Rolando Bedoya

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started as a child at 10, if I remember correctly. Everything was more than anything to not waste time on vacation, and my parents introduced me to karate. After training a little, I started to be interested in several martial arts until later I entered a mixed martial arts academy, where I learned everything in a single academy and I started to be very interested in competitions.

Any accomplishments in amateur combat sports? I had a good record at the amateur level (8-1) and they called me a great prospect at that time

Any belts/ ranks in grappling disciplines? I am a purple belt in jiu jitsu

Any belts/ ranks in striking disciplines? I am a brown belt in kickboxing, and in Muay Thai, I am blue, black tip

What has been your toughest fight to date and why? It was the last one I had with Kenan Song in Singapore. It was one of the most difficult because I was not at 100% for that fight and I accepted the challenge knowing that I had several factors against me

Who is your favorite fighter and why? Now I could say that I don't have just one favorite fighter, I have several, they are the ones who train with me; they have a beautiful history of improvement and, above all, they have the same aspirations as me.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I studied nutrition at Le Cordon Bleu University, but after a while I realized that I didn't have much time for my training. It was getting in the way of training, so I chose to fight.

What was your job before you started fighting? I only trained and taught some fight classes.

Personal Life/Background: I went through a lot of things before getting to where I am. My parents separated when I was much younger. My mother supported me a lot from the beginning. She is one of my great reasons to continue fighting because I know all the effort she made when we were very young. She raised me and my 2 brothers, so my purpose is to give her everything she deserves. I know there is no way to match it, but I want to give her a better life and make her feel proud of me. I know that with a lot of effort and dedication I will achieve it. Above all, I am sure that sooner or later I will become a champion. And I will be able to give all the luxuries to my family. I don't have children. My hobbies are playing, training, spending time with my friends, seeing new places, and I really like animals. In the future, I would like to have an animal shelter. I also really like to cook, and I love going to the beach.