Written by LineStar contributor, combat sports enthusiast, and practitioner, Chris Guy. Instagram: @therealsethgeko | Twitter: @DadHallOfFamer

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The final battle of a war longer than human existence will be waged this Saturday night. Two species, the Alien and the Predator, have chosen earth as the battlefield to hold the universe’s penultimate showdown. The ultimate is to take place against the humans, who will be forced to confront the victor or cease to exist.

The Aliens and the Predators have sent their deadliest warriors to engage in a fight to the death to determine the sole right to lay claim to the earth and its abundance of resources. These predatory extraterrestrials are on the brink of extinction, of exhausting the limits of their own planets, and failure to colonize earth will eliminate them from the tournament of life.

The two chosen combatants are killing machines with weapons that could only be contrived by the most creative psychedelic-induced human minds. The Alien is built for speed and agility and has double-jointed legs similar to a dog’s that enable it to engage its prey from a great distance with multi-weapon attacks. Its primary weapon is its segmented serpent-like carapace with protruding serrated spines as long as machetes that continues along its body into a six-foot-long tail with a scorpion’s barb at its precipice. Using its tail, the Alien can slash or impale and possesses the strength to lift a Predator high into the air or dismantle its legs with repeated assaults. Of important note: the Alien’s blood has been observed to be a corrosive acid that has discouraged all previous foes from spilling it.

Whereas the Alien is built for agility and speed, the Predator is built for strength and power and possesses a unique ingenuity for battle. The Predator uses a combination of both primitive-bladed tools and futuristic combustive arms. Attached to both wrists are two-foot forked swords, and it is especially deadly with a three hundred sixty-degree discus hand blade that it wields like an ax. For long-range attacks, it can throw a six-blade Shuriken or take a head clean off with a plasma cannon, usually mounted on its left shoulder. When all else fails, a mini nuke can be activated to self-destruct and take with it all within a one-hundred-mile square radius.

Recently intercepted transmitted images revealed evidence of the Predator’s past victories. One taken from inside a Predator spaceship showed the skulls and skeletal tails of two Aliens mounted on the walls like trophies of hunted game. But the outcomes of the past will hold no significance come Saturday night when one subhuman being can take one step closer to planetary dominance with a single deathblow.

Main Card

Alex Pereira (+140) vs. Israel Adesanya (-175)

Pereira: DK: $7.6k | Stylebender: DK:$8.6k

This one’s some real-life Alien vs. Predator type-ish. This is the purest striker vs. striker matchup that could possibly be made. If you don’t know the history, Alex Pereira and Israel Adesanya have already fought twice. But the fisticuffs took place under kickboxing rule sets, including just three three-minute rounds. Alex Pereira won both fights and most famously KO’d Adesanya in the third round of their rematch. Though I use “won” loosely when referring to the first fight. As it turns out, Valero judges have no problems stealing more than just UFC dubs. It is universally known that Stylebender won the first fight, and Pereira’s reaction to the judges' decision said it all.

Izzy dominated the second bout until he didn’t. He took the first two rounds and even recorded a 10-8 in the second, when he repeatedly clubbed Pereira with right hands until the ref hand to jump in and issue a standing eight count. But then the third round happened, and Alex Pereira came out hotter than Drake contraceptives. Down three rounds after only two rounds of fighting, he pressed forward, pressured Izzy, and centered the triangular sight of his shoulder cannon and landed his patented left hook that turned Izzy into mounted trophy on Pereira’s wall. The crazy thing is, Izzy dominated almost every round of both fights and still walked away with two L’s.

So what will be different this time when the two square off for the rubber match under a different rule set and setting? Well, not much. Other than defending a feeble takedown once in a while, Izzy's overall MMA skills are rarely tested. Izzy fights are usually standing affairs against opponents who are resigned to engaging in kickboxing matches because they can’t deal with his physical attributes enough to implement any other game plan. Needless to say, Alex Pereira won’t come in shooting double legs; this will be a third kickboxing match, but this time with four-ounce gloves. The only semi-advantage I see for Izzy is his experience in using smaller gloves. Kickboxing uses large twelve/fourteen/sixteen-ounce gloves that provide a large surface area for defending. It’s like having big pillows on your hands and strikes that would be defended with large gloves suddenly find the mark with small ones.

What was surprising about the first two fights was how aggressive Izzy was; he showed Pereira little to no respect despite Pereira’s reputation for being the fookin’ boogeyman in the ring. Adesanya is a natural dual-stance fighter but had his most success from the orthodox stance, bullying Pereira with heavy right hands. I haven’t seen that uber-aggressive Izzy inside the Octagon very often, as he often likes to execute Mortal Kombat flawless victories by picking opponent’s apart one strike at a time from the outside. That may just be Izzy’s new style as he’s matured as a fighter, but I think if he sits back waiting for perfect opportunities to strike, the Predators heat-seeking left hook will eventually lock on and end Izzy’s reign. Aggressive Izzy is a scary Izzy and may be the best pure striker to ever step in the Octagon.

Alex Pereira will test Izzy’s chin for the first time since Izzy fought Kelvin Gastelum in the best middleweight title fight of all time. Stylebender lost a fight at light heavyweight to Jan Blachowicz, but he was mostly taken down and held there and sustained virtually no damage. Pereira marches forward and has the most fundamentally sound left hook you will ever see. There’s no windup, or tell of any kind; he just uncorks the hook in a short motion from the shoulder and lands it on the tip of the chin, turning the opponent’s head and shutting off the nerves in the back of the neck leading to the brain. Lights out. Knees from the clinch, standing, or flying are also a Pereira specialty, and he may look to make things ugly in the trenches to deliver damage.

The numbers: Stylebender (-190) is 23-1 with fifteen TKO/KO’s and averages a tad under four significant strikes landed per minute. His biggest knock is that he has some performances where he does just enough to win rounds and get out of there with the dub and doesn’t look to finish the fight. Pereira (+155) is just 6-1 in MMA with five TKO/KO’s and averages over six significant strikes landed per minute in limited time inside the Octagon. But he did land over one hundred strikes in the only fight that went the distance. I thought I could get plus money for a decision, but a decision will return (-145) odds and an early finish (+110). But keep this in mind, at some point, Izzy had Pereira hurt in both kickboxing matches, and Pereira Ko’d Izzy with one punch. The Pereira finish came one minute into the third round, near the seven-and-a-half-minute mark. The fight ending under two and a half rounds will return (+230) odds and under three and a half rounds (+160). An Izzy TKO/KO will return (+300) and a Pereira TKO/KO (+275).

We’re in the mist of a main event-winning recession after Amanda Lemos’s right hand left Marina Rodriguez frozen like Ted Williams’ head. The good news: Your boy dropped that twenty-twen-twen on a Lemos TKO/KO. The ol’ put-your-money-where-your-mouf-isn’t. This might be the most perplexed I’ve ever been for a fight; this is a complete and utter toss-up. Bust out the gingerbread scented Yankee Candles and put it on wax; Alex Pereira via TKO, round three.

Winner: Alex Pereira | Method: TKO Rd.3

Weili Zhang (-400) vs. Carla Esparza (+300)

Zhang: DK: $9.4k | Esparza: DK: $6.8k

Let’s recap Carla Esparza’s championship winning performance in her last bout, a rematch against Rose Namajunas:

That’s it. A whole lotta nada. Usually, when you say nothing happened in a fight, it’s hyperbolic. But in the case of Carla vs. Rose 2, that’s literally what happened, nothing. Both fighters should have been sent to the showers with no chanclas like how Mike Singletary did Vernon Davis a few years ago. “I want winners. Can’t win with ‘em. Can’t do it.” But somebody had to win that night (even though I scored it a draw), and it was Carla Esparza who won because she landed a single takedown with one second of top control.

Now, in her first title defense, Carla will face the most athletic and versatile women’s fighter I’ve ever seen, Weili Zhang. Weili is as well-rounded a fighter as there is in the promotion, and the only question is, how quickly does she finish Carla Esparza? There’s nowhere the fight can go, Pluto, Jupiter, or Mars, that Weili won’t have the advantage. Even in the wrestling department, which is Esparza’s specialty, Weili will have the edge. And the stand-ups? Well, that will be like IMG Academy playing West Toronto Prep and leading 96-0 at halftime.

The only number you need to know: (+120), the odds for a Weili Zhang TKO/KO. Esparza will be the (+300) dog and faces a Donner Party path to victory in every Cardinal direction. Weili Zhang via TKO, round two.

*Note: Every time I completely write a fighter off in flowing medieval script, they win.

Winner: Weili Zhang | Method: TKO Rd.2

Dustin Poirier (-175) vs. Michael Chandler (+135)

Poirier: DK: $8.9k | Chandler: DK:$7.3k

This one will be like New Mexico desert atomic bomb testing footage from the 50s. The ones that would show the mannequins inside the houses chillin’, playing Parcheesi, and suddenly they get blown to pieces, but somehow the video camera doesn’t. This will be a stand-up banger for the ages. Dustin Poirier throws nothing but Thor hammers, and throughout his career, Michael Chandler’s right hand has posted Gary Ridgway numbers.

Poirier is coming off a loss to Charles Oliveira, a fight in which Poirier dominated for stretches on the feet. He had Oliveira in all kinds of trouble in the first round and was lighting him up like Paul Wal…ter White’s Winnebago. Dustin’s style is a combination of technique and pure brawling. He uses excellent footwork, counters, and boxing defensive slips/rolls, but at the same time, he fights with his hands low, engages in firefights, and wings punches from the waist.

Poirier is particularly vulnerable when he throws his left hand (his best weapon) because he drops his lead hand to the floor. He will often set his left hand on repeat while he ties his shoes with his right and tends to take a ton of damage as a result. But he’s an adrenaline junky and thrives on engaging in 50/50 exchanges. He’ll have to be wary of Chandler’s right hand; it’s tailor-made for Poirier’s chin if Poirier gets reckless. Which he will; he always does.

Michael Chandler is coming off one of the most devastating KO wins ever-ever; he punted Tony Ferguson’s head from his own endzone for a touchback. Tony fell face first at free fall speeds and was asleep longer than the fight lasted. The Doctors rolled him over, and he looked like King Tutt in his tomb with pennies over his eyes. He looked like a marlin pulled from the ocean and displayed on the deck. They took pictures with tony hanging upside down by his ankles with a measuring tape stretched out from head to toe. When tony woke up, he looked like Tom hanks after a year on the island.

When I talk about wrestler striking, Michael Chandler is the perfect example and probably the best wrestler-striker in the game. Wrestler strikers always have explosive power hands that they throw like they’re shooting double legs. Chandler’s right hand is so fast and explosive he can use it to close the distance, which is the exact opposite of fundamental teachings. You usually want to work your way inside with jabs and feints, but Chandler doesn’t have time for all that. He leads with his piston right hand and has no trouble getting inside on any fighter.

Always in his back pocket, Chandler carries dominant wrestling and heavy ground and pound. Before coming to the UFC, Chandler relied heavily on his wrestling to become one of the best lightweights in the world. He hasn’t really put his wrestling on display in the UFC and has instead decided to engage in fan-friendly slobber knockers. Oliveira showed holes in Poirier’s grappling from his back, and Chandler would be wise to try to exploit that once again.

I don’t think this one goes the distance. Both guys become defensively illiterate when the fists start flying, and turn into Bear Grylls survivalists in the pocket, willing to camp out for the duration of the fight. Poirier will be stepping in as the (-210) favorite, and Chandler at plus money (+173) is always a steal. Even amid nuclear fallout, Chandler can change the tides with one punch. A Poirier TKO/KO will return (+165) and a Chandler TKO/KO (+400). Chandler will also be a lower-tier Fantasy option with a massive upside, even though he’ll be at a technical disadvantage on the feet. But I’m rolling with the McGregor killer. Dustin Poirier via TKO, round three.

Winner: Dustin Poirier | Method: TKO Rd.3

Frankie Edgar (+185) vs. Chris Gutierrez (-230)

Edgar: DK: $7.1k | Gutierrez: DK: $9.1k

Speaking of getting punted for one hundred yards and downed in the endzone, Frankie Edgar is back. The last time we saw him, his face looked like a figure in a wax museum when someone sets the thermostat to one hundred degrees. Edgar literally got put on wax in his last bout against the heathen Chito Vera. I was hoping Edgar, one of my all-time favorites, would call it a career and take up Bonsai tree grooming or something, but here we are. Frankie will be up against a young killer in Chris Gutierrez, who has won six of his last seven fights and is just now entering his prime.

Frankie Edgar in his prime combined crisp technical boxing with dominant wrestling. He was the best ever at setting up takedowns with his hands by using short, fast combinations to distract from his level changes. Edgar was once the smallest lightweight in the division and was still the Champion. Now he’s fighting all the way down at bantamweight against guys he would have smoked like a matanza just a few years ago. This will be Edgar’s thirtieth fight in the Octagon, and he holds a promotional record of 18-10-1.

Before taking a foot to the face from Chito Vera, you could argue that Edgar was up two rounds heading into the final round. Frankie was able to take Vera down and control him to salt away rounds, and he will likely implement the same game plan against Gutierrez. The key for Frankie will be defending leg kicks on the feet. Gutierrez has hacksaws for legs and often conducts amputations with no anesthesia inside the cage. The best way to defend takedowns is to destroy the legs, so changing levels and shooting is near impossible. If Frankie doesn’t defend leg kicks and loses the ability to shoot, and this becomes a kickboxing match, he’ll lose. He can’t stand and bang with these young bucks without the threat of the takedown to aid his striking.

A fellow Chris G., Gutierrez is a nasty southpaw Gus Fring kickboxer with deadly left limbs. The left side of his body is far more dangerous than his right side, almost as if he was split down the middle and missing half of his body. His left round kicks and overhands are deadly, but he often goes to the well too often and becomes predictable. Gutierrez’s special move is spinning sh!t. Spinning backkicks or backfists, Gutierrez uses excellent timing to counter forward pressure with a variety of spinning attacks. He’s coming off a second-round spinning backfist TKO of Danaa Batgerel, and lately, getting KO’d by flashy-ish has been Frankie Edgar’s modus operandi.

The key for Gutierrez will be takedown defense. In eight UFC bouts, he has been taken down at least once in six of them. But his takedown defense is a respectable seventy-three percent, which means fighters often try to take him down. Chris G. will be the higher output striker, averaging just over four and a half significant strikes landed per minute, but tread carefully. His biggest red flag is that he often doesn’t let his hands go and falls behind on the score cards or makes fights closer than they need to be. On average, Gutierrez will be around the sixty to seventy strikes landed range.

Frankie’s value will be in takedowns and top control. He averages just under two and a half takedowns per fifteen minutes, and he will have to rely on top position for most of his significant strikes. A Frankie finish? Not likely. He hasn’t finished a fight since before the Asstros became cheaters, nullifying all future titles until Pete Rose is inducted into the Hall Of Fame. Frankie’s last finish was in 2017 against Yair Rodriguez but has since gone 2-5.

The over for two and a half rounds is (-155), and an early finish will be valued at (+120). The finishing threat will be Chris Gutierrez, and a win by TKO/KO will return (+175). Lately, spontaneous injuries have ruined more fights than missing weight has, and it’s quite possible Gutierrez can pull a Gus Frerotte or some ish and get hurt celebrating prematurely. In that case, a Frankie Edgar TKO/KO will return (+800). This one hurts: Chris Gutierrez via TKO, round three.

Winner: Chris Gutierrez  | Method: TKO Rd.3

Claudio Puelles (+135) vs. Dan Hooker (-175)

Puelles: DK: $7.5k | Hooker: DK:$8.7k

The classic grappler vs. striker matchup. Claudio Puelles is a Jiu-Jitsu killer who has a fetish for dismembering his opponents. And it wasn’t too long ago that Dan Hooker was one of the more feared strikers in the lightweight division. Hooker has recently fallen on hard times, having lost four of his last five but remains a dangerous mother-shut-your-mouth.

Always be wary of guys named Claudio. This dude, Claudio Puelles, will break your leg and steal your girl quicker than Taco Bell regrets. Puelles has blown out more ACLs than AstroTurf; he has three kneebar submissions in six UFC bouts, and that has to be a record. He ended his last two fights via kneebar, including his last bout against the Bridge of Death opening shift gatekeeper, Clay Guida. Kneebars and heel hooks are the last submissions you want to get caught in; you go from “I’m okay” to “Oh, shit!” and a one-year rehab in a blink of an eye. For his career, Puelles has twelve wins, seven by submission, and he’s the rare fighter who is far more dangerous from his back than from the top.

Claudio’s guard is like the H.H. Holmes house, traps around every corner. One minute you’re in the bathroom with your pants down, rooting through cupboards looking for more TP, and the next, you’re submerged in a vat of acid. This guy Claudio strings together submission attempts like combinations on the feet. He mixes feints and misdirections to distract from his actual target. If Claudio ends up on his back, watch how he stays on one hip instead of flat on his back. This allows him to use a leg to shield and the other free to sweep, and it also allows him to grab the legs and work kneebars and heel hooks.

Red Flags? Plenty of them. He has textbook Jiu-Jitsu takedowns. Jitz guys/gals are often great once the fight is on the mat but struggle to get it there. Puelles’s double legs look like he’s being led by a collar and leash; he’ll drop to his knees and crawl on all fours or his belly like he’s Army crawling through a minefield. And on the feet, he’s a southpaw and can only throw left kicks and left hands.

Dan Hooker is the best example of “leaving it all on the field.” Since being drafted for World War III, a fight with Dustin Poirier, Hooker has never been the same. In this sport, sometimes you only have one true “war” in you, and then you’re never quite the same. The fight with Poirier was an all-time great scrap, but Dan left a part of himself in the Octagon that night, and the Roombas swept it up after the fight. His record since that fight is 1-3, and he’s coming off a drubbing at the hands of the Op, the CIA undercover savage Arnold Allen.

Pre-Poirier, Dan Hooker was a rangy kickboxer with long, heavy hands and kicks with a hair-trigger temperament. Prime Hooker is a classic one-punch striker who leaves little dead air between strikes, averaging nearly five significant strikes landed per minute. His special move is a standing step-in knee that he uses to counter the opponent’s forward pressure. Against Puelles, Hooker will likely use the standing knee in combination with up-the-middle snap kicks to disrupt level changes.

Without a fight-ending submission, Puelles’s Fantasy value will be very low. His average significant strikes landed per minute starts with a one. But he averages over two and a half takedowns… But Dan Hooker has a near eighty percent takedown defense. Hooker will be the (-162) favorite, and Puelles will be the (+132) dog dripping value all over your freshly Swiffer’d floor. Submission threats like Puelles can change the tide of a fight real quick. A Puelles submission will return (+400) odds and is his only real path to victory. But I think he may struggle to consistently relocate the fight, and Hooker will have a huge advantage on the feet. Dan Hooker via decision.

Winner: Dan Hooker  | Method: Decision

Prelims

Value Menu

Carlos Ulberg (-125) vs. Nicolae Negumereanu (-105)

Ulberg: DK: $8.4k | Negumereanu: DK: $7.8k

Every week I say it: Don’t sleep on the first fight of the night. This week is no exception. One of these guys will be wiping away the sleep from their eyes after this one. This is a striker vs. striker matchup with two conflicting styles. Carlos Ulberg is a pretty striker, a glam striker, an Instagram filter striker who, despite an outwardly superior technical appearance, has massive flaws in his game that appear as soon as the live stream ends. And Nicolae Negumereanu howls at the moon; he’s wild. Negumereanu is a Plaza Level stadium scrapper who bombs first and asks questions later.

Ulberg will be the far superior technical striker, but he has a bit of a Goldilocks complex; he can’t quite find the ‘just right” porridge. In his debut, he came out the gate throwing hands like Oprah giveaways and gassed in the second round. Then, in his second bout, he eked out a decision against subpar talent because he wouldn’t let his hands go at all. He rebounded with a first round TKO against Tafon Nchuwi, but it remains to be seen if Ulberg can find the right pace to allow him to survive wars against savages like Negumereanu if he can’t secure an early finish.

Negumereanu is the opposite; he redlines it from the jump and can hit the cruise control for fifteen hard minutes. His style is like your first time playing the UFC games, just mashing buttons and chasing the opponent around the cage. He’s nothing but overhands and hooks and forward pressure. Ulberg is most dangerous early, and Negumereanu will likely be behind the eight ball, but he has the style to hang around and chip away and steal it late. Negumereanu will be a solid middle/low-tier Fantasy option with a high upside. A steep downside, too, but hey, we’re gambling here.

The straight-up odds are near even, with Negumereanu being the slight (+110) dog, but the play here is a finish one way or the other. A TKO/KO for both fighters will return (+300) odds, and this could be a split-the-difference type of scenario where a bet on both will pay off.

Karolina Kowalkiewicz (-110) vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez (-110)

Kowalkiewicz: DK: 8.2$k | Juarez: DK: $8k

A classic gatekeeper vs. up-and-comer matchup. Karolina Kowalkiewicz is the former, and Silvana Gomez Juarez is the latter. I highlight this matchup because of the value for Juarez. Her right hand is a Nolan Ryan fastball and an instant fight-ender. Kowalkiewicz has been in countless wars and recently returned from a brief retirement to earn her first win in her last six fights. Karolina doesn’t absorb strikes as well as she used to, and her wide-open kill-or-be-killed stand-up style hasn’t changed. She takes severe damage in every fight, and that’s not a good look against Juarez.

The question for Juarez is her ground game. She lost her first two UFC fights by submission after nearly ending them in the opening minute. Kowalkiewicz likes to operate in a phone booth, in the clinch chipping away with close-range knees and elbows. She will look to take Juarez down early and often and grind her out, but if Karolina struggles to do so, (+300) for a Juarez TKO/KO will be easy money. Juarez is coming off a first-round TKO against the grappler Na Liang, which was set into motion with that nasty right hand. That’s the bet. I expect an invite after you purchase that Del Mar oceanfront mansion dream house.

Twenty-Twen-Twen Sleepers

Twenty-Ten-Twen Sleepers

Michael Chandler (+135): Never forget Michael Chandler was a follow-up or two away from winning the belt against Charles Oliveira. Chandler has flipped a switch since coming to the UFC and now is a brawler first and foremost. He will not shy away from trench warfare and has enough provisions to survive a fifteen-minute firefight and a great chance to land that massive right hand.

Alex Pereira(+140): Why? He's already KO'd his opponent. Offensively, Adesanya doesn't really implement MMA-centric techniques and is a kickboxer within a cage wearing four-ounce gloves. There won't be much of a difference from their previous two fights other than a ring instead of a cage. The more aggressive fighter will win this one.

Ryan Spann (+175): Spann has had a mixed bag of UFC performances, but one thing remains constant, most of his fights end in the first round. He has a massive right hand and has crispy basic boxing on the feet, and I love fighters who know how to use the jab. Spann's best technique is the double-jab, followed by the right hand. He can also clinch and drag Dominick Reyes to the mat. This one likely won't go the distance, and Reyes is coming off a vicious KO loss to the King Moon Howler Jiri Prochazka.

Julio Arce (+170): I think Arce is being slept on a little bit here. He has intricate, slick kickboxing and a solid ground game. He'll have to overcome the more impressive physical attributes (speed and length) of Montel Jackson, but I think this will be a Nip/Tuck back and forth affair, and Arce might be the more technical fighter on the feet.

Pick 'Em

Brad Riddell (-105) vs. Renato Moicano (-125)

Winner: Brad Riddell

 Method: Decision

Dominick Reyes (-225) vs. Ryan Spann (+175)

Winner: Dominick Reyes

 Method: TKO Rd.2

Erin Blanchfield (-400) vs. Molly McCann (+300)

Winner: Erin Blanchfield

 Method: Decision

Andre Petroski (-210) vs. Wellington Turman (+170)

    Winner: Andre Petroski

 Method: Rear-Naked Choke Rd.2

Matt Frevola (-110) vs. Ottman Azaitar (-110)

    Winner: Ottman Azaitar

 Method: TKO Rd.2

Karolina Kowalkiewicz (-110) vs. Silvana Gomez Juarez (-110)

    Winner: Silvana Gomez Juarez

 Method: TKO Rd.1

Michael Trizano (+135) vs. Seung Woo Choi (-165)

    Winner: Seung Woo Choi

 Method: Decision

Julio Arce (+170) vs. Montel Jackson (-210)

    Winner: Julio Arce

 Method: Decision

Carlos Ulberg (-125) vs. Nicolae Negumereanu (-105)

    Winner: Carlos Ulberg

 Method: TKO Rd.2

Thanks for reading LineStar Weekly Knockout! We'll be back next Thursday with another one. Until then, good luck and support your local MMA Gym.

About Me

My name is Chris Guy, and I’m an avid combat sports enthusiast and practitioner. I’ve been a fan of MMA since the early 2000s when Limewire was still around, and I downloaded Bas Rutten’s Big Book of Combat. In 2004, I started training Muay Thai at City Boxing in San Diego, CA. I competed as an amateur for many years, and I've also dabbled in Jiu-Jitsu. I follow many different disciplines, such as Combat Ji-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Glory Kickboxing, Boxing, and MMA.

I’m equally as enthusiastic about the craft of writing, and in addition to writing about combat sports, I also write short fiction and music. I hope to bring unique prose to sports writing, and along the way, encourage people to not only become Martial Arts fans but to also become Martial Artists themselves.

In the future, you may see me refer to the Thunderdome; it's an ode to the old Mad Max movie and refers to the world-class training facility I built in my one-car garage. It's complete with throw dummies, wrestling mats, heavy bags, and six months' worth of Chef Boyardee cans from when I thought the world was going to end back in March. I hope you enjoy my work, and if you don’t, the Thunderdome has an open door policy.

Check out my Podcast The Whiskey (S)ick Podcast on Apple and Spotify. Parental Advisory Warning