On April 13th, Heinrich “Ricky Scraps” Wassmer faces his toughest opponent yet in Michael Reyes at Combate Americas – Combate Estrellas 1 card. Prior to the fight, I decided to take a look at the life of Wassmer and see what made him the fighter he is today.
Growing up, Wassmer always found himself in trouble, getting into constant fights and moving from school to school. His parents were growing concerned, they moved around the united states and Wassmer never felt at home anywhere, as trouble seemed to follow him regardless of where he was living. When “Ricky Scraps” was 15, he was living in the Bronx, a fun party with his Uncle turned into hell when they both got shot. Staring down the barrel of a gun which could have ended his life ironically was the beginning of Wassmer’s life.
After the traumatic experience, Wassmer moved back to California, got himself a little job and got back into school. A roommate convinced him to join a gym and “Ricky Scraps” was born. He became addicted to training and improving. After a little while of training, Wassmer had his first amateur fight, which went against him, but it fueled the fire to improve and become a more complete fighter. After a rollercoaster of ups and downs in an amateur career, Wassmer and his coach sat down and made the decision to go pro, and to completely dedicate his life to mixed martial arts.
Wassmer had his first pro fight for Gladiator challenge, he won that fight by knockout and won his next two fights by submission, before being signed by Combate Americas. A first-round submission victory in his debut against Ramon Cruz woke up the division, there was a new guy in town and he was here to stay.
“Ricky Scraps” lost his next fight in a tight split decision, but followed that up with two successive victories over Heber Castillo and Freddy Arteaga. In his last fight, Wassmer got caught in a submission and lost, but he is back more hungry and more improved than ever to take over the flyweight division at Combate Americas.
So there you have it, the transition from looking down the barrel of a gun to fighting professional mixed martial arts. Its cliche but in this case very true, MMA saved “Ricky Scraps” life. Make sure wherever you are on April 13th you’re watching this warrior lay down the law inside the cage!
Ryan Cambridge
MMAMotion 