Santa Fe Native Making Cage Debut

Friday, August 11, 2008 - by Rick Wright - Albuquerque Journal

To call Alberto Crane well-traveled is like calling mixed martial arts a contact sport. You wouldn't be wrong, but you'd be making a vast understatement.

Crane, a native of Santa Fe, spent seven years in Germany as a kid. He graduated from high school in New York. He lived in Brazil for some three years while earning a black belt in jiujitsu. He's a veteran of the World Submission Grappling Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. He now lives in greater Los Angeles.

Yet, Crane says, he still calls New Mexico home. He'll return Saturday to fight Farmington native Adrian Valdez (1-2) in the main event of a Rage in the Cage MMA card at the Santa Ana Star Center.

Crane has, however, another destination in mind: a return to the highest levels of MMA.

"My goal right now is to get back on track," said Crane, 32, who won his first eight MMA bouts but has lost his past three — including TKO defeats on the UFC circuit to Roger Huerta and Kurt Pellegrino. "I took 2 1/2 years off from competing (before the Huerta fight in August 2007), just to focus on work, and I wanted to start a family."

Crane, who has owned and operated martial-arts academies in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, actually moved to southern California for personal reasons.

"I had a deal with my wife," he said, "that when we had kids we'd go out there. She's from there, and she has a big family."

The Cranes have one child, with twins on the way. But, while training in California, Crane's also looking for a rebirth in MMA. Dropped by UFC after his loss to Pellegrino last January, he's working to bring his stand-up skills to the level of his ground game. He's a two-time Best of the West submission grappling champion.

"Nobody wants to go to the ground with me," he said, "So it's the stand-up I needed to work on. I feel like I've made good progress; people will see that (on Saturday)."

Regarding his opponent, Crane said he has seen one of Valdez's fights on video.

"That's about all I know," he said. "But everybody's tough. You still have to fight and anything can happen, so you've got to respect everybody."

Crane said he expects to have a healthy cheering session for his homecoming at the Star Center. He hasn't fought in New Mexico since January 2005, when he defeated Jeremy Crowe by submission on a PNRF-Inferno show in Santa Fe.

While acknowledging his goal is a return to the UFC, Crane said he's excited about making his Rage in the Cage debut. The Arizona-based circuit is in its 11th year and will stage its 113th event on Saturday.

"Everybody in MMA knows about (Rage in the Cage)," he said.

Crane wants everybody to know that his focus, after years of success in jiujitsu and submission grappling, is firmly on MMA.

"I'm teaching (martial arts) privately a little bit," he said, "but I'm mostly training right now. You can't let up."

Saturday's card, the first for Rage in the Cage in New Mexico, also features former UFC fighter Drew Fickett (34-5) in a co-main event. Fickett, who holds victories over Pellegrino, Josh Koscheck and Kenny Florian, is scheduled to face Roswell's Richard Villa (no listed record).
       
The undercard has an Arizona-vs.-New Mexico theme. Albuquerque's Jen Babcock (2-1) is scheduled to fight Arizona's Raechel Megahan (no listed record) in a featured women's bout.
      
MMA: Alberto Crane vs. Adrian Valdez, Drew Fickett vs. Richard Villa, several other bouts, Santa Ana Star Center. First bell: 8 p.m. Tickets: $16-$101, gettix.com or Star Center box office.