Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight newcomer Julio Paulino is on a mission to make something happen.
Of the 110 kids that graduated from his high school in Jersey City, N.J., he estimated all but six are working at supermarket ShopRite, in jail or dead. He managed to escape by joining the Navy and did eight years as a machinist on ships at sea.
At first, fighting was a way to stay out of trouble after the Navy discharged him. Now, he’s fighting to support four kids, and after five-plus years in the minor leagues, the time to make his mark has arrived.