by Dave Thomas
YAKIMA, Finding your path in life and love is rarely well marked, making it all the more rewarding when it’s discovered.
It’s even less likely “, but infinitely more satisfying “, should those two paths converge.
As teenagers, respectively, in Goldendale and Tacoma, Bryan Caraway and Miesha Tate never could have imagined the roads they would travel to get where they are today. But they wouldn’t trade their respective journeys for anything now.
Both have become successful mixed martial arts fighters, training out of Rich Guerin’s Yakima Mixed Martial Arts club, with their careers enhanced by their own personal relationship that blossomed after they first met at Central Washington University in 2005.
“Sometimes before fights (early in my career), I’d ask myself, ‘Why am I fighting this guy?'” Caraway said. “Then after it was over, I’d realize why I love this. I love the adrenaline rush. I love the crowd cheering.”
“When I first started learning (the sport), I had no inclination or interest to fight,” Tate said. “After my first fight, I was hooked.
“Looking back, it’s pretty amazing. I never thought I’d be in a position to support myself fighting and doing something I love.”
Especially with someone she loves.
Love outside the cage
Both Caraway and Tate are comfortable with their now-five-year relationship, although they came at it in different directions.
Arriving at Central in 2005, Tate quickly became enamored with Caraway after she joined the MMA club that he and Tommy Truex started there a year earlier. Caraway, who began coaching Tate, took a more cautious approach.
“I had a crush on him right away; he wasn’t as quick,” Tate said with a smile. “I admired his work ethic “¦ and he’s goal-driven. I found all of that attractive. I was kind of sprung right away.”
Eventually, it was similar qualities in Tate that moved Caraway.
“There’s not many girls doing this and I wanted to make sure she was here for herself,” he said. “After about 11?2 years, she showed she was definitely not here for me; she was here to work and she works as hard as any one of the guys. She’s here to be professional and a serious athlete.
“I started admiring that “, her work ethic and dedication.”
That dedication to their craft has been a strong component of their relationship.
“It’s nice having a companion and a competitor,” Caraway said. “She knows what kind of sacrifices I’m going through. I can actually talk to her about this (sport) and know she understands.”
Still, their coach-athlete dynamic has also created tension.
“It’s hard to separate that sometimes,” Tate said. “I can get hurt feelings when I hear something coming from him instead of hearing it from another coach.
“But I care a lot more about him as a person than as my coach.”
“It’s tough sometimes “¦ because emotions come in,” he said. “We’ve been able to keep it professional “, when we come to the gym, it’s time to work.”
Working through those moments has strengthened their relationship.
“We’ve had a lot of trials and tribulations but we’ve made it work. It’s hard sometimes because she’s pretty and gets a lot of attention. I have to just say that’s part of it and trust in Miesha and know everything’s going to work out in the end.”
A much different path
Much like his approach to his relationship with Tate, Caraway, 27, had a slow transition to MMA.
The Yakima-born Caraway was a wrestler, starting as a fifth-grader in Montana, and continuing after the family moved to Goldendale prior to his sophomore year of high school. Fueled by an intense competitive drive, he went on to finish sixth in state at 119 pounds that year, third at 130 as a junior, and second at 130 as a senior despite suffering some late-season injuries.
“My mom (Sandra) told me that it didn’t matter if you win or lose, just never give up,” Caraway said.
He went to North Idaho College to continue wrestling but after one year, transferred to Central. That’s when he was introduced to MMA through wrestling teammate Matt Lininger and his cousin Dennis Hallman, an Ultimate Fighting Championship standout at the time.
Hallman later introduced Caraway to Guerin, who was teaching kickboxing at the Yakima Police Athletic League, where he also met Truex.
That began Caraway’s transition to the sport, with he and Truex starting Central’s MMA club and then later helping to form a team of amateur fighters representing the Yakima Mixed Martial Arts club that Guerin opened after leaving YPAL.
It was with Guerin that Caraway learned to convert his wrestling background into success in the cage.
“Wrestling is probably the best base you can have for (MMA) fighting “¦ (but) as this sport has evolved, people have learned to use kickboxing and submission holds more and you have to be good in all three aspects,” he said. “Rich started showed me the ropes and helped me start to put the tricks together.”
Following a similar road
Tate, like Caraway, started out as a wrestler, but quite a bit later, not picking up the sport until her sophomore year at Franklin Pierce High in Tacoma.
“Not having a prior background, I had a lot of catching up to do,” she said.
But Tate, 25, proved to be a quick learner, and, combined with a similarly competitive drive, she excelled on the mat.
“It’s so challenging; that’s why I fell in love with it,” she said. “If it was really easy, I would’ve lost interest. But there’s so many ways to push yourself.”
Tate missed out on the first girls invitational at the state tournament in 2004, her junior year, when she broke her ankle two weeks prior to state, but came back the next season and won the 145 title.
“I was determined to win,” she said.
Arriving at CWU, Tate struggled being away from home for the first time and looked for some activity to meet new people. Another woman in her dorm discovered the MMA club and suggested they give it a try.
“I wasn’t sure “¦ but (after going) I was pleasantly surprised,” Tate said. “I learned basic submission holds and learned Jiu-Jitsu, which is another form of wrestling in my mind.”
Tate took the next step after being invited to join Truex and Caraway at Yakima Mixed Martial Arts.
“I went to my first fight card “¦ and that’s when I fully grasped the sport,” she said. “It was about self “, pushing yourself to the ultimate limits.
“Three weeks later, I was fighting and it’s snowballed from there.”
Careers on an upswing
Both fighters have come a long way since their early MMA days.
After about a half dozen amateur fights with Guerin’s club, Caraway turned pro in 2005. He’s found success fighting for Strikeforce, EliteXC and World Extreme Cagefighting, compiling a 15-5 record, although he hasn’t had many showcase bouts.
But a breakthrough moment could be in the offing thanks to UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter” competition.
After several tryouts in New Jersey and Las Vegas, Caraway was selected to be one of 16 fighters “, one of eight at 145 pounds “, to compete this past June for the chance to land a UFC contract.
The show, which had all the fighters living in one house during the competition, is currently airing on Spike TV.
Caraway’s first two fights “, both victories “, have already aired, with his semifinal against Diego Brandao set to air Wednesday, Nov. 30, with the final show scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 3, both on Spike TV.
Having to keep his results secret until after the respective show airs has been difficult at times ” Caraway had to sign a $5 million non-disclosure agreement and the show’s producers regularly check things like his Facebook account to make sure he hasn’t said anything ” but he’s fully aware of the importance this opportunity presents.
“This could make my whole career,” said Caraway, who has suffered anxiety attacks before matches because of the pressure he puts on himself to succeed.
“People ask what are you scared of?” he said. “I’m not scared of the fight or my opponent, I’m scared of letting myself down. I’m scared of not performing well.
“This means so much to me. To follow my dream; to chase this dream.”
Tate has enjoyed a quicker rise, winning the Strikeforce bantamweight (135 pounds) world championship earlier this year in just her 14th professional fight and 20th overall. She’s currently the fourth-ranked female fighter in the world regardless of weight and has a 12-2 pro record after going 5-1 as an amateur.
“People say you’re not really a champion until you defend your belt, so I really want to show that (title fight) wasn’t a fluke,” said Tate, who hopes to make her first title defense this winter.
Tate’s toughness in the cage started to be forged way back in her bloody debut.
In the first round of that fight, Tate’s opponent kneed her twice in the face, with one of the blows breaking her nose, and she was caught in a choke hold later in the round.
“Looking at the mat, I see the blood spreading out, getting bigger and bigger and I’m thinking, ‘What the hell is happening?'” Tate recalls. “It came down to fight or flight. I have to fight. I got really mad, bucked her off and started whaling on her. I finished the round and that was a big learning experience.”
That baptism under fire proved to be a huge motivation for Tate, and her success since then hasn’t surprised those around her.
“I have a lot a lot more faith in my abilities,” she said.
“She’s an amazing athlete,” Caraway said. “Whatever I’ve taught her, she’s picked up.
“I’m going to make sure she’s the best fighter she can be.”
Now, both see even bigger things on the horizon and can’t wait to chase those dreams together.
“It’s been an interesting ride,” Tate said. “We support each other and push each other.”
“It’s getting tougher to keep working together and it gets pretty hectic,” Caraway said. “But we’re dedicated to helping each other.”
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