Fighter making pro debut at 42
Most mixed martial artists make their professional debuts in their 20s. Camarillo, Missouri’s Roy Koyama is making his at age…
Most mixed martial artists make their professional debuts in their 20s.
Camarillo, Missouri’s Roy Koyama is making his at age 42 — fairly ancient in the fight business.
“That’s retirement age, yeah,” Koyama conceded recently at B Real Fitness in Camarillo, where he did his strength and conditioning training for his scheduled fight tonight in Springfield, Mo.
But he hopes to be an inspiration to others his age — and older — that fitness should be a lifelong pursuit.
“I just want to inspire everybody that it doesn’t matter how old you are, it’s state of mind and how much heart you’ve got,” he said. “I’m not doing this to launch an MMA career per se, but just to show people that at any age you can be physically fit enough to do whatever you want.”
He’s on a card that features both MMA fights and boxing matches. The top of the card is a boxing match between Kimbo Slice, the YouTube street brawler who tried his hand at MMA but got released by the UFC in 2010, and Iowa fighter Brian Green.
Koyama is fighting as a lightweight — 155 pounds — against an opponent he says is half his age, L.D. Hunter. But the age difference is not necessarily a disadvantage for Koyama, he said.
“Because I’m sure I’m stronger than him,” Koyama said. “And I’ve been around the block a lot longer.
“So I’m not scared. I’m not nervous. I’m pumped. I’ve got a great opportunity. And I’m not looking to go and get myself hurt, or hurt him. I’m just trying to win. And I think that by stepping into the cage at this age, I’m already winning.”
Born in Hawaii, Koyama moved with his mother to Camarillo when he was 4. He started taking karate at 8 and has been involved with martial arts for much of his life. He was a varsity wrestler at Camarillo High, going undefeated in his freshman year.
He started “tinkering around” with MMA in 2006 and got serious about the sport in the last few years.
Koyama, who works as a personal trainer at B Real Fitness, trained 3-5 hours a day, 5-6 days a week for his professional debut.
In addition to his strength and conditioning regiment at B Real Fitness, he received private training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by three black belts at a Santa Rosa Valley home, worked with a boxing coach at Twin Dragons MMA in Camarillo and also used a nutrition coach After arriving back in Missouri last weekend in advance of his fight, he tuned up his kickboxing with Muay Thai Master Tong Trithara.
Frank Herrera, his strength and conditioning coach, marvels at Koyama making his professional MMA debut at age 42.
“I wish I could do it,” Herrera said. “I’m 38 years old but he has me beat. So, yeah, it’s pretty awesome.”Koyama’s nutrition and wellness coach, April McNally, said he has the body of a teenager.
“His profile on our analysis says he’s like 17,” she said. “According to our profile, that’s his real age, which is amazing.”
Koyama described himself as a well-rounded fighter.
“I can stay on my feet pretty good and if I go to the ground, I can defend myself well and I can get the submission if I need to,” he said. “But I’m not afraid to stand up and fight too.”
Koyama said he was motivated to go pro in part by a video he saw last year on YouTube of Trithara.
“It’s of him at 59 years old, doing 69 perfectly executed Muay Thai kicks within 60 seconds,” he said. “It’s incredible. Every single kick with the same intensity as the first one to the last one and the form perfect all the way through.
“It inspired me that there’s not much I can’t do if I put my mind to it.”