Bellator 112's Sam Oropeza uses parents as inspiration in fighting career

Sam Oropeza is working on a deadline, and it’s starting to come due.

The Pennsylvania-based fighter tonight officially goes after it in the opening round of Bellator MMA’s Season 10 welterweight tournament, and it’s possible he could make his plan even earlier than expected.

“I set a goal back in 2010 to be a world champion by 2014 or 2015,” Oropeza told MMAjunkie. “And I believe it. I say my mantras every day and it’s the ultimate vision that I see. Having that world title and knowing that I’m the best fighter at 170 pounds for Bellator would bring so much significance in my life.”

Oropeza (10-2 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) takes on Cristiano Souza (7-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) at Bellator 112, which takes place at The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind., just outside Chicago. The main card, including Oropeza-Souza, airs on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

The Oropeza-Souza winner will advance in the 170-pound tournament into the semifinals, and then will be two wins away from
being a Bellator tournament champion. After that, the tourney winner is likely to meet the Bellator 117 winner between Douglas Lima and Rick Hawn, one of which will be the next champion after Ben Askren vacated the title.

The blue-collar Oropeza knows just what a tournament win and title shot would mean, and the $100,000 total tournament prize has nothing to do with the opportunity to spend it on material things.

“I’d be able to affect the people I’ve always wanted to affect,” he said. “If you locked me in a room with $100,000, I wouldn’t be happy. There’d be no happiness about having that money in the room with me. But to have that money to start the business I’ve wanted to start and to inspire the people I’ve always wanted to inspire – how can I do that working in a refinery in New Jersey? I’ve got to go be a world champion.”

Oropeza, who trains at the renowned Philadelphia Fight Factory that Bellator lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez helped make famous, has a few major players as his inspiration. Alvarez is one of them.

But his father, who died when he was young, who continues to be a role model for him, even if he’s no longer alive. And his mother, who had to pick up the pieces and keep the family moving along, inspires him, as well.

“My dad’s passing made a man out of me. Not only him passing away, but everything that came with it,” Oropeza said. “I had to watch my mom have a nervous breakdown, go through hell and take care of six kids. She went back to school, she got a degree and she worked. Watching my mom go through that, it’s why I always tell people that every day of my life is a great day. How can I say I had a bad day when I look back at what I went through in life? I learned my determination from my mother because I watched her go through all that.”

Oropeza’s mom won’t come to his fights, he said. But he believes his dad does in spirit. That’s what helps motivate him.

“My dad always pops up in my head, and I truly believe he’s proud of me,” Oropeza said. “I’ll go take a walk around my neighborhood and people will tell me they’re proud of me, and that watching me do what I love has inspired them to get in shape or start doing a sport they love. That feeling, to know you’re inspiring someone and giving them that ‘if you can do it, I can do it’ feeling? I love that. I live for that.”

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