I also watched boxing all the time and Tuesday Night Fights on USA and just kept hitting my heavy back in the garage.

I had never thought about being a professional fighter but meeting Pat [ Militich ] and the guys just pushed me in that direction.

I remember coming across some DVDs of the UFC and so I started watching that and became a fan of it. It was a little boring because of all the grabbing and holding and I fast-forwarded through a lot of it, but I still watched because I like martial arts.

I got a little bit of the Marine mentality from my dad, I guess. You can't but help absorb the culture you're around.

A lot of military kids make a lot of moves but I only made the one, so it wasn't really an issue for me.

I also watched boxing all the time and Tuesday Night Fights on USA and just kept hitting my heavy back in the garage.

I met Pat Militich when I was a junior in high school when I was 16 and just started training and went from there. I went to the same high school that Pat had attended and he would bring some of his fighters out to wrestling practice to work out and I got to know him that way. I immediately like it.