KINGSBURG – Alex Hernandez has always been a fighter, facing more than his fair share of battles over the last nine years. After losing his father in 2015, the Kingsburg native suffered an accident a few years later that resulted in the loss of left eye. Hernandez and his family were then further challenged as his stepfather was diagnosed with a brain tumor that he ultimately survived.
Despite the challenges he has faced, Hernandez has continued to show his fighting spirit with a strong wrestling career that has lasted into college. And earlier this summer at 20 years old, the MMA newcomer won his debut at Table Mountain Casino. As he worked hard through the years and accomplished his goals, Hernandez never let his lost eye get in the way.
“I just always had this big heart. I never let that put me down. I never thought that anything different was going to change in my life,” Hernandez said. “I always had to keep my head high and I just kept pushing through it.”
Hernandez’s resiliency led him to MMA fighting about five months ago. He was introduced to the sport by his college wrestling teammates Abraham and Zane Cerda, who took him to the RDC Boxing in Fresno looking to get Hernandez in better shape for wrestling. But with his fighting spirit and as a lover of UFC, Hernandez quickly took to MMA.
“I’ve always loved the fighting world,” Hernandez said. “I had never found the gym or right spot to go and train until finally my buddies introduced me to that gym.”
After only a few months, Hernandez found himself in his first MMA fight held at Table Mountain Casino on June 8. Even though it was his professional debut, Hernandez pulled off the win to start 1-0 in his career. He knew some doubted him because of his missing eye, so getting that victory was a sweet way to start his career.
“When I got that first win, it meant a lot to me,” Hernandez said. “I knew that things were possible as long as you were able to put your head into the game, just go out there and do it.”
Even before MMA, Hernandez’s fighting spirit led him to start wrestling in his sophomore year of high school. He has wrestled well as he finished his senior year one match away from qualifying for the state tournament and he joined the Fresno City College wrestling program. As he has enjoyed the competition, Hernandez believes wrestling has made him a stronger and more humble person.
“Wrestling has taught me discipline and respect,” Hernandez said. “Wrestling has just changed my life in general. As soon as I got into the wrestling game, it was different.”
And Hernandez accomplished all of this with just one eye. The injury came about when he was 14, while playing around at a friend’s house. He fractured his cheekbone and punctured his left eye. He eventually had to have the eye removed, but Hernandez didn’t skip a beat as he earned his driver’s license, kept playing sports and did all the other things an average high schooler does.
Despite his persistent spirit, missing his eye put him at a disadvantage against opponents in both wrestling and MMA. While wrestling is easier because he’s up close with his opponent, the challenge comes when they get around him or on his left side.
“It’s always a challenge. If they’re behind me, I can only turn my head one way,” Hernandez said. “If they’re on my left side, it’s a big disadvantage because I can’t really see on that side. So I have to figure out a way to maneuver and figure out how I’m going to be able to get out of this position to where I can see everything.”
In MMA, Hernandez has looked to overcome his disadvantage by working on his southpaw stance, where he leads with his right hand and right foot against his opponent. He also has to be a step faster than the competition.
“I’m going to have to react quickly because if I don’t, I won’t be able to time it right,” Hernandez said. “That’s why I’ve been working on my stance to go southpaw. So that way, I’m able to see almost everything instead of just one side.”
Over the course of his fighting and wrestling careers, Hernandez’s family that consists of his mother, his stepfather and his two sisters have provided a reliable base of support for him. But he has also faced challenges in that aspect of his life. After losing his father in 2015, the family was shaken again as Hernandez’s stepfather was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor.
“I didn’t want to have that feeling again that I was going to lose another dad because at that point we thought he wasn’t going to make it,” Hernandez said about the experience.
After the tumor was removed, Hernandez’s stepfather recovered and survived. Hernandez and the rest of his family had to provide as his stepfather could not work, but the family pulled through as they overcame another challenge together.
“Family just means the world to me. I’d do anything for them.” Hernandez said. “That (experience) was something that really pushed me more.”
As he heads into his final collegiate wrestling season, Hernandez hopes to help the Rams go on a run to a state championship as well as win an individual championship at 125 pounds. Once he wraps up this season, Hernandez plans to focus solely on his MMA career. As he looks to make it big, he hopes to build a reputation as the one-eyed fighter that nobody will want to get in the cage with.
“I’m not the person to have one fight and then stop. My goal is to keep fighting, keep going and hopefully go to the big leagues,” Hernandez said. “I want to be that big person. I want people to fear me when I get in that cage.”
