But the 27-year-old Cortez resident explained how his entry into mixed martial arts happened by chance.
Trevino said that he initially began going to the gym just to lose weight, but that after working with his trainer for about six months, he was asked if he would be interested in giving MMA a shot with an upcoming King of the Cage match.
“I was a little intimidated, I’m not going to lie,” said Trevino. “And I was like, ‘I can give it a shot. But don’t expect anything miraculous out of me.”
In his first match, Trevino fell by just one point, with the three-round scorecards reading: 29-29, 29-29, 29-28.
“Being afraid to even get in there at the beginning, to losing by just one little point was definitely something that opened my eyes,” he said.
It not only opened his eyes to see his potential, but it also lit a fire under him.
“I stuck with it and I didn’t want to lose again,” Trevino continued. “So I kept training and won my second fight, won my third fight, and just kept going from there.”
Going from there meant racking up an impressive 6-6 record and taking on the fighting moniker of: Joey “Mack Truck” Trevino.
As Trevino’s record grew, so did his reputation. So much so that the folks at Kick Down MMA in Aurora offered him a shot to fight against defending champion Vince Vue for the 125-pound flyweight championship in January.
Trevino would go on to win the championship belt by winning all three rounds: 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.
“I just went in there and showed him why I was there to take it from him,” he said boldly.
Now with a 7-6 amateur record and the current Flyweight Champion, Trevino is preparing to defend his title at Kick Down MMA on March 19. If he wins, he plans to go professional.
He started out trying to lose weight – but the “Mack Truck” just kept rollin’.
“It’s my life right now,” he said. “It’s the only thing I do. I train and work. And work is part-time and comes secondary.”