Huerta Turns Down UFC Contract Extension to Pursue Acting and Modeling
(Who could forget Roger's haunting performance as Edward Wooferhands? Image courtesy of Orion Car Audio.)
Shocking news from Sherdog: UFC lightweight star Roger Huerta has turned down a five-fight contract extension in order to pursue a career in acting and modeling. "El Matador" has one more fight on his current contract, which he plans to fulfill sometime this year, and may eventually return to the UFC. But for the time being, his interests lie elsewhere:
Though Huerta built his name in the UFC with five straight victories in 2007, his only Octagon appearance last year was his decision loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 87 in August. One reason for the lack of cage activity was the layoff he took to be in the video-game-to-movie adaptation Tekken (out this fall), in which he plays Miguel "El Matador" Rojo. Huerta's new three-movie development deal with Lion's Gate films could keep him busy in the future, but for the time being, Huerta plans to supplement his income with appearances and seminars while he takes acting classes. Sherdog also reveals that Huerta turned down a fight against Joe Stevenson at UFC 95 (February 21st, London) due to "personal family issues"; Stevenson will instead take on Diego Sanchez in the card's main event.
Kudos, I guess, to Roger for chasing his dream, but he may be deluding himself if he thinks "the fighting will always be there." Quitting his life as a full-time mixed martial artist for a few years means he'll be starting from scratch if/when he decides to return to the UFC — both in terms of his development as a fighter and his place on the lightweight ladder. Liddell and Couture are exceptions to the rule that fighting is a young man's game; you can't assume that your prime as an athlete begins at age 30.
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Comments
mayhem420 Says:
Ha! After being in one movie thats just doomed to suck and this guy wants to go into acting full time? Good luck Rodger! Next thing you will see him in XXX 4 The Mexican Connection.
NealTaflinger Says:
I can't say I am surprised. The reality is that Huerta could make three movies a year as a D-list actor and pull in more than he could fighting without the wear and tear on his body. If he really loves MMA he'll come back and be more valuable for having the exposure through film. If he doesn't that's OK, too.
razzle469 Says:
Good luck to him. The man is chasing his dreams and he should be respected for it. It's not like the UFC is giving its fighters health benefits and good money.
A man's gotta make a living the best way he can.
xocgx Says:
Dude, I guarantee he will make more money in 1 crappy movie than he would from a year of fighting.
Jack Black once commented on how his real love is music, but 1 movie role pays more than Tenacious D will ever see forever (or something).
Not to mention all the freebies, etc that come with it. I imagine his new friends from that 70's show gave him a taste of what is out there.
Anonymous Says:
Must be a huge roll in the movie, it's not even listed on the imdb page. Scarred security guard is listed but "Miguel Rojo' isn't. Good luck Rog.
Maud Says:
Hopefully they will make a "Newsies II: Return of Crutchy", and Roger can slide right in.
Teila Tuli's Tooth Says:
LOL @ "Newsies II: Return of Crutchy"
Carlos Says:
What a meat snorkel
Douchebaggery Says:
not a bad move. take some time off and make some quick money. Save his looks for a few years. maybe by the time he comes back Bj will have retired
Jay Says:
Roger's gonna end up as Verne Troyer's fluffer.
Ray Dove Says:
If you thought I was a douch, then you are right...but Huerta is a TOTAL DOUCHE
Dakyn Says:
LOL, I can see it now.
Fan-girl: "oh my God! hey aren't you Roger Huerta? "El Matador" the cage fighter?
Huerta: *attempts Queen's-English accent and fails miserably* "No! I am Roger Huerta - The Actor(pronounced Act-Or).
Fan-girl: "oh what films have you been in?"
Huerta: "Nevermind"
England Rules Says:
I wonder if he'd of made this decison if he'd of beaten Ken Flo...
Thoughts Says:
I remember when Jordan thought that Baseball was a good idea...
Patrick Says:
Haters.
koeikan@gmail.com Says:
Well, I used to be a fan.
Anyway, MMA is still growing and if he doesn't continue to work at it, he'll be left behind. He may have burned his bridge with the UFC, but if he didn't, if he's out for more than 2 years, I don't think we'll ever see a return to form.
Why didn't he pull a Cung Le (or Couture to a lesser extent), and fight in between acting jobs?
For a guy who is young and on the cusp being a contender, I hope he stays at it, or we may never hear MMA news about Roger Huerta again.
Derekrva Says:
Man what a bad idea...
...Joe Stevenson vs. Diego Sanchez as a main event that is... I would rather watch another video game I love become another movie I hate i.e The Thomas Crown Affair.
Surfin Dave Says:
And after
starringappearing in a couple of straight-to-DVD movies, he'll start his own clothing line and sell his own cologne. Oh, and don't forget his foray into music, the new Tejano Rap-style he's going to make popular!emo sux Says:
As long as Huerta stays away from trying to be a singer, I'll have nothing against him...
cleanshirt Says:
that's pretty cool, good luck to huerta - it's hard to remember that MMA fighters are people and not just one-dimensional animals locked in a cage for our amusement....Even though playing your first role as a...one dimensional animal locked in a cage for our amusement probably won't help you "bust out" of the typecast all that well. Oh well, there's always Newsies II ^^ haha.
armfarmer Says:
After getting schooled by guida for 2 1/2 rounds and getting stomped by kenflo he probably realized that he isn't as good as his hype and will never fight for a title.
kazanski Says:
The dude is to small to even be a womans model. One loss and he runs away. What is he going to do when he doesnt get a role he auditions for?
Jay Smith Says:
That's the one thing boxing still has over MMA. It's ability to pay top contenders multi-millions for fights with other top contenders. I don't think more than 1 or 2 guys have actually made more than 1 million dollars for a fight. I can only think of 1, and I'm not 100% sure about that (The Natural? And that included bonuses). In my opinion, the Huerta/Florian fight should have easily brought them both close to a mil at least, but didn't. Have you seen Dana's and Lorenzo's houses??? C'mon guys, it's time to share the wealth before all you become is a stepping stone to make guys recognizable to people that are willing to pay more money for easier and less work which, is gonna totally fuck up the " one-dimensional animals locked in a cage" sport that I've come to know and love.
Higgz Says:
He has Tito Ortiz Syndrome.
Greg Kelly Says:
Tekken is going to be sooooo awesome! It's starring Cung Le as "Marshall Law" and Jevon Miller as "Angry Fighter Reject!"
I'm a douche.
Anonymous Says:
where's the picture of him in a chicken suit????
Old, Bald and Irish Says:
@ koeikan@gmail.com
Pull a 'Cung Li' you say? Huerta is doing EXACTLY what Cung is doing. Cung hasn't fought since he smashed 'Shammy. You know why? He's doing movies full time. Just like Roger. Don't expect to see Cung back in the ring until at least 2010. Seriously. He's got something like 4 films lined up and he's working on Yuen Woo Ping's (fight director for "The Matrix", "Crouching Tiger") latest directorial effort in Hong Kong.
I wouldn't be surprised if Cung doesn't fight professionaly again. Too bad. He's awesome in the ring and seems like a cool dude.
Scrambled Eggs Says:
Good for Roger. He's going to make more $ as a bit actor, without killing himself. Win-win for him, so long as he doesn't crave a spotlight. Anyone who doesn't hope for the best for this guy is just selfish.
Rogers Head Says:
Roger is going bald. He better get himself a transplant if he plans on saving his "good looks".
Lysol Says:
Roughly 70 years ago, in the NFL, the first ever draft pick never played a down because he got a job in real estate and realized he could make more money doing that.
It'll be interesting to look back at this 70 years from now as well, assuming XARM doesn't wipe out MMA.
Bootylam! Says:
Huerta's right to do it this way. He needs to do it while he's still pretty. MMA isn't the place to be if you need to stay easy on the eyes. Hell, most of the guys are butt ugly before they even start fighting.
Kadumel Says:
Ew Bootylam... That was a very homoerrotic statement you just made...
Bootylam! Says:
And yours very homophobic. What's homo about the truth? If you think about it too long ALL of MMA can seem homocentric. All this talk of being naked in the rear, taking a guy's back, mounting him, choking a guy off... I mean out, the body shaving, it goes on and on. Why worry about what seems gay?
Anonymous Says:
$10 says he's back in a few months!
www.fromthecage.com
Jason G Says:
Don't hate on him. He just knows B.J. is his daddy. It would be a small LW division if more realized this though.
Anonymous Says:
Stop hating on Roger Huerta. This kid literally grew up fighting because he was physically abused by his parents, step parents, and other people. If you had seen the special UFC did on him, it probably would have brought a tear to your eye to see the shit he's been through.
I say kudos to him for chasing his dreams and wanting more to life than fighting. Don't get me wrong, I love watching great UFC/Pride/etc fights, but I won't hate on a guy for having other interests. We've already seen him in the cage as a great fighter. We should wish him well as he progresses to the next stage in his life.
Kaibo Says:
I loved this guy so much. Fuck this shit. He's a sellout, I never want to see him compete again.
Senor Tampon Says:
Huerta.....my spic brother...i will miss you
dirtyturd Says:
This is the best move he can possibly make, as a fighter he was good, had a nice streak but come on he was truly never the poster child of mma as some mags made him out to be. He had some good showing but Kenflo killed it for him as Kenflo will do to anyonee standing in his way. He is an image and nothing more which is exactly what HollyWood is all about.
Crittino Says:
For every Randy or Chuck out there, there's a 44 year old Ken Shamrock getting his ass kicked.
Hornyhobo Says:
I guess he wants to do more with his life, seeing as he's really really extremely good looking.
Lodz Says:
So Huerta was a prissy little peacock all along?
Shocking.
where's-my-redbull? Says:
it always amazes me how little 90% of the UFC fighters get paid... but, for fans, thats good, because the money gets put back into the company, making sure theres alot of fights. to make alot of $$$ in the UFC, you need ,,,A-to fight often and B- to demolish the people you fight. its a simple equation. affliction pays higher, but does a show every 6 months..... so, i dont blame Huerta even a little bit. he's 1-1 in fights against tough competition. the Guida fight was one of my favorites of that year, and he showed alot of heart squeaking out a win, and Florian owned him. it's allllllllllllllll about the Benjamin's.
Anonymous Says:
it's not fair to criticize him for taking this fight. i'm sure he's thinking about his future financial security because your career as a fighter is only limited to so many years and ufc fighters dont make enough money to live off of for the rest of their lives. i'll bet we're going to see alot of broke former ufc stars in 10-20 years. anyway, right now he can make more money on a film set than in a cage.