My parents were divorced and my dad was in the Marines. I lived in California until I was 10 then we moved to Bettendorf, Iowa when I was in the fourth grade. I had an older brother so it made it a little easier to adjust to things.

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

The sport in 2000 wasn't as big as it is now [in 2008].

I just started training with the best fighters in the world trying to get better. I was a pretty good athlete so I did pretty well with the team and that gave me confidence that I would be able to compete with people.

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

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 lived in Iowa for pretty much the rest of my life, but I just moved to St. Louis and opened up a gym and MMA training center.