What to know about New Mexico fighter Robert Trujillo: He can give, take a slap in the face

Dana White, president of the UFC and the No. 1 guy in the world of people hitting people, has a two-word phrase he likes to use when he sees something that really impresses him.

The first word is a synonym for “sacred,” the second a synonym for “excrement.”

And when White watched Raton’s Robert Trujillo lay out Jewel Scott with one powerful blow to the face during a slap-fighting competition on April 28, he likely uttered that two-word phrase.

Trujillo, a rising star in Power Slap, White’s slap-fighting promotional venture, will be back in action Wednesday — facing South Carolinian Paul Teague at Power Slap 4 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For Trujillo, 31, the father of son Carter, 9, and daughter Liliana, almost 2, slap-fighting remains a means to an end. An unbeaten MMA fighter, he took to slapping people in hopes of getting White’s attention and earning a UFC contract.

Clearly, he has White’s attention; the two have talked. A torn wrist ligament suffered as the result of that brutal knockout of Scott might have cost Trujillo a spot on Tuesday’s edition of Dana White’s Contender Series.

In any case, Trujillo believes he’s getting close.

“I’ve had a few of the insiders here (in Las Vegas) ask me if I’ve gotten signed yet,” he said on Tuesday in a phone interview, “so I know there’s talk about it.

“I don’t know anything for sure; nothing’s set in stone. But they do know that’s my ultimate goal.”

Trujillo is 5-0 as a professional MMA fighter after compiling an 11-2 amateur record. Last year, he auditioned for and became part of a slap-fighting facsimile of the UFC’s popular The Ultimate Fighter series, in which fighters live together sequestered while competing.

No one, probably not even Trujillo, knew how good he would be at slapping people.

Trujillo lost his first slap fight, but by disqualification when he lifted his foot — a foul — while pivoting to throw a blow.

“I actually knocked the guy out, but I got DQ’d,” he said.

In his second fight, Trujillo scored a one-slap knockout of Anthony Green. Then came the fight against New Orleans’ Scott, a matchup in which Trujillo was a 2-to-1 underdog. Everything, it seemed, was against him.

The fight was made at 155 pounds. Trujillo competes in MMA at 135 pounds; Scott, the bigger man of the two, had competed in Power Slap before at 170.

Then, that night, Scott won the coin toss — meaning he’d get the often decisive first slap.

But, no.

Trujillo weathered Scott’s first blow, then delivered one of his own that landed too high on Scott’s head; little harm done.

Scott’s second slap barely registered on Trujillo. Then, Trujillo’s second attempt landed squarely and loudly on Scott’s jaw. Down and out he went. Match over. For Trujillo, the Journal had two questions. Where does the power come from, and where does the chin come from?

Second question first: It’s not the chin so much as the neck.

“Your neck is your shock absorber,” he said. “I do a lot of neck drills, and it helps me take the hit better. Some of the guys with weaker necks, they get hit and their whole head turns around. That’s kind of what knocks them out.”

Trujillo’s relatively slender build gives little indication of the power he can muster. He’s done nothing beyond his MMA training, he said, to acquire it. It’s just there.

“I throw the strikes the same way I would (in MMA),” he said, “but without pivoting my foot.”

Slap-fighting, and White’s Power Slap in particular, continue to have vociferous critics — both outside and inside of the combat-sports community.

Trujillo believes it’s here to stay.

“I feel like we’re picking up a huge amount of fans,” he said. “… Even people who don’t like it can’t stop watching, because it’s kind of an addicting thing to watch.”

Until he gets that UFC contract, and even after he does, Trujillo is willing to stay slap happy.

“I told Dana I’d love to be a two-sport athlete for him,” he said. “… I definitely would love to do both.”