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Thoughts on opponent, Chris Horodecki? Chris Horodecki is a tough kickboxer. His style mixed with mine should make an interesting fight.

 

When and why did you start training for fighting? I was taught Karate by my mother since I could walk and participated in Karate tournaments all of my life and as I progressed I got disqualified a few times for excessive contact. Getting a lot of warnings and disqualifications pushed me away from the sport of point karate. I was a huge fan of the UFC at the time also so my new goal at this point in time was to one day fight for the UFC. When I graduated high school I moved out to San Diego once I passed the Lions Den Tryouts at the age of 17. Ken Shamrock was the first formal MMA training that I had. That is where I met my current trainer, Eric Delfierro. The rest is history.

 

What ranks and titles have you held? Black belt in Karate and Tae Kwon Do

 

Do you have any heroes? Bruce Lee was one of my heroes growing up. Now I would have to say Roy Jones Jr. and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are some of the fighters I really look up to. I can’t forget about Sugar Shane Mosley either.  

 

What is your favorite technique? Spinning Hook kick

 

What does it mean for you to fight in the WEC?   It means a lot to be fighting for the WEC. It means that all of my hard work and training is being recognized. I have a home-based following, but it really means that I am doing something right to be given the opportunity to fight for such a well known organization.

 

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? No

 

What was your job before you started fighting? Student

 

Most memorable professional fight (who, where, why)? I have two - Brett Cooper a few yrs ago in Tijuana, Mexico. I knocked him out with a spinning hook kick from hell. And Alex Karalexis @ WEC because I was the underdog in his town and he made a name for himself coming off TUF. I knew that matchup would be my chance to get recognized. I won via TKO.

 

What was your most challenging professional fight (against who, when, what was the outcome)? Marcus Hicks @ WEC. He won.

 

Did you compete in any other sport(s) at college or professional level (what sport, where, how long)? Nope. I joined this sport at 17. 1st pro fight was at 18. I didn’t have a desire to do anything but MMA.

 

Who were your training partners for this fight? Team Alliance - Erin Beach, Rolando Perez, Dominick Cruz, just to name a few. We also did some traveling to other gyms. I wanna thank everyone I trained with, not just the Alliance guys.

 

Did you put more emphasis towards a fighting style or adjust your training to prepare for your opponent (what did you do differently/why)? I didn’t do anything differently. Most of my team are strikers so we kept to our normal M O.

 

What, other than WINNING, are you using for motivation for the fight? It’s always been the Money. Besides that I wanna entertain. I consider myself an entertainer as well as a fighter.

 

What is your favorite thing about this sport? I get the opportunity to showcase Karate on a different level.

 

How long do you see yourself staying in this sport? Forever. Even if I’m not fighting myself I want to produce fighters, so I’m here to stay.