Legacy Fighting Alliance comes to the Chicagoland area on Friday, February 4 when the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN will play host to LFA 123.
The card features many Chicagoland natives, including the man who will headline the show, Daniel “The Determined” Argueta, who faces off against Brazil’s Mairon Santos in a bantamweight main event featuring two undefeated contenders.
Argueta, who is currently 6-0 in his professional MMA career, is a native of Orland Park, IL. After graduating college, he wanted to continue wrestling, so he went into a gym where he started teaching lessons. Before he knew it, he was training with fighters like Anthony Pettis up in Milwaukee, as well as Juan Archuleta and Cub Swanson. He even remembers the first time he was punched in the face. But clearly he’s stuck with it and learned a bit about what MMA is, which comes easy when you’re working at one of MMA’s top gyms in JacksonWink in Albuquerque, NM. Argueta was even drafted first by Brian Ortega on the UFC’s latest season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF).
We sat down to talk about all of those things and more leading up to his big night this Friday:
Being originally from Orland Park, what does it mean to be headlining an event in your hometown area?
“It’s awesome. I’ve been smiles for the last 2 weeks. Usually leading up to a fight it gets more and more nerve racking and you don’t want it to happen yet, this time I’m excited. I just wanted to get here. I can tell you this, I’m just ready to fuck something up. I’m just ready to go man. I’m dialed in, weight’s good, training’s good, I got my coach and my manager here in the car with me, Cub Swanson gets in tomorrow, you know we’re ready to rock.”
“I can tell you this, I’m just ready to fuck something up.”
This is the first card you’ve headlined, right?
“Yes, first card I’ve headlined. Everyone’s like ‘how’s that pressure?’ and I’m just pissed I don’t get to, you know, hang out and watch a couple fights after I fight. But at the same time I’m excited. My friends are wild, you know they’re awesome supporters. They got a party bus coming to the casino, they got an after party, it’s gonna be great I’m excited.”
What was it like to work with Brian Ortega on The Ultimate Fighter?
“I started working with Brian about a year and a half before the show even happened when I was out in California he began working with us, so that was cool because it was a familiar face that was there, one of the most familiar faces. That was one of the most important parts of that show.”
What did The Ultimate Fighter do for your career?
“Whenever people ask me ‘what do you think it did for you’ I always refer back to what Greg Jackson said to me before leaving. He knew I was very on edge and I told him I want to win this thing, he goes ‘don’t worry, you’ll get there, just get through this fight. Win this fight, have a good fight.’ And I never understood why it wasn’t only about winning that. That show is a vehicle for your career. Us fighters always talk about how we only get 15 minutes at a time to show the world who we are, our fight style, everything. That gave me an entire episode about me. Worldwide, on ESPN, about me. It was awesome it was a vehicle for my career. I’m happy that now people click my page, they message me they get to know me, they see what I’m about through my social media, they see what I’m up to. That’s what it’s about. I wanna make sure people know I’m normal man, I’m fun. On top of training my ass off, I think I’m pretty cool sometimes.”
“I wanna make sure people know I’m normal man, I’m fun. On top of training my ass off, I think I’m pretty cool sometimes.”
What are the goals for 2022?
“I got three goals this year… Get four fights, don’t get over 160 pounds ever so that if the UFC calls me I know I can make weight in two weeks, and stop being late to fucking practice.”
LFA wrote a post calling you Greg Jackson’s “next superstar.” What does that mean to you?
(Laughing) “I hate that.”
“Of course it’s special, it is special. But like I said I’m a normal dude man I like to fuck around, have fun, hang out with my girlfriend, joke with the team. When I think of ‘superstar’, I don’t know it just doesn’t always have the best things. I do wanna be different, I do want people to know wow Dan’s cool. That’s how I want people to think of me.”
“What’s cooler than [being called Greg Jackson’s next star] is being called Cub Swanson’s protege. That gave me butterflies when they said that. Probably my favorite fighter, probably my favorite personality of a fighter. He’s one of my biggest role models. He’s someone’s hero, and right now he’s been part of my life and he’s been my hero. He’s helped me turn my life around and reach goals that I probably wouldn’t have been able to without him.”
“What’s cooler than [being called Greg Jackson’s next superstar] is being called Cub Swanson’s protege.”
What has Greg Jackson been able to do for your career?
“We’ve been planning my career for years now.”
“I worked for it. I did work for it. It’s not like this guy’s a bust no man I worked for it. It wasn’t easy. A lot of guys, I don’t think they would have been able to step in my shoes and do it.”
“It wasn’t easy. A lot of guys, I don’t think they would have been able to step in my shoes and do it.”
Online tickets are already sold out for the event. How does that make you feel?
“I feel bad because a lot of people wanna go.”
“They’re gonna be selling them at the door, I’m gonna go put up fliers at a couple bars probably tomorrow.”
“I heard I sold like 6 or 7 VIP tables, the next person only sold 2.”
The full, uncut, version of the interview can be viewed above.
LFA 123 takes place at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN on Friday, February 4 headlined by Dan “The Determined” Argueta (6-0) vs. Mairon “A Lenda” Santos (12-0) in a bantamweight bout. The event will be streaming live on UFC Fight Pass starting at 8 PM CST.
