🥋 Sundays with Cain – Episode 23 - A ROLL & RUMBLE Fight Co. Exclusive

Interview by “D-Man,” CTF Inmate Correspondent

(A Boy’s Dream to Be a Sun Devil)
His story begins with a dream, born in Yuma, Arizona, where little Cain watched the Sun Devils play football. He remembers vividly the Sun Devils beating the Nebraska Cornhuskers—and told himself he wanted to be a Sun Devil someday. A seed was planted, and only time would tell if it could sprout. That young boy would eventually devote every day of his adolescence to achieving that goal against all odds.

He came from a family rooted in back-breaking agricultural field work, where hard work ran deep, but formal learning did not. He had a learning disability that wouldn’t be treated until his college days. Trauma from childhood would later drive his desire to become a fighter, but before that rise could begin, he had to fulfill his first dream: becoming a Sun Devil. People he loved could only show him what not to do, but that didn’t stop him. He became an example of sheer determination that carried him all the way to the top.

Now we return to where we left off last week: it’s his second year of college. He redshirts, leaves Iowa mid-season, lives with his high school wrestling coach, takes summer school to graduate from junior college, then moves into the dorms for his first year at ASU. He loses his eligibility due to academic struggles and finishes his sophomore year—his third actual year of college—on the verge of losing his scholarship and heading to summer school again for the second year in a row.

“Yeah, I did college year-round,” Cain explains. “It allowed me to stay on campus, work out all year, and get into the shape I felt was necessary. I could also take some classes in the summer so I wouldn’t have to take a full load during wrestling season.”
Was school hard the whole time? “No, this is around the time I started ADHD medicine, thanks to Tom, and things got better. I stretched out my classes to make it even easier.”

Junior Year

Let’s go to your junior year. You were still in the dorms?
“No, I got a scholarship when my grades turned around. The college gave me $900 a month for living expenses. I ended up living with Brandon Phillips. We went to school together from elementary all the way through high school.”

Did he wrestle?
“No, he worked for UPS and still does. We were just good friends.”

What was your favorite place to eat around campus?
“There is a Mexican place in Tempe called Someburro’s that I always loved to eat at.”

Where did you hang out when you had free time?
“When I first arrived on campus, John Moraga and I hung out a lot. His dad has a house in East Phoenix about three miles off campus. Brian Stith and Jeremy Mendoza had an apartment about two blocks off campus, and we would go there a lot as well.”

Jeremy wrestled?
“Yeah, he was our 125-pounder. Brian wrestled at 151, and John was at 133. Aaron Suzuki would hang out with us a lot at this time, and he was our 141-pounder.”

Was there a girlfriend in your life or any girl you had a crush on?
“No, they were all one-night stands.”

Why was that?
“I wasn’t looking for anything serious.”

Academics, Growth & Women’s Studies

What was your favorite class?
“I took a lot of women’s studies classes. I was able to understand people in general a lot more—but especially the struggle of women in our society. They have had to fight for equal rights and still are treated unfairly. I learned about empathy and trauma in those classes and ended up getting my bachelor’s in Education of Women’s Studies.”

But you didn’t have a relationship with a woman for more than one night?
“OK, so the girl thing—I want to clarify that. I was very picky about relationships. The girls I really liked weren’t into me. Or they would eventually show me a side of themselves that was unlikable. Besides, I was so busy with bookwork and practice that I didn’t have time for a relationship.”

You were in a better place with your grades now. Was there pride in that? Did you feel like a good student?
“I did. I made the Maroon and Gold list during my junior and senior years. That’s for athletes who maintain above a 2.75 GPA. So yeah, I worked hard to stay on the list.”

So, no more summer school?
“I did summer school every year of college. At first, it was just to pass. Then I continued taking summer classes so that when wrestling season came, I didn’t have to take as many because I had already done some during the summer. Plus, this allowed me to stay at school all year and train. I was always at school.”

Training, Wrestling Room & New Facilities

What were some of your favorite places on campus?
“I loved practice in the wrestling room and lifting with our strength coach, Ben Hilgard. Those were my two favorite things. I would be in there all day if I could.”

Did your wrestling room have a lot of trophies and banners from past teams?
“Dude, when I first got there, our room was small and old. The old room was in what felt like a janitor’s closet at Wells Fargo Arena. It was so small and shitty. It was unacceptable. They had pictures and stuff from back in the day. Tom actually wrestled there in ’88, and the team won a national title. I felt like the school didn’t care about the wrestling program. We were just hidden away and forgotten about.”

“Then, going into my junior year, our room flooded. We got locked out, and mold was growing in there. A pipe broke, and the whole thing was ruined. The great Art Martori, president of Sunkist, donated a million dollars for a new wrestling building. They built it next to the girls’ gymnastics building and put Airdyne bikes in there for us. It was perfect.”

“While it was being built, we had to practice at Tempe High. Then, when the high school team needed their room, we would roll up two big mats—four sections—put them on a dolly, push them over to a church, unroll them in the banquet room, practice, roll them back up, push them back to the high school, store them, and then… whatever else. It sucked. But the new room was worth it.”

Pac-10 Honors & Championship Run

Let’s talk about you and Tom winning Pac-10 Wrestler and Coach of the Year. Were you proud of that?
“Yes, and at the same time, I felt like it was supposed to happen. We earned it together. You’ve got to understand that Nationals was the main goal. The Pac-10 championship is a springboard to Nationals. So we knew the real test was still to come.”

Tom wrestled at ASU, and the team won a National Championship in 1988.
“No shit! So he was ASU wrestling through and through.”

Did he win an individual title?
“No. As a matter of fact, nobody on that ’88 team won individually. Tom was the runner-up. They won as a team.”

College Nemesis & Heartbreak

You had a nemesis in high school (Starks). Who was your nemesis in college?
“His name is Cole Konrad. He wrestled at Minnesota. In my junior year, he was ranked second in the nation. I wrestled him four times in two years. I never felt someone so strong. I only beat him once—and it was at ASU during a home match.”

“My most memorable match of my college career was against him in the semifinals of Nationals in St. Louis, my senior year. We were tied toward the end. He’s bigger than me, so I’m shooting on him, trying to get a stalling call. It doesn’t work, and we go to double overtime.”

“Each of us has one minute to score from the bottom position. We both escaped, but he escaped more quickly. He won by having more riding time.”

Did that break your heart?
(Cain is quiet for a moment, eyes moist.)
“Actually, it did. I ended up tying for fourth, and he would win the National title. So yeah, that one hurt. I used that moment—my last college match—as motivation. Those feelings carried over into fighting. It’s funny how everything works out how it’s supposed to.”

What moment in college pushed you to the physical limit?
“That match. That was me digging deeper than ever before.”

Were you a leader who motivated your team?
“I was not a vocal leader. I led by example. My team loved to watch me wrestle. I would put it on dudes and hurt people. They knew not to miss my matches.”

Who were your role models?
“Tom, Aaron, Ryan (all my coaches), Ben (lifting coach), and Kellen, before he graduated. They were good role models for all of us. They showed us love—tough love. Wisdom that was perfect for us to succeed.”

A Bar Story for the Ages

Let's have a little fun. I'm sure there are many good stories that you could tell. What is one story from college that you will never forget? (Cain laughs and says this should be off the record, but OK) "It was a night that we went out bar hopping. John Moraga, Brian Stith, Jeremy Mendoza, Suzuki, and I are at some bar. Jeremy and Suzuki are so fucked up. They both went to the bathroom together, and when they came back, Jeremy noticed Suzuki had pissed on his foot. A little bit later, Jeremy sneaks up behind Suzuki while he's standing at the bar and starts pissing on his feet. They kept this up the rest of the night. By the time we made it back to the apartment, they were both soaking wet.

They are dripping wet from the middle of their shirts down to their feet. At the apartment, John starts to get the spins, and both Jeremy and Suzuki make him a sandwich. I wait for him to take a couple of bites before I ask him why his bread is wet. The next morning, John started asking if he had eaten a piss sandwich last night, and I had to tell him the truth. Yes! You ate the whole thing! One of the funniest things I've seen in my life. (Cain is full on crying with joy at the memory of this story, and I get the sense he loves telling it)

Olympic Training Center Trip

What’s one of your most cherished wrestling memories?
“The Colorado trip. CB, Bader, Simpson, Larken, and I went to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Wrestlers from all over the country were invited to work out for the USA National Team. We trained with DC, Trolly Thompson, and the rest of the team.”

Who was coaching?
“Coach Zeke Jones and one of the Brands brothers—I don’t remember which. I was there to train with Thompson, the heavyweight.”

Was he badass?
“He was really good, but I made an impression. I felt like they liked the way I worked out. We had a blast.”

What did you take away from that experience?
“That I was good enough to compete at the top level. But I had other ideas.”

 

Graduation & Reflection

Did you go to graduation?
“I went to a winter graduation. It was smaller, and it was a Mexican ceremony. It was me, Jeremy, and I think my buddy Nunez. My mom and dad came.”

Do you have pictures?
“I don’t know. I think Jeremy probably does.”

When was the last time you talked to him?
“Anthony Robles had a private screening of his movie on campus, and we all went. Jennifer Lopez plays his mom. It was a good movie.”

So you all still stay in touch?
“Yeah, we do.”

Looking back, what do you want to say about that chapter of your life?
(Cain scratches his chin.)
“I would say it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment. I got to be part of a great team. I made lifelong friends. Experienced deep lessons in a beautiful part of Arizona. Most of all, I got to live out my dream of being a Sun Devil.”

Was that enough? If there were no UFC, would that have been enough?
(Looking determined.)
“No, it would not have been enough. I felt like I had so much more to give. There was something in me that wasn’t fully explored yet.”

That's it for this week, and Cain wants to say one more thing. "I want Tom to become famous with his picture. He is a great coach, a great friend, and deserves the attention". I hope you liked the episode. I hope you have read them all. Share this one with a friend and see if they smile. That's the power of a good story. It can make someone's day.

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