LAS VEGAS – It takes a village. And New England Cartel coach Tyson Chartier is the leader of Mitch Raposo’s village.
After Raposo (11-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) won at UFC Fight Night 279, he made a special dedication to Chartier’s father, Thomas, who unexpectedly died in April at the age of 79, mid-training camp for Saturday’s bout. Raposo said he was blown away by Chartier’s selflessness in never skipping a beat of their pre-fight preparations.
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“You have no idea how selfless Tyson is,” Raposo told MMA Junkie and other reporters after his win. “The things he does for me, man. The dude loses his dad and still goes to Portugal for my teammates, Kris Moutinho and Nick Fiore. He still stays focused on this training camp. He literally texted me, ‘I’ll grieve my dad after we get this win.’ That is one of the most selfless things – probably the most selfless thing – I’ve ever heard in my entire life. I told him, ‘When I go out there and beat this kid, I’m going to dedicate this win to your dad.'”
Raposo, 27, appears to have finally turned a corner. After losses in his first two UFC fights, Raposo has beaten Azat Maksum and Allan Nascimento in back-to-back fights. The victories landed him at No. 11 in the META UFC rankings that launched Monday. Given his momentum, Raposo feels ready for a big fight – and credits his team for that, as well.
“I really feel like I proved that I deserve a shot,” Raposo said. “When I said ‘deserve,’ deserve is a tough word. But I’ve earned a shot at a better name or a top-15 guy. … It’s the team I have around me. I’ve grown up in this sport. I feel like the UFC is a different level. I kind of had to learn on the job. Now, I’ve got Tyson Chartier, who has brought guys into the top five. I wouldn’t be here without Tyson, Rob (Font) and Calvin (Kattar) showing New England that we can make a run at the belt. Now, I’ve united with Turbo Kickboxing and Ross Levine (and) Ascension Athletics with Jeff Haddad. I just feel like I have the best team in the world now.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: UFC fighter explains dedicating win to coach’s late father
