Valley fighter 'a nice guy' out of cage

Chandler resident Gilbert Aldana feels that ultimate cage fighters are some of society's best people.

"Ninety-nine percent of these guys are the nicest guys in the world," he said. "I'm a nice guy, but I know when to turn it on and off."

Tonight, Aldana, who goes by the nickname "El Peligroso" (the dangerous one), will turn it off as he's locked into a cage with Heber's Rich "Latino Heat" Beecroft in the heavyweight division of the Rage in the Cage Championship, one of 14 fights at Fort McDowell Casino.

Cage fighters combine several forms of martial arts as well as wrestling, boxing and kickboxing.

"You can't be one-dimensional," said Aldana, a former Mesa Community College football player who now works as a sales manager with Valley Protective Services, a security group that keeps order among crowds at events like Rage in the Cage.

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