Holding his cross necklace in his hand, Tyler Holman says a prayer to God before placing the necklace down. A prayer both for himself, and for the fighter across from him, as the ref signals the start of the fight.
“Roll the dice, all the time. Whatever risk you’re thinking about taking, just take it,” Holman says.
Holman’s biggest gamble has been dropping out of college to focus more on fighting. Now donning the moniker ‘Maverick’ and undefeated in MMA fights for King of the Cage - a national promotional series for amateur fighters - he’s hoping others can be inspired by his confidence and risk-taking.
A normal day of training starts by waking up early and heading into the gym for a boxing session before going to work as a personal trainer for F45 Training.
The evening is when the real training begins. For 30 minutes Holman does drills on techniques for one fighting style, and then the next 30 does ‘live rolling’ along with other fighters all starting from various ground positions. Finally, the last hour is spent sparring against one another, simulating real matches.
As the day of a fight approaches, Holman makes a point to up his intensity. More sparring, more cardio, less drills. “You want to make sure your athleticism peaks right as you get to the day of the fight,” he remarks after finishing a recent practice at Combat Sport and Fitness in Sparks.
On the day of fights, Holman refuses to let nerves get to him. “I try to treat it like a normal day. I get up, I run, walk my dog. It’s the day after weigh-ins, and my fights are usually later so I get kinda hungry. But I’m not afraid,” he said.
Holman’s next match is scheduled for November 16th at the Silver Legacy. With a win, he’d move to 3-0, and one step closer to competing for the King of the Cage lightweight championship belt. From there, Holman would turn his eyes to a grander prize; the UFC Contender Series.
“If they’re interested in me, I’ll be there,” Holman says. Rising star Payton Talbott, currently 3-0 in the UFC and 9-0 overall, is a recent success story from the Contender Series. Talbott also hails from Reno.
If Talbott can show the world someone from here, even without a long combat sports background can have that kind of success, Holman sees no reason why he can’t be the “next one up” in terms of 775 fighters.
“I just remember; God loves a dice roll,” he says.
Reporting by Sterling Moore shared with Our Town Reno