professional mixed martial artists under his watchful eye.

Yuma MMA is based in Yuma, Arizona, naturally, on the Mexican border. It’s a blue-collar, farming area. Wrestling and MMA predominate, and many of the best athletes are gravitating towards the gym.

Farrar has become an exemplary figure in the last four or five years since he gave up fighting in the paid ranks. His experience is now being used to develop a new crop of fighters, most notably rising UFC welterweight Kelvin Gastelum. 

“I think a lot of the young athletes are looking for a broader, father figure-type coach,” he explains to Fighters Only. “As coaches, as professionals, we should always try to fill those roles. I’m extremely honored to fulfill that role.

“They can always come to me with concerns. I see a lot of my youth in them, so I feel like I have firsthand experience and firsthand knowledge of a lot of what they’re going to go through, be it performance anxiety or pressure, whatever you want to call it. 

“I’ve been there, I understand it. I understand getting beat and dealing with defeat and having to come back from it. They don’t have to say what they’re feeling, I kind of already know.” 

Farrar used to be a tearaway, he admits, but now, as a father of five children aged 11 and down, he is reveling in a growing maturity and wisdom. “As far as adolescence is concerned, trying to stay on track and dealing with all these testosterone drives you have, it always takes someone to try and pull you back in and keep you on track.”

“Being a father has definitely matured me. It’s great that now I have a reserved side and I’m not as impulsive. I can still understand the volatile nature of young men, but I can keep them on the right path.” 

Why did he fight so often, in and outside of a combat arena? “I was a prideful person, just like most of the fighters in the sport. It’s about being the bigger person, maturing, recognizing that nothing’s really worth handling those problems in certain ways.”

“If somebody looked at me wrong on the wrong night, they were going to go down. It’s embarrassing looking back on it because I was kind of immature. Fights were something regular, and by fights I mean fist fights and bar fights. These things were very common growing up during my later high school and college years and even my mid-twenties. I’m not proud of it, but I never shied away from it. The sport wasn’t what is now back then, so I didn’t have the focus.” 

Sit with Farrar today, however, and it’s like conversing with a wise, ninja monk. “As I get older I really start to appreciate intellect a lot more. I wish I were a smarter guy. I’ve been knocked out so many times, I don’t really have that witty brain,” he jokes. “I have a fighting brain. But I still appreciate higher thinking and I strive to be that type of mentor to these guys. I want to help them through their journey.

“The change only happened about five years ago when I stopped trying to be an athlete. My wife basically told me no more fighting. I struggled for the first year, and was still trying to get my workouts in, but then I understood that when I saw my guys doing well it made me more proud than even my own achievements. That pushed me towards being a better coach to these guys.” 

Farrar built a pro record of 8-3-1 between 2005 and 2010 alongside his full-time border patrol work. He still has the day job where he enforces immigration laws and stops terrorists. “In short, we prevent the bad guys from entering the country,” he says. That mind-set helps, no doubt, when putting strategic plans together for fighters, upcoming opponents, and camps. 

Running Yuma MMA means Farrar is living life to the full. He dreamed of leading a team of champions and since 2007 that’s been his goal. The gym opened in a warehouse on the outskirts of town. Mats, bags and a ring have moved around rented spaces until they arrived at their new downtown home. 

The team has grown from humble beginnings to boast 12 pros including UFC fighters Edgar Garcia, Efrain Escudero and the star pupil – undefeated TUF winner Gastelum.

“Kelvin Gastelum came into the gym when he was 17 years old and I remember sparring with him on that first day,” says Farrar. “He was a tough kid back then, he was a driven wrestler. Wrestling’s a big deal and Kelvin became a state champion. He went off to wrestle in college and in between semesters he would train with us. He always had that drive and passion. We always knew he’d go on and do great things. But he’s really outperformed all of our expectations.” 

Everything points to success for Chance Farrar’s ‘sixth’ baby, Yuma MMA. But he’s not after the plaudits. “I’ve always been a behind the scenes guy. I have no desire to be recognized in any way for anything. I don’t do this for notoriety. I just do it because I care for these guys. I want it to remain that way for as long as possible.” Given his developing crop of fighters, he might not stay under the radar for long.