When and why did you start training for fighting? I started fighting because I was always the smallest, getting pushed around, but there came a time when I wasn’t wrestling anymore and I was in college and I got jumped by two people on my 19th birthday and realized that it was my true calling.
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? A UFC contract means that I’m finally getting what I have earned. I have been through a lot more than any of these Contender Series guys. I have had my career almost taken from me when I broke my jaw, and I am more because of it. I try not to brag about it because it hit on a deeper level with my family and everyone that was there when it happened that life isn’t promised, so you better get it done today before time runs out because it’s not an endless clock.
What was your job before you started fighting? Cut grass and whooped ass.
Specific accomplishments in amateur competition? Featherweight state champion and Caged Kombat champion, Arena Combat champion (amateur accomplishments)
When and why did you start training for fighting? I started training in 2011. Since I was a kid, I used to love watching UFC and I was pretty good at wrestling, so I knew it was always something I wanted to get into. I never had the best results in wrestling, but when me and my friend would wrestle at the park or whatever I was always catching people in submissions we would see in the UFC, so once I finally got into the gym and got exposed to it, I started doing well pretty early on and I was hooked instantly from my first practice.
What ranks and titles have you held? I have held an amateur kickboxing belt for SWKA, which is a promotion in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I fought for an amateur Muay Thai belt and lost. I also fought for the inaugural LFA Flyweight belt, but I lost that fight, as well. I am also a one-stripe brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Do you have any heroes? Goku from Dragon Ball Z and Kobe Bryant
What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? Fighting for the UFC means the world to me. I have put the last nine years of my life into this sport and I have done all of this because I love it. That being said, there are plenty of other things I could have been doing in that time to set myself up for a career to earn money for my family. I have always worked hard and I would be fine with it without the UFC money but to think that this dream could truly come true and I could provide for my family off a career of being a professional martial artist getting to do something I truly love, that’s a feeling I couldn’t put into words.
Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? I went for a few semesters but I haven’t earned a degree or certificate yet.
What was your job before you started fighting? I was 16 when I started, and I worked in a restaurant as a dishwasher at the time.
Specific accomplishments in amateur competition? Amateur Kickboxing Champ
Specific accomplishments in pro competition? LFA Title Challenger