Millbrae native braces for MMA debut
January 28, 2011, 01:42 AM By Julio Lara, Daily Journal Staff
Peninsula native and Muay Thai champion Jenna Castillo had made the Caltrain trip from Millbrae to San Jose many times before.
But four weeks ago, getting off at the San Jose Diridon station took on a whole different meaning for Castillo. It was then that she found out that the venue where she grew up watching the Sharks, watching concerts, watching fellow fighters and friends fight, would host her first fight as a professional mixed martial artist.
Talk about a trip.
“Why not now?” Castillo said of her move from Muay Thai kickboxing to MMA. “I think it’s a once in lifetime opportunity. I feel really lucky that it’s close to home. It’s a great feeling.”
After dominating the world of Muay Thai with a 28-2 record, Castillo will step into the octagon for her first bout as a professional Saturday night as part of the Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg undercard at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. Castillo will face another MMA debutante and Bay Area native Charlene Gellner — the fight is scheduled for three, five-minute rounds.
“It’s a lot of firsts for me,” Castillo said. “Fighting HP, fighting MMA, it’s my first pro fight. But I think it’s finally time I go pro and the opportunity came through about doing something like this. And now I get to do it so I’m really happy about it. It feels like it’s the chance of a lifetime. I mean, how many people get to go in there and follow their dreams?”
Castillo has been following that dream since her days at Mills High School. It’s then, as a 17-year old fighting in a karate tournament, that Castillo turned to her mother and told her that she had found her passion. Fighting is all Castillo had known ever since, racking up numerous kickboxing and Muay Thai world championships along the way.
But Saturday will mark a new chapter in Castillo’s fighting career. Gone will be the familiar 10 ounce gloves, which will be replaced by the four-ounces gloves used in MMA. Gone will be the two minute rounds to which Castillo is accustomed. They’ll be replaced by five-minute wars with an opponent whose listed specialty is jiu-jitsu — a grappling style that is nowhere to be seen in the strictly strike-strike world of kickboxing.
“It feels like it’s day one,” Castillo said. “I feel like day one on roller skates and I’m falling on the cement. (But) it’s great. I love it, I love it.”
Despite living full combat for 10 years, the challenge lies in how quickly Castillo has picked up the nuances that come with fighting in the octagon as opposed to a four-sided ring.
“If I said I was completely comfortable with that, I would be a fool,” Castillo said. “And I hope someone would smack me hard across my face to wake me up. I think that would be not giving enough credit to the sport — to say that in three weeks I’m going to fight MMA, OK, no problem. No way. I won’t know how comfortable I am until Saturday when I get into that cage. And it can be an awakening experience for me. I can walk in and say, ‘Oh this is not for me,’ or leave and say, ‘I love this and I’m not leaving.’”
The champion is taking the task in stride and is putting in the time to make sure she’s as prepared as she can be come tomorrow night.
“My training is different, it’s a lot different,” Castillo said. “We have to increase my endurance, increase my cardio. The stand-up stance is different (then Muay Thai). The training has changed because I’m looking to be well-rounded.”
At 28 years old, Castillo knows the time to make her move into the pros is now — and Strikeforce might be the perfect fit for her as it’s one of the few professional mixed martial arts organization to give women fighters the platform to show their skills in the cage.
“You know what, sink or swim, no matter what, it’s something I have to do,” Castillo said. “I’m excited about it, there’s an excitement inside of me. When I train, I’m always so hard on myself. And now, for this one, I’m getting my butt trained. I’ve spent years on my feet learning the art there and I’m still not 110 percent convinced that my stand-up game is great. Every day you’re trying to perfect the art and learn something new.”
Now living in San Jose, the stage couldn’t be better for Castillo to make her debut.
“I’m always nervous before a fight. If I said I wasn’t, they’d be something wrong,” Castillo said. “I always have my pre-fight jitters, but there’s no better feeling than fighting at home.”
