Fight Night: Amateur MMA takes over Victoria Community Center
Published 7:15 am Monday, August 4, 2025
The air inside the Victoria Community Center crackled with a blend of anticipation and nervous energy. It’s a Friday night, but this isn’t a high school football game or a civic meeting.
On this night, under the bright lights and booming sound of a temporary arena, was the latest installment of Tap or Scrap 12, a local fight promotion that is giving amateur athletes a place to test their mettle.
“This was just supposed to be a hobby,” Peter Morales, owner and founder of Tap or Scrap LLC, said Friday night. “A hobby now turned into a full blown business, and I couldn’t have done it without my wife, Kristie.”
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Tap or Scrap LLC, the company behind the event, has made a name for itself by fostering a legitimate, safe and exciting environment for local mixed martial artists.
“It is months of planning, matching fights, finding a venue, getting fights organized,” Kristie Garcia, Vice President of Business Operations for Tap or Scrap LLC, said. “My favorite part is watching the fights and building those connections with these fighters and coaches. This is amateur MMA, and when they [the fighters] go pro, that’s an amazing high.”
The fights themselves are a showcase of the sport’s diversity. From the blistering speed of the flyweights to the thunderous power of the heavyweights, each bout tells a unique story. In one corner, a fighter with a background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu looks for a takedown while his opponent, a former boxer, circles and throws crisp jabs. The crowd roars with every punch, with family and friends screaming support from the front row.
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Loading ...“We want everyone to have a good time, but we also want everybody to be safe,” Garcia said. “We always have security, but that’s just the norm for any venue of this size. We have well over 1,500 people here, but we’ve established a good group of folks that work with us, and that’s critical.”
Among the night’s most compelling stories is that of Greg Johnson, a 37-year-old coast guardsman who has been fighting in Tap or Scrap since 2022 and training for the past 12 years to compete for his featherweight title against Isaiah Gonzales, from Cuero..
“I’ve grown up playing every type of sport there is,” Johnson said. “I treat this just as any other sport, like basketball and football. I’ve never hated the person that I’m looking across from, and even in this fight, I’ve had very positive interactions with Isaiah. So, we’re going to be shaking hands after the fight as well.”
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The success of a Tap or Scrap event isn’t just measured in knockouts or submissions. It’s in the sold-out seats and the palpable sense of community. The fighters, their coaches and their supporters are all part of a close-knit family, bound by a shared love for the sport and respect for their competition.
After the final bell, opponents embrace, showing a mutual respect that is at the core of the martial arts ethos.
“My hope is that we keep growing, and we keep getting new fighters,” Garcia said. “Getting the name out is what’s important to us; promoting these kids, these young adults about something they love. I want to watch a UFC fight and see someone who started out with us.”
As the night wound down and the crowd filed out, the Victoria Community Center returned to its usual quiet. But for the fighters who bled, sweat and triumphed inside the cage, the memories of this night will last a lifetime.
They may not be superstars yet, but Friday night, they were champions in their own right, and the Victoria community will remember them all.
Katie Steinhauer is a freelance writer for the Victoria Advocate.
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