EVERETT, Wash. --
It was a long ways from his amateur debut, but Fernando Heredia didn't feel any different walking into the mixed martial arts cage during a Sparta Combat League event Feb. 21 at the Xfinity Arena in Everett, Washington.
Heredia, a Joint Base Lewis-McChord Army sergeant in the 56th Multifunctional Medical Battalion, walked with a spotlight on him as he entered the arena with "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash playing. It was the same entrance song he used in his last six fights at smaller venues around the South Sound region -- including his first fight at an in-school bout at the United Training Center in Olympia.
He was the first to come out during his bout against Chris Aparicio, a former Army scout. Heredia waited quietly, pointing to the tattoo on his back that says "No Mercy" -- which is also his fighting nickname listed on the match card -- during his opponent's introduction.
"You're getting into another cage and fight," Heredia said about what he thinks about before a fight. "Either you win or I win -- no mercy."
Seconds after the opening bell, Heredia launched himself toward Aparicio with a flying knee that took everyone in the crowd by surprise. Aparicio did connect one of his kicks in defense of another flying knee attempt -- which Heredia admitted he felt, but not the pain.
It didn't take long for Heredia to get a takedown, which was followed by a flurry of punches regardless of whether Aparicio was on his back or stomach. The referee would call the match a technical knockout about 2:27 into the first round that was scheduled for three, five-minute rounds.
"You're amazing adrenaline," he said as he spoke with trainers after the fight. A minute later, the adrenaline started to wear off as his right knee buckled en route to the post-fight physical.
While it was a big win for Heredia's young professional fighting career, he's used to having his arm raised by the referee after a match. Before this bout, he compiled an 8-1 record as an amateur that started in 2013 at the United Training Center in Olympia -- an in-school bout in front of a few hundred fans.
"I train three to four times a day," Heredia said. "I try my best to be the best."
After finishing a post-fight exam from in-house doctors, he walked out still wearing his fight shorts in addition to his "No Mercy" T-shirt with the Chicago skyline on the front -- representing his hometown -- and walked back into the arena. He crossed the floor seats and went up the stairs through the lower bowl, stopped by fans who offered their congratulations after enjoying his pro debut.
On the main concourse of the arena near the top of the stairs, he was greeted by three lieutenants of JBLM's 575th Area Support Medical Company who were there to show their support for one of their Soldiers. Heredia's wife and friends also met up with them to give their own congratulations, as well as folks who used to serve at JBLM who had to meet the fighter who was announced as fighting out of "Fort Lewis."
Since it isn't easy being a fulltime Soldier in the United States Army, at the same time as training to be a professional mixed martial artist, the support is appreciated.
"We definitely want (more service members on our card) -- but it always depends on the chain of command," said Jeff Cinseneros, the chief executive officer of Sparta Combat League based in Colorado. "It tells me that his chain of command has his back while he's following his dreams."
But Heredia has had the support of his unit's chain of command since he told them in 2013 that he was fighting and training on his own time. The main thing he was told could be summed up in three short words of his then commanding officer, Capt. Vern Campigatto -- "Don't get hurt."
First Lieutenant Bryan Guerra, the current executive officer of the 575th ASMC, said the military is moving into using modern combative training as part of the physical fitness program. The goal is for 90 percent of the entire company to reach a Level One status.
"In order for him to keep his skills up to par, the company has allowed him to bring his training to the platoon and I think it will continue on," Guerra said. "On top of his physical training at the gym, when he leads PT, he's able to lead his platoon further."
Heredia said MMA has helped fill the void of wrestling when he was competing for Morton East High School in Cicero, Ill. and spent a semester with Triton College in River Grove, Ill. before he joined the Army.
After being stationed at JBLM, he would join Team Evolution MMA out of Tacoma -- a Brazilian jiu-jitsu academy that has trained other MMA fighters who once served at JBLM and nearby Camp Murray.
Heredia became dedicated after his first fight in 2013, which was the first of seven total fights during that calendar year. Some of his fights were two or three weeks apart. But his dedication to being the best was exemplified in the hours before the official weigh-ins for the show Feb. 20 at the arena. Heredia initially weighed in two pounds above the 165-pound weight mark for the welterweight bout.
He measured out a quarter-mile stretch in downtown Everett near the Xfinity Arena and ran about five miles in total. Heredia then spent time sweating inside a sauna suit leading up to his turn at the weigh-ins, taking it off when there were two other fighters ahead of him.
After drying off the sweat, he stepped on the scale and made the weight at 165 and a half pounds. Victory felt much sweeter considering all of the training and preparations leading up to the actual walk to the cage in his pro debut.
"It just shows that hard work pays off, and you're bound to get what you deserve," Heredia said. "It doesn't stop. Since I'm not hurt at all, I don't plan on slowing down."
Heredia said he hopes his next fight will be in April or May and hopes to update fans through his page at Facebook.com/fernando- nomercyheredia.
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