Photo By Staff Sgt. Gaspar Cortez | Senior Airman Yovis Perdomo, 635th Materiel Maintenance Squadron structural engineer,...... read more read more
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HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. — The duty day ends. The uniform comes off. Then the gloves go on.
For U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Yovis Perdomo, 635th Materiel Maintenance Squadron structural engineer and Senior Airman Logan Craft, 49th Communications Squadron, cyber systems technician, the transition from Airmen to mixed martial arts competitors is not as drastic as it might appear.
By day, Perdomo and Craft serve in uniform, fulfilling their duties as Airmen. However, after work, they trade the uniform for gloves and step onto the mat at Desert Dynasty MMA, where the work takes on a different form, one built on conditioning, repetition, technique, and the pressure of competition.
Both are scheduled to compete in separate mixed martial arts bouts Sept. 12th in their personal capacities. Their fights are not affiliated with the base, but the preparation leading to them reflects qualities both Airmen say they have in the gym and in their military careers. For Perdomo, mixed martial arts provides more than a physical challenge.
“MMA means a lot to me,” Perdomo said. “It gives me a goal and peace of mind and gives me motivation to keep chasing my goals day after day.”
For Craft, the sport has become a test of personal accountability.
“I played football throughout high school, but I didn’t really like the idea of a team sport,” Craft said. “I wanted to get into martial arts because to some extent it’s reliant on yourself. No one to blame but yourself if you lose.”
That individual responsibility is one reason both Airmen continue to return to the gym, even when training becomes difficult. Perdomo’s MMA journey began during his first assignment at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. A friend and fellow Airman, Brendan Sanders, encouraged him to give the sport a try.
He began training at Guam Martial Arts Academy under coach John Tuck and continued after he moved to Holloman, where he trains at Desert Dynasty MMA under coach Anthony Hudson.
Craft arrived at Holloman with a broader interest in martial arts. He wanted to try a discipline such as jiujitsu or Muay Thai, but MMA’s combination of disciplines is what caught his attention.
“I saw Desert Dynasty MMA and thought it’d be great because it encompasses all martial arts,” Craft said.
What began as curiosity for both Airmen developed into a commitment to constant improvement. MMA offers an unusual form of accountability – there is nowhere to hide when the bell rings.
Both Airmen point to their first losses as some of the toughest moments they have experienced in the sport. Perdomo said losing his first fight was difficult, but he ultimately became grateful for the experience.
“It helped me grow, and I accepted that’s what comes with this sport,” Perdomo said. “It humbles you and teaches you how to lose.”
Craft on the other hand experienced his first loss just this past February. The fight was held in town, and several of his co-workers and members of his leadership came to support him. The result was not what he wanted.
“Following the loss, I was back in the gym that Monday correcting what I did wrong and mentally getting myself right,” Craft said.
For both Airmen, the value of the experience came from what happened next.
“Resilience means to keep pushing no matter what,” Perdomo said. “Regardless of the obstacles that life throws at you, you keep going forward.”
Craft views resilience as the ability to avoid becoming trapped by mistakes.
“Sometimes we get caught up on mistakes or embarrassing moments in our lives and we let it eat at us for way longer than they should,” Craft said. “Resilience to me is just getting back to what you need to do so we can improve.”
While MMA has influenced how both Airmen approach challenges, neither views the sport as a replacement for or extension of their military duties. Instead, they describe two separate responsibilities that demand the same basic commitment: show up, prepare and do the work.
“The military has taught me discipline under pressure, and to adapt in situations regardless of what’s in front of me,” Perdomo said.
That mindset carries into his daily routine. He said he maintains a disciplined approach to nutrition and uses military physical training as another opportunity to stay in shape for his afternoon sessions. MMA, in turn, helps Perdomo approach his work with a calm mindset.
“It helps me approach problems that we can come across with a level head,” he said.
Craft draws a similar lesson from adversity.
“The biggest lesson that I’ve applied to training from the Air Force is dealing with adversity,” Craft said. “The same way I hit a wall in training, I hit the same wall while working and it just taught me to push through or find another way.”
Balancing both commitments, however, takes effort.
“I’ll be honest, it’s tough,” Craft said. “I don’t get a lot of free time between work and training, but if I don’t want to lose, I got to do both.”
He also makes a deliberate distinction between his two roles.
“I separate the two things,” Craft said. “I’m not the MMA guy at work. I go in and do my best to do my job, and when I get off, I do my best at training, same person, two different things.” The physical nature of MMA can create an easy misconception making people believe that those who train in the sport must be aggressive or constantly looking for a fight. But on the contrary, both Airmen said their experience has been in fact the opposite.
“People think MMA fighters are violent or aggressive people,” Perdomo said. “I’ve seen MMA fighters who are the coolest people outside of the sport and have the most calm personalities.”
Craft agreed, describing many of the people he has met through the sport as some of the most relaxed people he knows.
Behind the gloves and competition, both said, MMA demands discipline, humility, respect and a willingness to accept correction. Every training session presents another opportunity to identify a weakness, learn a new technique or test whether preparation holds up under pressure.
For Perdomo, that constant process is part of what keeps him coming back.
“I want to be a better version of myself every day,” he said. “MMA helps me do that. It is constantly teaching me something new about the art or myself, and I love that.”
Craft said the same pursuit of improvement has kept him in the gym even when progress becomes difficult.
“There is no room not to grow in the sport,” Craft said. “There’s always something to learn and getting to test your skills in competition helps prove to yourself where you’re at.
Neither Airman plans to stop at this weekend’s fights. Perdomo wants to continue competing while progressing in his military career and completing his bachelor’s degree in construction management.
Craft is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in cloud computing through Arizona State University, with plans to complete it within the next two years. He has aspirations to compete professionally in MMA when he is ready.
For both, the goals are different, but the formula remains the same.
“You can do anything you put your mind to, as long as you don’t let yourself be complacent,” Perdomo said. “And to live life to the fullest regardless of wherever you are.”
Craft offered a similar message for fellow Airmen: “You won’t get anywhere without consistent work and pushing yourself.”
The fights this weekend will provide another opportunity to put that philosophy to the test. The outcome will be decided inside the cage, but for Perdomo and Craft, the more lasting measure is what happens before and after it, the discipline to prepare, the humility to learn and the resilience to get back to work if things do not go as planned.
For these two Airmen, the mat is another place where they are learning what it means to keep moving forward.
| Date Taken: | 09.11.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2026 16:52 |
| Story ID: | 574488 |
| Location: | HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Hometown: | ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO, US |
| Web Views: | 19 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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