Cynthia Calvillo will be one cornerman short on Dec. 7.
That’s because one of her longtime trainers, Thonglor Armetsena – better known in the MMA community as “Master Thong” – had his U.S. visa application rejected, denying him entry to the country. Calvillo takes on Marina Rodriguez in the co-main event of UFC on ESPN 7 in the nation’s capital of Washington D.C. and hopes that President Donald Trump will be in attendance, so she could ask him why Thong wasn’t allowed in the country.
“Yeah, I got to talk to him,” Calvillo laughed. “I want him to go because Master Thong – so I was training with my muay Thai coach, Master Thong, out there in Thailand, and I really wanted to get him to come corner me. So I went to go get his paperwork, tried to get it fixed, get his visa, and they denied him, so I got to have a talk with Donald Trump if he shows up, and tell him why he didn’t let Master Thong come in and corner me.”
Calvillo reunited with her coach Thong in Thailand, after spending just over two months training there, primarily at Tiger Muay Thai. Thong used to be one of the main coaches at California’s Team Alpha Male, where Calvillo used to train, but recently moved back to his home country of Thailand.
President Trump was in attendance at UFC 244 in New York on Nov. 2, the first time he’s attended a bout since becoming President, and with Calvillo fighting in the nation’s capital, who knows if Trump will decide to make an appearance?
Oh, and while he’s at it, hopefully Trump can hand Khabib Nurmagomedov’s father a visa, too, so he can corner his son for his upcoming title defense.
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Cynthia Calvillo wants Trump at UFC D.C. so she can ask why Master Thong's visa was denied
