The Peninsula is a perfect example of MMA’s growth, as there are a number of different training centers teaching the different disciplines MMA encompasses. Love it or hate it, there’s no denying the fact that the best MMA fighters have to be great overall athletes, tough and in tremendous tip-top condition — both physically and mentally.

A lot of people want to pit boxing versus MMA, but they’re missing the point. One sport is not more difficult or superior than the other. Take the greatest MMA 135-pounder and put him in a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao, and Pacquiao destroys him. Conversely, put Pacman with that same fighter in the octagon, and he kicks Pacquiao’s butt.

Got that? OK, enough rambling. Having written about boxing in the last few weeks, it’s only fair to give some pub to MMA, because neither sport tends to get much coverage in newspapers nowadays (the Daily Journal being an exception, of course). Fortunately, there are a number of hard-working local MMA athletes to focus on, including Foster City’s Scott Frost and San Mateo’s Ezequial Barrita.

Frost, 33, competed in the Grappler’s Quest last Saturday in Del Mar. Frost competed in the discipline where no striking was allowed, so it tested the ground game, wrestling and Jiu-Jitsu skills of the fighters. He competed in two divisions, winning the men’s middleweight executive absolute and taking the silver in the men’s middleweight (the executive absolute division is basically an open division, where the 177-pound Frost competed against fighters from various age and weight groups).

Frost trains out of Fearless Fitness Martial Arts Training and Development Center in Foster City, which had four other fighters competing in the event. San Mateo’s Wayne Wight, who trains with Frost, beat his teammate in the men’s middleweight division. Wight got Frost to submit with a rear naked choke hold.

“I’m ashamed to say I took his bait,” Frost said.

One of the more thoughtful athletes you’ll ever talk to, Frost dabbled in wrestling and MMA starting in his teens, but he never thought he would ever get back into it on a full-time basis. He hooked up with Fearless Fitness owner/head coach Paul Tosetti nine months ago after meeting him at the Foster City Art and Wine Festival.

Since then he’s lost a whopping 73 pounds while developing into a force. More importantly, Frost has undergone a lifestyle change and gained a new circle of friends at Fearless Fitness whom he trusts with his life.

After all, when you’re practicing punishing submission moves with your partner, where one wrong move can easily break a bone or pull a joint out of place, there needs to be plenty of trust involved on both sides. That’s what Frost has with Wight. The two train together two to three hours a day, six times a week.

“I thought this chapter in my life was over,” Frost said. “Having a wife and two kids, I thought I wouldn’t have another opportunity to do this (on a competitive basis). I went into this again thinking I would get decent exercise, but this has added something to my life that I don’t want to lose again. When you connect with someone or something, it touches your spirit and motivates you like nothing else can.”

MMA and adversity go hand in hand, because it takes years of sacrifice and dedication to be strong in any discipline. So it’s only appropriate Frost is knee-deep in MMA, because he’s had quite an odyssey of good and bad, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Born to father who served in the military, Frost graduated as a second lieutenant and earned a R.O.T.C. scholarship when he blew out his knee during his junior year at Indiana University. Frost’s knee was cut open and metal bone plugs were inserted. Unfortunately, that made Frost no longer commissionable, and he lost his scholarship, thus ending a promising military career.

“That made me bitter,” he said.

Fortunately, some good came out of the unfortunate turn of events. Hurt and depressed, Frost soon met his future wife, Crystal, at a service fraternity get-together, and the rest you can say is history. No one appreciates the journey more than Frost, and boy has he ever experienced a roller coaster of emotions.

Meanwhile, Barrita has found his calling in MMA as well. Barrita, who spent his first three years at Hillsdale High before finishing at Peninsula Continuation School in 2005, is scheduled to be the 13th of 18 fights at tonight’s “Fight Night at the Fox” Theatre in Redwood City, starting at 6 p.m. It’s a card featuring amateur Muay Thai rules, meaning it’s all standup fighting. This is Barrita’s first official bout; he’s competed in unofficial events in the past.

“This is really important for me,” Barrita said. “It’s a great opportunity and a lot of people I know will be watching. I can’t wait.”

Muay Thai features the skills of boxing combined with punishing kicks below the waist, along with strikes with knees and elbows.

Barrita, 22, will be fighting Beau Bunch in the 170-pound division. He made the weigh-in last night after losing eight pounds the night before. Hey, no one said this was easy. Barrita’s family owns Black Bean Cuisine — soon to be renamed La Victoria Taqueria — in downtown Redwood City. Barrita plans on going to culinary school while pursuing a career in MMA.

Barrita grew up boxing in his backyard — “I beat every single one of my friends,” he said — before taking a heavier interest in Muay Thai. No matter what happens tonight, Barrita will continue to be passionate about the sport. Working in his family’s restaurant business and competing in MMA has given Barrita a sense of purpose. In high school Barrita hung around the wrong crowd, but now he’s found his calling.

Here’s the one thing that even non-MMA fans have to respect. Fighters train countless hours for one small moment in the spotlight. And that window of opportunity can shut at any time. But most fighters don’t live for the spotlight. It might sound funny, but they take satisfaction in everyday pain that comes along with consistent training. With a steely focus, they eye gradual improvement, progress and accomplishment.

It’s a cliche but life is really about the journey, and no one knows that better than athletes like Barrita and Frost.

Emanuel Lee can be reached at emanuel@smdailyjournal.com and (650) 344 5200, ext. 109.