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Fatherhood and fighting comes easy to veteran Rebello PhilBoxing.com Thu, 04 Aug 2016 PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Aug. 4th, 2016) -- With a second child added to the household just four months ago, Greg Rebello has finally gotten the hang of balancing fatherhood with fighting. After admittedly struggling the first time around, which affected his performance in the cage, the 34-year-old Providence native is now raising a soon-to-be 4-year-old daughter and a 4-month-old son without missing a beat as he prepares to face Tennessee's Ashley Gooch on Friday, Aug. 12th, 2016 for the vacant CES MMA Heavyweight Title on the main card of "CES MMA 37" live on AXS TV from Twin River Casino. Everything has changed for the Rebello family; business is booming for his wife, Nicole, a former fitness model who runs Body Rock Fitness & Nutrition in nearby Lincoln, and Rebello (20-6, 12 KOs) is in the midst of a four-fight win streak in his post-retirement renaissance. "It's a hell of a lot easier," said Rebello, who's second child, Cameron, was born just two weeks following his knockout win over Keith Bell in March. "Put it this way: I haven't missed or come close to missing one single training session because I had to watch my kid. We have a lot of help. It hasn't been an issue at all like it was the first time." His daughter, Mya, was born six days before his scheduled bout against Chris Guillen in 2012. Rebello won that fight, but the responsibilities of fatherhood pulled him further and further away from his career in MMA. He hit rock bottom a year later in a loss to Lewis Rumsey, prompting him to announce his retirement in the cage moments after the fight. It wasn't until his daughter got older that Rebello realized he still had enough left in the tank to make one more run as long as he rededicated his free time to training. He returned to MMA in December of 2013 and has since won five of six fights, including three in a row by knockout on AXS TV, making him a fan favorite both with AXS' worldwide audience and commentators Pat Miletich and Michael Schiavello. With his Muay Thai as sharp as ever at the age of 34, Rebello's fights are now must-see TV. Next Friday's showdown with Gooch figures to be just as entertaining as the rest. He and Rebello have combined for 18 knockouts in their 29 wins. Gooch has won his last six, all by knockout or submission, so the possibility of this fight lasting five full rounds is a long shot. "[CES MMA matchmaker] Pat Sullivan doesn't pay us by the hour," quipped Rebello. "If he paid us by the hour, I'd stay there all night." The 6-foot-3 Gooch (9-4, 6 KOs) is still relatively unknown in the northeast, but he made a strong first impression in January on the main card of "CES MMA 32" when he submitted former Bellator vet Josh Diekmann via rear-naked choke at 4 minutes, 30 seconds of the opening round on AXS TV. "I knew I was the underdog going in," Gooch said. "They never bring in an out-of-town guy to win." Rebello worked Diekmann's corner in that fight, so he caught a first-hand glimpse of what Gooch brings to the table, though he doesn't think it'll mean much when the bell rings next Friday. "Josh Diekmann trained three times for that fight. He was coming off two knee surgeries. He literally was 10 percent in that fight," Rebello said. "I knew myself and Josh knew that if it went to the ground Josh just wasn't healthy enough to be able to do anything down there. As soon as that fight hit the ground, I knew it was over. "If that was the Josh Diekmann who fought Mike Wessel for Bellator, he would've put Gooch to sleep." In order to finish what Diekmann started, Rebello will rely on the same footwork and fast hands that carried him in his last four fights. Though he and Gooch have a tendency to finish their opponents, their styles are polar opposites. "Gooch is kind of a guy who goes straight forward with those fucking terrible punches. I'm more of the guy who sets it up," he said. "I use my feints and my footwork. I kind of take a different approach to make guys play into my element." His fight against Mike Mucitelli, in which Rebello coaxed his opponent into coming forward and then knocked him cold with a well-timed overhand left, is a perfect example. "The thing is I kept punching and moving backwards and moving in and just kind of every time he attacked I circled out and he just basically walked into one of my shots," Rebello recalled. "The same thing happened against Keith Bell, but he's a big heavyweight like Gooch and I think he just got tired of chasing me around and got frustrated. That's when he started moving backwards and if you start moving backwards with me the fight's going to be over." Gooch returns to Rhode Island next Friday in a familiar role as the underdog against Rebello, who has nearly three times as much experience as a professional. Born in Tennessee, Gooch spent several years living with a friend in Denver, where he linked up with the late Mauricio Zingano and his wife, former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) standout Cat Zingano. When he decided to leave Colorado to move to Arizona, Zingano referred him to the head instructor at The MMA Lab in Glendale, John Crouch. The rest is history. "I've fought on AXS TV before and I've had big wins on AXS before, so I don't let the whole TV thing bother me very much. I'm just glad people are able to see me that usually don't get to see me because I'm from the east coast, but I live on the west coast," Gooch said. "It's a title fight, so there's a lot on the line for Greg. I figure he'll bring his best. It's not really d?j? vu. It's a different fighter, a different day, a different scenario, and different things on the line. Like I said, every fight is different. Greg is a tough guy. Hat's off to him. If I was a fan, I'd definitely be looking forward to this fight." With the way these two finish opponents, this could be the Fight of the Night, even if it doesn't last that long. "I've fought every opponent possible, every size," Rebello said. "Nothing Gooch brings to the table is going to be any surprise to me." Tickets for "CES MMA 37" are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesmma.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change. Rebello-Gooch is one of three, five-round title bouts on the main card. Woonsocket, R.I., native Andre Soukhamthath (10-3, 6 KOs), now fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla., defends his CES MMA Bantamweight Title for the first time against Cambridge, Mass., vet Kin Moy (8-2, 2 KOs) in the main event, a rematch of their back-and-forth war in January of 2014 in which Moy won by unanimous decision. Stafford Springs, Conn., vet Matt Bessette (19-7, 5 KOs) battles Stephen Cervantes (6-1) of Albuquerque, N.M., for the vacant CES MMA Featherweight Title. Also on the AXS TV main card, middleweight Chuck O'Neil (16-8, 5 KOs) of Bourne, Mass., faces Roy Jones (7-4, 3 KOs) of Waterloo, Iowa, and featherweight Joe Pingitore (6-2-1, 2 KOs) of Johnston, R.I., returns to network television for the fourth time when he faces Bill Jones (12-10, 3 KOs) of Somersworth, N.H. The preliminary card features four exciting bouts, highlighted by a middleweight showdown between Berkeley, Mass., vet Pat McCrohan (2-0, 1 KO) and Russian Ruslan Melikov (3-1), fighting out of Fairfield, N.J. Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (1-0) faces Turtle Creek, Pa., native Roosevelt Archie (0-1); Boston lightweight Devin Carrier (1-1, 1 KO) battles Holbrook, Mass., native Connor Barry (1-0); and Dylan Lockard of Derry, N.H., makes his professional debut against Seldon, N.Y., featherweight Mak Kelleher (1-2). Quincy, Mass., middleweight Mike Rodriguez (3-1, 1 KO) will be featured in a separate three-round bout against an opponent to be determined. Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/ces.mma for more information and use the hashtag #CES37 to join the conversation.  |
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