C RY D E R
P O I N T
FEBRUARY 18
Bayside fighter wins in UFC debut
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@QNS.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
He first walked into Tiger Schulmann’s
Martial Arts gym in
Bayside as a chubby 12-year-old
kid just hoping to get in shape, but today
at age 28, Julio Arce is a winning fighter
in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
(UFC).
Arce made his UFC featherweight debut
on Jan. 20 in Boston against another firsttime
fighter, Dan Ige, and won the threeround
fight by unanimous decision. After
working his way up through the amateur
ranks, fighting as a professional kickboxer,
then going pro in mixed martial arts in
the Ring of Combat league, Arce finally
got to showcase his talents on the biggest
stage.
“It’s just an unreal moment because it’s
been a journey just getting there,” Arce
said. “It was just constantly staying in
shape, staying ready, and just waiting on
that moment to happen.”
Yet, this was not Arce’s first opportunity
to prove himself to UFC. Nearly six
months prior to his official debut, Arce
was invited to compete in “Dana White’s
Tuesday Night Contender Series” on Aug.
8, 2017, a five-fight series in which the
president of the UFC, Dana White, evaluates
potential new fighters to join the
league.
Arce defeated his opponent in a second
round technical knockout (TKO),
but despite the win he was not awarded
with a UFC contract.
“Everybody felt he should’ve got the
contract, because out of the five fights that
night, his was one of the top two finishes,”
said Bryan Gotthoffer, the shihan (master)
and owner of Tiger Schulmann’s in Bayside.
Gotthoffer has been Arce’s trainer
since that first day he came into the gym.
After the Contender Series fight, Arce
had no idea when he might get a call from
18 CRYDER POINT COURIER | FEBRUARY 2018 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM
the UFC giving him another chance, but
he knew it would come eventually. So he
stayed ready the best way he knew how, by
accepting a kickboxing fight in Madison
Square Garden. He won that fight with a
second-round TKO as well, and continued
building momentum toward his ultimate
goal.
When the UFC came calling in January
it was a last-minute offer because
another fighter got hurt and had to drop
out. Arce accepted without hesitation,
and when he stepped into the octagon
he won in dominating fashion. Arce
struck his opponent 72 times and got hit
just 35 times. He barely had a mark on
him, Gotthoffer said, and after the fight
Arce went back into the locker room
and helped warm up his teammate who
was about to fight.
Since he walked away from the fight so
cleanly, Arce was not given a post-fight
suspension that is the standard for letting
fighters heal before their next bout.
That meant he could start communicating
with the UFC promoters right away,
and he is eyeing an April 7 fight in the
Barclays Center. If he gets it, Arce said, it
would be another amazing achievement
to notch his first UFC fight in his home
city.
“He’s like a son to me, more than just
a student or an employee or anything
like that,” Gotthoffer said. “I’m just super
proud, and if you see the way his students,
who are also his fans, feel about him, it’s
unbelievable the respect and the love they
have for him.”
Arce said that his goal is now to make
it all the way to the top and win a championship
belt in the UFC, but for now he
is still in shock about the outpouring of
support he has received, especially from
his family’s native country of Colombia.
“An immense amount of support just
came out of nowhere,” he said. “I’m the
only Colombian in the UFC, so to them
over there it ignites something for them,
and everyone comes together and is so
proud about it.”
Photo by Ryan Kelley/QNS
Julio Arce (left) lands a kick on the padded hands of Bryan Gotthoffer (right).
