By Don Williams | AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Eleven years ago, Rex Richards helped Midland Lee win a state championship, throwing blocks for future NFL running back Cedric Benson. Then he went to Texas Tech, where he broke into the lineup as a true freshman, made 42 career starts for Spike Dykes and Mike Leach and earned all-Big 12 Conference.

Always in the back of his mind, though, was a spectacle he and his father pay-per-viewed when Rex was 13: UFC 1.

Fighting captivated him as much as football. To prove it, he walked away from football in his mid-20s. Today, the decision seems to be sound.

Rex Richards holds his daughter, Riley, 2, before weighing in.

Richards, whose goal is to make the Ultimate Fighting Championship, will try to take a step toward that end today. The former Tech standout will fight for mixed martial arts’ Texas heavyweight title belt as part of a nine-bout card today at the City Bank Coliseum. The “Shark Fights 4″ show starts at 7:30 p.m. and also includes a Texas welterweight championship match between Shannon Rich and T.J. Waldburger.

“I’ve always liked physical contact and a hundred percent competition,” Richards said before Friday’s weigh-in. “Now you can make a pretty good living fighting. I feel like that’s where I should be. We’ve come a long way in a short period of time. Being an athlete has helped that out, but also being humble and learning the techniques is important.”

Richards, who has an 8-1 record, faces Darrill “The Mighty Monarch” Schoonover, an undefeated U.S. Army soldier from Fort Hood. Schoonover has won all 20 of his fights – seven amateur, 13 professional.

“He’s 20-0, he’s knocked people out, and he’s submitted people. He’s pretty well-rounded,” Richards said.

Tech football fans might not recognize Richards, who’s changed since his last Red Raiders home game, the 42-38 upset of then-No. 3 Texas in 2002. The 6-foot-5 former offensive lineman said his playing weight that season was 343 pounds.

He’ll step into the cage today at 265, the weight he had to make for this, his first heavyweight fight. All his previous bouts had been at super heavyweight. Richards weighed 320 in December but, under the guidance of a dietitian, shed 40 pounds in six weeks before his last fight. He won that one by knockout in 19 seconds.

Richards said the heavyweight division offers more potential for attractive, lucrative fights than super heavyweight; thus, the reason for the move. He said Friday was the first time he’d had a scale stop at 265 since he was 15 or 16 years old.

“This is the best shape I’ve been in for an MMA fight, probably the best shape I’ve been in 20 years,” he said.

It all started, if not on that night in 1993 watching UFC 1, when Richards got into boxing and kickboxing in Midland. His interest grew more serious during his Tech days. Needing a physical education elective, Richards signed up for a jiu-jitsu class taught by Lubbock’s Klay Pittman, around the time Pittman was competing in the Brazilian World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.

To Richards, it became more than a one-hour class a few days a week.

“It went from class to being in there two or three times a day,” he said.

Eight years of training provided a more tangible payoff recently when Richards earned a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. So it would be a mistake to dismiss Richards as just an old football player who likes to mix it up.

“I’m a 280-pound guy that can put his feet behind his head if he has to,” Richards said. “It’s really helped my flexibility and my confidence in the cage.”

Richards, who was on the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad in 2003, later played for the San Jose Sabercats, one of the Arena Football League’s most successful franchises.

“I’ve always been kind of crazy – you can ask my coaches – but in a good way,” Richards said. “I try to be friendly, and I have a million friends walking around. When it’s time to compete, I’m a completely different person.

“There’s nothing more competitive than mixed martial arts. You don’t have teammates to help you get through and pads. You go out there in shorts and have four-ounce gloves on. It’s a pretty beautiful sport if you can get past some of the gruesomeness of it. The aesthetics of it make people think it’s worse.

“You don’t see (MMA fighters) having major ACL surgeries and back surgeries and other things. You have two 350-pound (linemen) smacking each other a hundred times a game, that’s a lot worse on you.”

Mixed martial arts

• What: “Shark Fights 4″

• When: 7:30 p.m. today

• Where: City Bank Coliseum

• Tickets: $30 to $100 depending on location; $10 discount with student ID; available at door and Select-A-Seat locations; 12 and under free with donation of two non-perishable food items.

• More information: www.sharkfights.com

“SHARK FIGHTS 4″ MIXED MARTIAL ARTS SHOW

at City Bank Coliseum

Today’s Matches

(Card subject to change)

Note: Records in parentheses provided by card promoters.

WOMEN

Brandi Haney (1-1), Lubbock, vs. Jessica Miramontes, Lubbock (pro debut)

LIGHTWEIGHT (155 pounds)

Willie “Shadow” Scott (1-0), Muleshoe, vs. Zach Haney (1-0), Lubbock

Phil Cardella (7-3), Austin, vs. Johnny Flores (5-2), Wichita Falls

FEATHERWEIGHT (145 pounds)

Louis Luna (2-0), Lubbock, vs. Douglas Frey (4-1), Fort Worth

MIDDLEWEIGHT (185 pounds)

Jesse Taylor (14-3), Temecula, Calif., vs. Eric Davila (25-7), Lubbock

WELTERWEIGHT (170 pounds)

Shannon Rich (94-69-2), Coolidge, Ariz., vs. T.J. Waldburger (8-5), Fort Hood, for Texas welterweight championship

HEAVYWEIGHT (265 pounds)

Don Frye (19-7-1), Tucson, Ariz., vs. Ritch Moss, (7-2), Phoenix, Ariz.

Aaron Garcia (2-1), Lubbock, vs. Josh Sheppard (1-1), Lubbock

Rex Richards (8-1), Abilene, vs. Darrill Schoonover (13-0), Fort Hood, for Texas heavyweight championship

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS/Former Texas Tech football

star Rex Richards dreams of career in Ultimate Fighting

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