Muhlenberg athletes are spending the summer of 2023 enjoying fantastic experiences on campus, in their hometowns, across the country and even around the world.
Rising senior wrestler Joey Lamparelli, a business administration major, traveled to Germany, the Netherlands, and Las Vegas, gaining experience in sports management and training with professional MMA athletes.
This summer, I've had an incredible opportunity to intern for Ruby Sports & Entertainment in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ruby S&E is a prominent sports management company specializing in working with MMA fighters across various fight promotions, including UFC, PFL, Bellator, Oktagon, CFFC and more. The company is owned by my uncle, Danny Rubenstein, who has an extensive background in combat sports.
A former Division I wrestler at the University of Oklahoma, my uncle has been in the management business for 10 years and has met a lot of amazing people along the way. His introduction to the MMA world came through his friendship and wrestling connection with former UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier, who wrestled at Oklahoma State during the same period my uncle wrestled at Oklahoma.
As I reflect on my one-month journey during this internship, I'm amazed at how much I've accomplished and the remarkable individuals I've had the pleasure of meeting. To kick off the internship, my uncle and I embarked on an unforgettable six-day trip to Europe. The purpose of the trip was to support one of Ruby's fighters competing in the quarterfinals of Oktagon's fight tournament, with a grand prize of 300,000 Euros at stake. The fights took place in Oberhausen, Germany, where we witnessed some incredible bouts.
Following Oberhausen, we traveled to Dusseldorf, Germany, and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Amsterdam proved to be an amazing city with many activities to enjoy.
Upon our return to Las Vegas, I fully immersed myself in the internship experience. Most of my daily tasks at Ruby S&E revolve around computer-based activities. Some of the things I'm responsible for are updating spreadsheets with fighter information, handling fighter paperwork, organizing and dispatching gear to the fighters, as well as taking care of various errands that arise throughout the day. Additionally, a significant aspect of the internship involves attending events and interacting with professionals from the fighting and business realms. I had the opportunity to witness this firsthand during our European trip and have since attended multiple UFC events here in Las Vegas. It's been an incredibly fascinating experience to observe and be a part of.
In addition to my responsibilities at Ruby S&E, I've been fortunate enough to train at Syndicate MMA, a world-class MMA gym located here in Las Vegas. The owner of Syndicate, John Wood, is very close friends with my uncle, and the two of them set me up with the opportunity to be able to train there for the duration of my internship. Although my background lies in wrestling, I've always been intrigued by MMA. Syndicate offers training in jiu-jitsu, wrestling, kickboxing and Muay Thai as well as a comprehensive MMA class. I opted to focus on jiu-jitsu and overall MMA training to do something different, as I have strictly wrestled for the last 10 years of my life.
I was graciously invited to participate in Syndicate's Pro MMA class, where I've had the privilege of training alongside real professional fighters. Among the incredible athletes I've encountered or trained with at Syndicate are Alex Perez, the current No. 6 UFC flyweight (125 lbs); Aljamain Sterling, the current UFC bantamweight (135 lbs) champion; Merab Dvalishvili, the current UFC No. 1 bantamweight (135 lbs) contender; and Michael Chiesa, the current No. 12 UFC welterweight (170 lbs), to name just a few.
It's been an amazing experience to learn from and exchange ideas with these individuals, giving me valuable insights into what it takes to reach the pinnacle of success.
Doing something interesting or unusual this summer or know of a Muhlenberg student-athlete who is? Fill out this form to be included in our Summer Check-In series!
