he only weighed five pounds and four ounces but he came out just thrashing and screaming. the doctor looked at me and said: 'this one is a fighter!' ... and he always has been. lupita candelario (mother) in monterey herald, 2005
FABIAN AND LUPITA CANDELARIO HAD STARTED OUT MUCH LIKE THE RARE TEENAGE COUPLES WHO HOLD LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS. FABIAN MOVED FROM MEXICO TO EL CENTRO, CAIFORNIA IN HIS YOUTH, WHILE LUPITA HERSELF WAS A SAN DIEGO NATIVE (THOUGH FULL-BLOODED MEXICAN). THEY HAD MET AT A 'QUINCEANERA' PARTY FOR LUPITA'S DISTANT COUSIN IN THE VERY LATE 70'S. THE UNSUSPECTING GIRL, THEN ONLY SEVENTEEN, FELL DEEPLY FOR THE HANDSOME NEWCOMER WHO DIDN'T KNOW A SINGLE WORD OF ENGLISH - THOUGH, LUCKILY FOR LUPITA, SPANISH WAS A SECOND LANGUAGE IN HER HOME. THEY BEGAN DATING SHORTLY THEREAFTER, BOTH SOON RESIDING IN A SHOEBOX APARTMENT ON THE ROUGHER SIDE OF SAN DIEGO. FABIAN GAINED PROPER CITIZENSHIP BY THEIR MARRIAGE IN 1981, SPEAKING THEIR VOWS IN A COURTHOUSE CEREMONY SHORTLY AFTER HIS NINETEENTH BIRTHDAY.

SHORTLY AFTER MARRYING, LUPITA FOUND OUT SHE WAS PREGNANT WITH THEIR FIRSTBORN CHILD. DETERMINED TO GET OUT OF THE SLUMS, THE COUPLE TOOK THEIR LARGE MASON JAR FILLED WITH SPARE MONEY AND TIPS (EVEN COINS!) THAT THEY HAD COLLECTED OVER THE COURSE OF THEIR RELATIONSHIP, ALONG WITH WHAT SAVINGS THEY HAD IN THE BANK, AND SET TO MOVE SOMEWHERE THEY COULD START A FAMILY. THEY ENDED UP DRIVING THE HOURS AND HOURS LONG JOURNEY TO MARINA, CALIFORNIA AND WERE ABLE TO FIND A SMALL TWO BEDROOM HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF TOWN. IT WAS IN SHABBY CONDITION, HAD UGLY WALLPAPER AND OFF-COLORED CARPETING, BUT IT WAS THEIRS, AND AS LUPITA WOULD PROFESS TIME AND TIME AGAIN, A PLACE COULD BE OLD AND TATTERED, BUT STILL KEPT CLEAN AND NEAT. IN THE SPIRIT OF THAT THOUGHT, SHE SOON WOULD JUGGLE TWO JOBS, AS A PERSONAL HOUSE-CLEANER, AS WELL AS A MOTEL HOUSEKEEPER (BOTH WHICH SHE KEPT ALL THE WAY TO HER DUE DATE), AND FABIAN FOUND A JOB IN A FACTORY IN MONTEREY, ONLY FIFTEEN MINUTES AWAY.

IT WAS THEN, ON A RATHER MILD DAY IN LATE JULY 1982, AT MONTEREY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL, A BABY BOY (WEIGHING A MERE FIVE POUNDS) CAME OUT THRASHING, SCREAMING; FACE SCRUNCHED AND REDDENED. IT WOULD BE THE INFANT'S MOTHER WHO WOULD TELL ANYONE WHO ASKED ABOUT HIM, THAT FROM BIRTH ONWARD, HER SON ARCEL WAS ALWAYS A FIGHTER. THE BOY, NAMED ARCEL, WOULD BE THE ONLY CHILD IN THE HOUSEHOLD UNTIL AGE EIGHT, WITH THE BIRTH OF HIS MIDDLE BROTHER, SIMON, IN 1990. SOON FOLLOWING, HIS YOUNGEST BROTHER, MATEO, IN 1992.

THE FIRST WORDS THAT WERE TYPICALLY USED TO DESCRIBE ARCEL AS A CHILD WERE: 'QUIET', 'RESERVED', 'THOUGHTFUL'. IT SEEMED AS THOUGH SIMON WOULD RATHER OBSERVE AND TAKE MENTAL NOTES IN MOST SCENARIOS, RATHER THAN ENGAGE VERBALLY. HOWEVER, HE WAS VERY PHYSICALLY ACTIVE, ALWAYS UP FOR CHALLENGES, RACES, AND SO ON. IT WAS EARLY ON, AT AGE 6, THAT HE JOINED PEE-WEE WRESTLING (WHICH STRIPPED HIS MOTHER AND FATHER OF ANY EXTRA MONEY) AND FOUND ONE REASON TO TALK. HE SIMPLY COULDN'T GET ENOUGH OF THE PHYSICALITY. HE ALSO MADE GOOD GRADES FROM EARLY ON, AND DESPITE WEARING CLOTHES FROM THE SALVATION ARMY TO SCHOOL, HE NEVER WAS VERY DIFFICULT ABOUT THINGS. ALWAYS MILD-TEMPERED, HARD TO EXCITE, HE PAID PLENTY FOCUS TO HIS EDUCATION. THIS PATTERN CONTINUED FROM ELEMENTARY TO MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND INTO JUNIOR HIGH.

HIGH SCHOOL PROVED TO BE A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE FOR ARCEL, GARNERING VERY DECENT GRADES AND SHOWING HIS QUIET INTELLIGENCE THROUGH SOLID A'S AND B'S, WHICH CAME FAIRLY EASY TO HIM. HE HAD A GOOD HANDFUL OF FRIENDS HE CHOSE TO KEEP AROUND HIM AS WELL. IT WAS, HOWEVER, SPORTS, THAT KEPT HIS ATTENTION MOST. HE DABBLED IN FOOTBALL IN HIGH SCHOOL, SIMPLY TO BRANCH OUT (AND WAS THE TEAM CAPTAIN SENIOR YEAR), BUT IT WAS THE SPORT OF WRESTLING THAT GAVE HIM A RARE SPARK AND GLINT IN HIS EYE, HAVING FOLLOWED FROM PEE-WEE TO JUNIOR VARSITY, AND THEN TO VARSITY ITSELF. BY THE END OF HIS HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING CAREER, IN THE SPAN OF FOUR YEARS, HIS RECORD WAS 110-10. AMONG MANY AWARDS AND HONORS THAT HE RECEIVED, HE WAS MOST PROUD OF HIS RECORD (DESPITE THE '10' PART, WHICH ALWAYS BUGGED HIM). THIS GOT THE ATTENTION OF MANY COLLEGES, THOUGH HE CHOSE MONTEREY PENINSULA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, WRESTLED FOR THE 2001-2002 SEASON, WHILE WINNING THE NJCAA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION.

the only way i can explain it is, well, he's unrivaled on the mat to put it lightly. arcel is marked to finish with a 86-17 record for us, he's ranked 4th in the country, and with the last match coming up in two weeks, we're confident he's going to take oberfield in the first period... i came up to him in the locker-room after practice a few days ago, just us, and i asked: "arcel, do ya feel any pressure?", he said: "pressure makes diamonds, coach." that's just the kinda kid he is. dan hicks, head coach [wrestling], california state university ('05-) on abc7 eyewitness news, 2006
SOON AFTER WINNING THE NJCAA HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION, ARCEL MADE THE DECISION TO LEAVE MONTEREY PENINSULA AND TRANSFERRED TO CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY. HE WRESTLED FOR THE TITANS FOR THREE SEASONS AND COMPILED AN IMPRESSIVE 86-17 STANDING, PLACING 5TH IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2005, AND ONCE MORE AT 4TH IN 2006. HE ALSO WON CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS IN HIS 2004 AND 2005 YEARS, AS WELL AS MAKING AN IMPRESSIVE MARK AS A DIVISION I ALL AMERICAN. WHILE NUMEROUS ACCOLADES RACKED UP STEADILY, HE ALSO WORKED ACADEMICALLY TOWARDS A DEGREE IN SPORTS KINESIOLOGY.

IT WAS DURING THE LAST TWO SEASONS OF COLLEGE WRESTLING THAT ARCEL PERKED AN INTEREST IN MIXED MARTIAL ARTS. ONCE HE HAD GRADUATED FROM CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY (ALSO SUCCESSFUL IN GETTING HIS DEGREE), HE MADE HIMSELF NEARER TO HOME BY MOVING TO SALINAS, CALIFORNIA. BUT THE REASON FOR THE MOVE WASN'T NECESSARILY TO BE CLOSE TO FAMILY; IT WAS TO BE ONLY A HOUR'S DISTANCE FROM THE AMERICAN KICKBOXING ACADEMY, IN SAN JOSE. IN FACT, IN THE VERY SAME MONTH OF FINISHING COLLEGE, HE ENROLLED HIMSELF AT THE MMA SCHOOL WITH DETERMINATION AND HARD-WILL, STRIVING TO MASTER ANOTHER SPORT, INSTEAD OF PURSUING A CAREER IN SPORTS COACHING, AS HIS FAMILY HAD URGED HIM TO DO. THE REPUTATION AND POTENTIAL DANGER SURROUNDING MMA HAD BEEN ONE OF THE MANY SOURCES OF THEIR DISAPPOINTMENT (AS HIS MOTHER, IN PARTICULAR, WAS ABSOLUTELY PETRIFIED). GOING AGAINST HIS FAMILY'S WISHES, HE BEGAN STRENUOUS PRACTICE AND IN-DEPTH PHYSICAL STUDY OF BRAZILIAN JIU-JITZU, GUERILLA JIU-JITSU AND BOXING, AS WELL AS FURTHER WRESTLING AND STRENGTH TRAINING.

---then, his first real-time match came up against fujarczyk in fall 2006. i'll never forget it, i was sitting on his end by the ringside doctor, and when he delivered that brutal haymaker, i mean, the impact even rang in my ears! before i could halfass blink, he took fujarczyk down, and wouldn't stop pummeling, even after the referee called for him to break away. the 'doc was panicking, trying to call at the ref to pry him off. it was even in that first match that he really solidified himself as a villain in the cage. that's the main reason he got his name. ares, which to my understanding is the god of war or something. see, another new guy sort of coined it after the fight, said something like, "that was a f***ing sacrifice, ares!" -- and it just kind of stuck. by the time the strikeforce promotion got bought out by ufc, he had his professional name. i think he prefers ares over arcel, he always said arcel sounded too nice. leandro vieira, brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor [mma team], american boxing academy in breakingmuscle.com interview, 2007
AFTER IMMERSING HIMSELF COMPLETELY IN COMBAT STUDY, ARCEL WAS SET TO MAKE HIS MMA DEBUT IN EARLY OCTOBER 2006 AS A CONTENDER IN A MEDIUM-SIZED PROMOTION, APTLY NAMED 'STRIKEFORCE'. HIS OPPONENT WAS JESSE FUJARCZYK, A FELLOW NEWCOMER, WITH FAVORED STRATEGY OF SUBMISSION. WORD AROUND THE LOCKER ROOMS SPREAD THAT THIS WOULD BE QUITE THE FIGHT - TWO NEW DOGS IN THE PIT, READY TO MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES - AND THE DAYS LEADING UP TO THE MATCH HAD PROMPTED MANY QUESTIONS. AT THE END OF WONDERING, IT SEEMED TO BE A TOSS-UP TO MOST, AS BOTH MEN WERE FRESH AND RELATIVELY INEXPERIENCED IN A LIT CAGE. HOWEVER, ARCEL PROVED HIMSELF AND WAS THE VICTOR, WINNING BY T.K.O. IN THE FIRST ROUND, JUST SHY OF TWO MINUTES, AFTER A BRUTE THROW OF A HAYMAKER PUNCH AND A FLURRY OF FISTS THAT HAD FUJARCZYK ON HIS BACK, BLEEDING AND IN A DAZE.

IT WAS POST-MATCH THAT ONE OF HIS FELLOW FIGHTERS MADE A CONGRATULATORY COMMENT IN THE BACK, ALIGNING HIM TO THE GREEK GOD OF WAR, ARES, AND THE NAME HAD TAKEN INSTANTLY. FROM THEN ON, HE WAS BILLED AS 'ARES CANDELARIO', AND TOOK IT ON AS HIS PROFESSIONAL NAME BY THE TIME STRIKEFORCE WAS BOUGHT OUT BY THE MMA GIANT, UFC, IN THE MONTHS AFTER.

MANY OTHER MATCHES FOLLOWED BETWEEN 2006-2010, WINNING EACH AND EVERY ONE, ALL BY KNOCKOUT AND USE OF HIS FISTS, RATHER THAN SUBMISSION. ARES SIGNATURE SEEMED TO BE THAT OF STRATEGIC AND CALCULATED WILD-SLAUGHTER, LEAVING MOST OF HIS OPPONENTS CUT OPEN AND THRASHED AROUND, NOT TO MENTION SEEING STARS. O'BRIEN, STOJNIC, KONGO, ROTHWELL AND NOGEUIRA ALL FELL TO THE MAT, WITH THE LONGEST MATCH BEING EXACTLY FIVE MINUTES. THE BOUT BETWEEN HE AND STOJNIC SHOWED AS A BENCHMARK TO HIS STYLE OF EXECUTION, WINNING THE HONOR OF 'KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT' IN FEBRUARY 2009, THE MATCH STOPPED IN ROUND TWO, THE TIME CLOCKED AT 2:34, BY THE SHEER FORCE OF ARES' FINAL BLOW. HE WON THE HONOR OF 'KNOCKOUT OF THE NIGHT' YET AGAIN IN 2010, AND THAT PARTICULAR FIGHT (AGAINST ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGEUIRA) WON HIM A SHOT AT THE UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE.

no, i don't have a comment right now. don't wanna talk about it... what? yeah, my face is broke open, so what? he saw red and rushed me, he's lucky he rattled my head up and got me confused, if i had my wits about me i woulda killed him. brock lesnar (heavyweight title-holder defeated in championship match), to indie reporter out-of-octagon (oct 23 '10)
PREVAILING AGAINST NOGUEIRA, ARES HAD BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE TO FIGHT FOR THE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE WITH THEN-CHAMPION, BROCK LESNAR. THE EVENT HAD SUCH AN OVERWHELMING AMOUNT OF HYPE SURROUNDING IT THAT UFC SOUGHT THE RETURN OF 'UFC PRIMETIME' (A TELEVISION SERIES CHRONICLING THE TRAINING REGIMENS AND PREP OF TWO FIGHTERS PRIOR TO THEIR NEXT UPCOMING MATCH), USED SPECIFICALLY TO PROMOTE THE BOUT.

THOUGH MOST HAD RAISED EVIDENCE THAT LESNAR WAS RELATIVELY INEXPERIENCED TO ARES, WHO WAS CONTINUING TO SEASON HIMSELF IN COMBAT, A HEALTHY MAJORITY OF UFC FANS PREDICTED THAT LESNAR WOULD WIN, ON THE GROUNDS OF HIS STRENGTH AND PHYSIQUE. HOWEVER, ON THE NIGHT OF THE FIGHT, LATE OCTOBER 2010, ARES MADE HIS MARK ON THE UFC WORLD BY WINNING THE TITLE, FOUR MINUTES INTO THE FIRST ROUND VIA T.K.O., AND A HARD ONE. THOUGH THE DEFEATED LESNAR SEEMED SOUR, HE PRAISED ARES FOR HIS POWER AND FORCE IN THE CAGE. ARES, HOWEVER, SUFFERED A TORN ROTATOR CUFF IN HIS RIGHT SHOULDER DURING THE RUMBLE, AND THE POTENTIAL TO BE SIDELINED FOR A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF TIME WAS SEEMINGLY IMMINENT. THE OPERATION ON HIS SHOULDER WAS A SUCCESS, AND ARES RETURNED MUCH SOONER THAN EXPECTED, THANKS TO HIS DRIVE, AND MADE A COMEBACK IN THE FALL OF 2011.

THAT NOVEMBER WAS A DIFFICULT ONE, FOR ARES LOST THE CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE TO JUNIOR DOS SANTOS IN A HEADLINED MATCH, AND HIS FIRST LOSS IN HIS UFC CAREER, NO LESS. BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD, HE RECLIMBED HIS WAY UP THE LADDER ONCE MORE, AND FOUGHT ANTONIO SILVA TWICE, SOUGHT AND FOUND VENGEANCE IN VICTORY OVER DOS SANTOS IN 2012, WINNING THE TITLE BACK FROM THE FIGHTER, TAKING WHAT HE SAW AS RIGHTFULLY HIS IN A 'DOMINATING PERFORMANCE'. DURING THIS MATCH, ARES BECAME THE FIRST FIGHTER IN UFC HISTORY TO MAKE TRIPLE DIGITS IN SIGNIFICANT STRIKES LANDED AND DOUBLE DITCHES IN TAKEDOWNS IN A SINGLE FIGHT. 111 STRIKES AND 11 TAKEDOWNS LATER, HE WAS AGAIN CHAMPION.

DEFENDING THE TITLE TWICE FOLLOWING HIS CHAMPIONSHIP WIN, HE GATHERED MORE PRESS AND PUBLICITY THAN HE EVER HAD BEFORE. SILVA AND DOS SANTOS, THE LATTER BEING HIS RIVAL, BOTH ATTEMPTED TO TAKE THE CROWN IN 2013, BUT TO NO AVAIL.

IT WASN'T UNTIL 2015 THAT A FIGHT WAS ANNOUNCED FOR JUNE, AND AGAINST A VETERAN OF THE SPORT, FABRICIO WERDUM. THINKING THAT HE WAS GOING TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND HIS BELT FOR A THIRD TIME HAPPENED TO BE A WRY THOUGHT, FOR HE WAS DEFEATED BY SUBMISSION (HIS FIRST SUBMISSION EVER), BY WAY OF A GUILLOTINE CHOKE, THAT LANDED HIM WITHOUT THE TITLE AND LEFT HIM IN A SILENT TAILSPIN. A RE-MATCH AFTER THE LOSS WAS SCHEDULED, HOWEVER DUE TO A TORN MINISCUS AND SPRAINED ACL IN HIS RIGHT KNEE, HE HAD TO PULL FROM THE FIGHT, WHICH LEFT HIM ONLY MORE DOWN AND OUT.

sorta seeing stars right now... yeah, i did say it would be a bloodbath, my dome is proof of that. i blinked and he was right there. what? ... no, i wasn't too scared going into it, but not gonna lie, by the end i was afraid that the ref wouldn't be able to pry him off ... travis browne (latest opponent at ufc 200 event) out-of-octagon interiew with espn reporter, jul 9 '16
WITH A MATCH SET FOR THE SUMMER OF 2016, AGAINST TRAVIS BROWNE, ARES NURSED HIS WOUNDS QUIETLY IN PRIVATE AND CONTINUED TO TRAIN WITH MORE RIGOR THAN HE EVER HAD BEFORE. UNDERSTANDING THE THEORY THAT ONE IS EVER TOO OLD OR TOO GOOD AT SOMETHING TO LEARN, GROW AND FLOURISH, THE FIGHTER PUT HOURS UPON HOURS AT HIS TEAM'S GYM TO READY HIMSELF FOR HIS NEXT BATTLE, SLATED FOR EARLY JULY 2016 AT UFC 200. THOUGH NOT THE MAIN CARD OR THE HEADLINING EVENT, HIS WIN, PERFORMANCE AND OVERALL OUTPUT HAD FANS BUZZING FROM THE CROWD, TO AT HOME ON THE COUCH AND STRAIGHT TO SOCIAL MEDIA; HAILING THAT "THE KING OF THE BLOODBATH" HAD RETURNED, UNRELENTING, WITH AN EVEN SHARPER PHYSICAL STANCE AND EYE TO SPOT EVEN THE FAINTEST WEAKNESS. THE MATCH ITSELF LASTED ONLY ONE ROUND, ENDED IN A FLURRY OF ARM-COCKED PUNCHES (THE OFFICATOR HAVING SOME DIFFICULTY SEPARATING HIM, WHICH CAUSED SOME CONTROVERSY AMONGST FANS) AND, ARES? SWEATY AND VILE-EYED BUT VIRTUALLY UNSCATHED. HE WAS GIVEN THE AWARD 'PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT' BY UFC, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THE RIGHT TO MARK ANOTHER MAN FALLEN UNDER 'WIN'.
ares "war-path" candelario is now ranked as the #2 heavyweight in the world, according to sherdog, a majorly renowned and trusted mma website that sources it's information, statistics and other various information directly to espn.