There will be people that you come across in your life that can really make you feel like they have about twice the amount of hours in their day compared to you. Why do they get so much more done? You try to justify to yourself that doing school or work, going to the gym twice a week and keeping a friend group rolling is busy enough and anything beyond just means that you’re cutting corners to get things done. But then you haven’t met Mexican national Abraham Vidales who gives you a completely new perspective on life and how efficient a human can be with his or her time and be successful at it, too. 

Fighting out of Monterrey, North East Mexico, the 28 year old is a professional kickboxer who just about missed out on his first world title when he lost against Petchpanomrung "The Professor" Kiatmookao, or simply, Petch, at Glory Collision 4 last October. 

Despite the loss, he is hopeful that he’ll get another shot from Glory before the end of 2023. Oh yeah, we forgot to mention that he also works as a full-time dentist, is just freshly graduated and runs his own practice in Monterrey so that he can plan his appointments carefully around his training schedule and still has enough time to have a girlfriend and socialize with friends and family.

Warrior Code was first introduced to Vidales when he was in the Netherlands last October to fight against Petch, a country he dreams of fighting in again. Apart from the fact that he is obviously a very talented and skilled fighter and really deserved that title shot, we perhaps didn’t take more notice of him beyond that. However, it wasn’t until Warrior Code attended the recently organised Glory Rivals 5 event in Tulum when we realised how much kickboxing is alive in Mexico and how big the role is that Vidales plays in that. 

Vidales was the headline in that event. Not only because he was literally the headline event, the evening was completely dominated by an army of his home fans who had travelled with him over 2,000km to be able to attend. It was the first relatively major kickboxing event that was organised in Mexico in a long time, and therefore for Vidales to fight on home turf. No fan of his was going to waste an opportunity to watch the man fight. 

But whilst it was great that such an army of home fans had turned out for Vidales, he was also well aware of what a potential loss would mean for his position at Glory. Whilst he has fought for other organisations, his last two fights for Glory — against Petch in 2022 and Serhii Adamchuck in 2019 respectively — ended in a loss. So, if Vidales really wanted to have a realistic chance of getting a title shot at Glory any time soon, a win over Tomás Aquirre was going to be essential. Vidales: “Fighting on home turf for the first time in a very long time, in front of a massive group of fans, my father watching as well - I needed to prove to myself that I can do this. Losing wasn’t an option”.

How did you handle the pressure of going into that fight knowing a loss could have potential career defining consequences?

“I was able to channel that quite ok, perhaps it comes with age. What is important to me is that I am able to look myself in the mirror and ask that one question: Have I honestly done enough? What makes me feel confident and sure is that I train as hard as I can every single day. When you do not play around or waste your time in training, you know that you have done enough and you can look yourself in the mirror and be honest. If I have been lazy during camp then it’s only myself to blame.”

You have fought all over the world but mentioned that you’d love to fight in the Netherlands again. What makes this place for you so special? 

“It’s amazing to see how the Dutch embrace the sport in the Netherlands. When I was on the train I heard people talking about kickboxing and I even got recognised in Amsterdam! In a crowd of thousands of people, can you believe it! You're so far away from home and people have seen your fight and appreciate you for it. You can feel that the sport is very alive and if you put up a good fight, no matter where you’re from, the Dutch fans will respect you for it.”

He adds: “I’d be keen to come here on training camp at some point as well. The Mexican fighting style or mantra if you will is that we like to get and hit at the same time. We don’t dance around with beautiful technique but go in for the kill. It seems the Dutch embody this spirit even more and I have a lot to learn from it. Therefore, if you own a gym and you’re reading this, let me know as I’d like to come and train with you.”

Lastly, your other job. Being a kickboxer, a sport where you try to hit each other in the face, and working as a dentist may seem somewhat of a false economy. How do you square the two?

“I honestly love having two super intense jobs next to each other as the balance is what gives purpose to my life. It’s all about needing to be and feel busy but also having enough variance so that you do not go crazy and work to your own detriment. When I was at university, my schedule used to be even busier as I had to train around unmovable lectures. I would consistently wake up at 6am every day as I’d train twice a day, three times when I have a confirmed match, and come home at midnight. It was exhausting. Now that I have my own practice I can plan my patients around my training and live a super efficient life. Busy Monday to Friday and time for friends and girlfriend on the weekend.”