Eric Del Fierro will be the first to admit he has a wealth of good, young fighters at his gym in San Diego. Much of that is owed to him being one of the most well-respected coaches in the sport, developing the likes of UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz, Phil Davis and others.
The issue, though, is that there are so many solid athletes at that not-quite-UFC-ready level and not enough places for them to fight in the area. Two of his fighters recently competed in Lebanon, Del Fierro said. Others have fought in Bahrain.