Issue 081

Cerrone and Garcia’s TapouT ranch: hoe-down and throw down.

There’s no better place in the world to crash after a hard day’s training than Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone and Leonard ‘Bad Boy’ Garcia’s TapouT Ranch.

Situated just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico conveniently close to the training center of uber-coach Greg Jackson it’s the rootin’est, tootin’est dormitory in all of mixed martial arts.

“We always had people around us coming into the area for training camps and we just thought, ‘Why not find somewhere we can all stay?’

It seems crazy but it’s a good time!” whoops Cerrone himself.

“Then we thought, ‘e’ve got all this land, we should build us a gym too!’” And in true frontier spirit the pair did, by hand, all by themselves. “I’m a master plumber and electrician now,” japes Cerrone. 

Every morning from Monday to Thursday the ranch hands, all guest fighters, head off to Jackson’s nearby for an elite-level session. 

Some time down on the ranch is available to all fighters of a reasonable level of competency, on application.

“The people that come here are pretty serious, there is a screening process,” confirms Cerrone. “You’ve gotta have some fights, you’ve gotta have some knowledge. But come down and get it on. Having new guys come in every month with new looks, and new moves to pass on and train against, helps us too.

But it’s not The Ultimate Fighter house.

If guys come to party, they end up having to leave.” Recreation is on hand in the form of looking after the functioning ranch’s many cattle, horses and pigs.