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

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.

I kept doing my own thing, working out with weights, wrestling, and doing other spots until I graduated from high school. Then I made a conscious decision to pursue MMA seriously and full time.

You don't really realize the effect those things have on you when you're growing up but then when you look back you can see how they molded you.

I did takwondo from the time I was pretty young and also played I did taekwondo for martial arts and then also played football, baseball, and basketball against older kids because of my brother being older. I learned pretty quickly to not be intimidated and to not back down.

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 did start wrestling after I moved to Iowa, I think in the seventh grade. It's really a part of the Iowa culture so it's hard not to do it if you like sports.