Frank Camacho is returning to the cage after two years following a car wreck.
A separated shoulder and a couple of herniated discs in his neck might sound bad to many but Camacho had a different perspective on the automobile affair. A life-affirming, gratitude-minded perception where he realized things could have gone way worse.
Camacho sees fighting as something he has the privilege to be able to do and all of these circumstances has lead to humble appreciation for the moment-to-moment aspects of life.
The time off really caused Camacho to thoughtfully analyze not just his own body. But also which techniques he was “babying” and which underdeveloped aspects of his game he was previously masking in particular ways.
His opponent Torres is making his Octagon debut at UFC Vegas 54 on May 14th and Camacho gets to interface his shored-up techniques with his. Though he is a UFC neophyte, Camacho knows what he’s getting into once the cage door locks behind him.
“I know he comes from a really good gym,” Camacho told The AllStar.”Tough Mexican cat. I’ve trained with a lot of guys from Mexico and fighting is in their blood. This guy likes to throw leather. He seemed like a wild man back in the day but he looked a little more cleaned up, his fight in the Contender Series. It’s just another fight, man, honestly. Just grateful to get in there and showcase what I’ve been working on the past two years, bro.”
“Imagine out for two years but like three or four fight camps. It’s kind of like oh what’s Frank been doing ? I’ve been working. Maybe I’m not going to go out there and throw spinning back kicks or like flying omoplatas or flying triangles. But I’ve been working. I just can’t wait to go in there and let them fly.”
Camacho’s vision for this upcoming fight isn’t super fixated on a specific outcome. Just focusing on this blank canvas and his chance to paint a portrait in his vision.
“I still wake up in the morning and I still have that fire. One day when I woke up and I was talking to my wife, I was like babe I’ve still got it in me. I still want to do this, I still want to fight. Want to get gritty. Maybe not with my hands down and yelling at my opponent (laughs) type of deal. But man I still love to fight, I still love to scrap. I want to have to dig down deep into my soul when I’m tired. “
“When I’ve got to throw and I’ve got to finish. To get away from that I think is going to be detrimental to my fighting style, you know? I’m not going to try to pump a jab and run away. Maybe I can get the win but that’s not what I’m in there for. I want to implement my game plan. I want to implement what Frank Camacho does. I’ve been working on a bunch of cool little things the past two years and I can’t wait to just showcase it.”
Fighter profile
Frank “The Crank” Camacho is a 32 year old male fighter from Northern Mariana Islands with 22 pro wins and 9 losses. Camacho is scheduled to fight Manuel Torres at UFC Fight Night: Błachowicz vs. Rakić on Saturday, May 14, 2022.
Frank Camacho’s recent form coming into this matchup
Frank Camacho has gone 1-4 in the last 5 professional MMA fights.
- Loss vs Justin Jaynes • KO/TKO R1 0:41 • 2020-06-20
- Loss vs Beneil Dariush • Submission R1 2:02 • 2019-10-26
- Win vs Nick Hein • KO/TKO R2 4:56 • 2019-06-01
- Loss vs Geoff Neal • KO/TKO R2 1:23 • 2018-09-08
- Loss vs Drew Dober • Decision R3 5:00 • 2018-01-27
