Writer: Trish Teves | Photos: Estevan Oriol A young man in his physical prime, who packed a winning punch in the professional Mixed Martial Arts ring, made a verbal threat that would change the course of his life. His physical strength and rank could not save him from the journey in which his words took him. Seven years ago, Rick Slaton picked up the phone and threatened to kill someone who owed him $5000. The man on the other end was recording the conversation, which sent Slaton to prison for four years. His time at Donavan State ruined his marriage and nearly ended his professional fighting career. However, it was in a prison church service that Slaton heard the words that "saved my life," as he tells it. They were words that spoke the gospel truth, the message of Christ’s love.

    Today, two years out of prison and working his way up the MMA ranks with a 9 win, 1 loss record, Slaton is still contracted by the power of words. “Thug Life” clearly tattooed across his forehead makes it difficult for Slaton to assimilate into mainstream life, or hold a regular job. The tattoo is a remnant of his past, the life he used to live and paid a price for. It’s a debt that keeps a running tally. “I got this tattoo because that was the life I was leading. I was a street fighter and a gang member. I would go out at night hoping to get in a fight, sometimes two or three. But now it is hard for me to get work because of the way I look.”

    Slaton finds himself, like many professional athletes before their big win, in no man’s land. Maintaining a twice-a-day gym schedule makes it difficult to keep a job. A sponsor would be the cure-all to survive life beyond the gates of Donavan. “I was really depressed in prison. It took a lot out of me. But my worst day out here is better than any day inside.” Slaton has begun to give his testimony and speak words of encouragement to at-risk youth. Listening to one of his messages at a nearby youth center, only months after he exited prison, I was struck by the brevity of his message. “Make good decisions and give back to the community. Know that God has a plan for your life.” Words simply spoken, yet if lived by, more powerful than any punch.

Risen Magazine: You said you were seventeen when you started getting into trouble. Was that when you started street fighting?
Rick Slaton: I was seventeen when I started having problems with my family. So I picked up and moved from Hawaii to San Diego. I was lonely in school and wanted people to like me. So I started picking fights everywhere I went—sometimes a couple fights in one night. I beat people up so my friends would like me. I realize now it wasn’t that they liked me, so much as they were scared of me. They didn’t want to do anything to make me mad.

RM: How’d you get into Mixed Martial Arts?
RS: I had a friend who, at the time, was one of the best fighters in the world. He, along with Tito Ortiz and Team Punishment, were putting on an amateur fight. They asked me if I wanted to fight, knowing I had never trained for a professional fight. I lost that first match, but was called back to do more amateur fights. I suppose the rest is history.

RM: Why do you say that Donavan State was the worst and best thing that happened to you?
RS: Prison was miserable…especially in the beginning. I was married and I missed my wife. It was hard for me to be away from her. I didn’t want to be alone and I was afraid I was going to lose her. One day I got into a fight with some skinheads and it escalated into a full-blown war for two years. I was fighting with them all the time as well as dealing with issues with my wife.
    My cellmate at the time, Billy Phillips, was really into the Bible and God. He was always preaching to me and finally convinced me to go to a meeting called Kairos. It is a church group where a bunch of guys come in from the streets, talk to you, and love on you. They also feed you