UFC sends Dominick Cruz and Charlie Brenneman to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia

Being a UFC fighter is tough.

Being a kid from the streets of Philly is tougher. That's why Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) had a greater mission when it arrived in "The City of Brotherly Love" for its UFC 133 pay-per-view event on August 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

ESPN.com has the details:

Dominick Cruz, the UFC bantamweight champion, and Charlie Brenneman, a fast-rising welterweight contender, were chauffeured into Wilson Park Apartments Complex on Friday morning to sample life inside a different cage. They were preaching from the fight gospel, and the message was heard by some 150 teenagers.

It was self-evident that the likes of Cruz and Brenneman, who might not be the ideal role models for the kids who sat -- pretty patiently -- listening and asking questions, have the facility to engage with alacrity. Their effect on the real role models -- the 16- and 17-year-old "senior" kids in the project -- is what really counts from this visit.

The summer camp is run by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia. Wilson Park is one of 11 units in the city of Philadelphia. The kids who come during the schools’ summer break are between 7 and 18 years old.

Civic duties have become more than just a publicity stunt in recent years, as UFC fighters often give back to the community with or without the promotion's insistence.

Stephan Bonnar, Tyson Griffin and Steve Cantwell were recently on hand at Jump for Joy’s "Camp Jump" earlier this year to demonstrate MMA moves and training techniques along with teaching the importance of living an active lifestyle from an early age at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Las Vegas, Nevada.

"The greatest lesson in life is realizing that whoever you are fighting, whoever you are up against, the greatest battle is with yourself," Cruz told ESPN. "I hope some of the kids in the Wilson Park project get to see that themselves."

While "The Dominator" and "The Spaniard" were helping kids fight their inner demons, a couple of light heavyweights were doing battle themselves on the "Evans vs. Ortiz 2" main event at the Wells Fargo Center.

For those results and more from last Saturday night's UFC 133 event click here.