Chicago's Voice of Mixed-Martial Arts is a Columbia Student

When the light goes on and it’s show time, you'd better be prepared - and ‘prepared’ might as well be Raymond Flores’ middle name. How many 21-year-old guys do you know that not only have their own show, but also have appeared as either a commentator or analyst on numerous other sports shows?

While growing up in northwest Indiana, Flores always knew he would have a career in sports broadcasting.  He even jokes that early on he realized his actual athletic ability didn’t quite match his peers. “But rather go after a dream that rarely is successful, I wanted to implement myself and my talents and make myself a part of the sporting industry in a different way,” he said.

Raymond Flores interviews Royce Gracie

Flores has come a long way since landing his first job at WJOB Radio in Indiana when he was only 17.  When he decided to attend Columbia as a freshman it was straight to the grind and Flores headed up numerous projects including an internship at EPSN radio and anchoring for UIC men and women’s sports on Columbia's student-run radio station, WCRX. On his laundry list of accomplishments, Flores rates representing Columbia at the National Broadcast Education Foundation Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. as his best. “It was truly a surreal experience and what made it even more special (aside from all the dignitaries in attendance) was the fact that the Chair of the Radio department Barbara Calabrese and Tony Kwincinski, and Cheryl Morton Langston, the manager of WCRX were present to partake in this special moment with me. Cheryl, Tony, and Barbara have been some amazing mentors in my career here at Columbia. They have made me not only a better broadcaster, but also a better person,” he added.

During Raymond’s sophomore year, Langston brought up the idea of allowing him to do a one-hour radio show dedicated to the sports of mixed martial arts and boxing. Since the start of the show, Flores has interviewed influential figures in both mixed martial arts and boxing including David Diaz, Miguel Torres, Randy Coutre, Ken Shamrock, Royce Gracie, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Bob Arum, and Don King just to name a few.  It’s still the only boxing and mixed martial arts radio show in Chicago. Since starting the show Flores has been given the opportunity to be a ring announcer for several mixed martial arts shows throughout the Chicagoland/Northwest Indiana area.

Seeing Flores with so much drive, it's no wonder he has dreams of working for a prominent media outlet as an anchor or as a play-by-play announcer one day.  No matter what road his sports broadcasting career will go down he knows he always has to be sports minded in a business like this. “ It’s so competitive in this market that you have to bring you’re a game, night in day out.”

-Liz Olszta

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