By Chad Stevens, MMA-LA
So much has changed for Arlo Rochester since his career began. Once a wide eyed, 18 year old prospect who moved from his parents farm to Los Angeles to pursue his MMA career. Now a 22 fight veteran, the 33 year old Rochester recently moved back to the United States to purchase Yellow Lotus Center of Healing and Meditative Arts, the gym in which he originally trained at.
With Rochester in charge, here to stay is the relaxed approach to training, with an emphasis on quality and quantity- Now that the gym has over 20 members, there is seldom a moment from sun up to sun down in which someone is not rolling on the mat.
Yet, Rochester still finds enjoyment in the sport. On his podcast The Flower Power Hour, Rochester stated;
“Look, i’ve found my sense of peace- I went pro in the sport that I love. The first time I got paid to fight- it was about 100 bucks, I think- I sort of came to the conclusion, ‘look, i’ve made it- it doesn’t matter how this career goes, because I can call myself a pro MMA fighter.”
Rochester recently won the first belt of his career, in the new organization Slavic Fight League. Originally located in St. Petersburg, the organization moved it’s headquarters to Los Angeles to deal with fighter’s visas easier after the war started. Rochester stated that he was excited about winning the belt, but that it hasn’t affected his attitude towards fighting:
“I’ve been very fortunate with the career i’ve had. Every fighter isn’t going to make it to the top of the MMA world, and that’s okay. I’ve exceeded my own expectations.”
When talking about his future plans, Rochester said a line that his fans will be utmost familiar with;
“I’ll defend the belt at Slavic for as long as I have it- after that, who knows? i'll fight anywhere- Anywhere the weed is good and the drug testing is unreliable!”
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