David Del Real
David Del Real fights for the 125 lb amateur MMA title at Crash Combat 8, against short-notice replacement Tosh Hernandez. He is from Wichita, Kansas, and describes himself as first-generation Hispanic — "I've been through a lot of trials and tribulations, but here we are." He came to the sport sideways: a family friend talked him into a kickboxing class while he was still a soccer player, and he was hesitant enough to drift in and out of that gym for years. He found 316 Martial Arts a couple of years ago and has not let up since — "ever since then it's been pure grind, pure dedication." He is unreserved about the room: he calls 316 the best gym in the Midwest, crediting the combination of coaches and a deep bench of grapplers and strikers, with teammates now getting booked outside Kansas. Asked how he feels going in, he pointed at the work rather than the opponent: "I'm always prepared, because I'm always training every single day, multiple hours a day... there's no situation I can be put in that I can't figure out." On the country, he wishes for less separation — political and personal — and more unity. Source: Crash Combat pre-fight interview, August 2026.