We set an appointment to meet at Mahany's Gym in Aurora at an hour that would give us some face time with Steve and also allow us to capture an interview with his feature fighter, Eric Heinz. On the telephone, Steve had described Eric as the perfect "ambassador of the sport". We left our interview agreeing with his assessment.

As local MMA fans look forward to Steve Alley's Kick Down 42 on September 28^th, ColoradoFightEvents.com President, Dan Magnie and I called to arrange an interview with Steve to capture a preview for this event.

Photo by Sherdog

Photo by Sherdog

There is so much more to Eric than just that he is atalented fighter that has not lost a bout in two years.

Eric teaches 8^th grade Social Studies at BromleyMiddle School where he is also the Athletic Director. In addition, he isPresident of the Brighton Wrestling Club.Several times during our interview, Eric reiterated how much he loveshis job, the students in this school and the administration who gives him thespace he needs to train for his mixed martial arts events. Eric alone hasalready sold over 200 of the limited tickets for Kick Down 42 as his studentsand their parents have snatched up blocks of 1^st and 2^nd row seats to cheer him on.

On a personal note, Eric has a wife whom he adores and sheis also employed at Bromley Middle School as a 5^th grade mathteacher. They have two sons - ages 7years and 4 months. His family is hisworld. Although he doesn't talk muchabout his childhood years, he was adopted at a young age by his grandparentsand lived with them on a farm in Brighton, that is still in the family, wherehe can take his children to interact with the resident two horses and acow. He makes it clear that without theloving support of his family, he could not pursue his sport.

Eric attended Boise State where he graduated with a degreein criminal justice and participated on the wrestling team. He had his first introduction to MMA when hewas enlisted out of a mud volleyball tournament to attend a local MMA fight. The Ring Announcer asked for 3 volunteersfrom the audience to participate in the fight and Eric was one of the threechosen where he proceeded to force a tap-out from the Sensei of the localmartial arts school. This first fighthappened in 1999 when the sport was very much different than it is today. There was grappling and open handed palmstrikes - no gloves and no punches.

Eric hooked up with Steve Alley about 7 years ago. Themutual respect between these two men is visible although echoed verbally fromeach one of them individually as well. Steve first saw Eric fight inCheyenne, WY where the promoters' designated opponent for the event had bowedout at the last minute. An announcement went out to the audience forsomeone from the crowd to step into the ring and, as both Steve and Eric expressit, "a really bad dude" stepped forward and Eric proceeded to beat him.Steve approached him after the match to find out more about this fightingwonder and to introduce himself. That introduction has grown into astrong and loyal friendship.

Our appointed time with Eric was 8:00 in the evening onThursday 9/20. He had been working out at The Grapplers Edge since 6:30and was planning on working out at Mahany's Gym until 9:30 or 10. His designated target weight for Fridaynight's event will be 174 -- he had started at 202 and was 190 when we met upwith him on Thursday. He was preparingto leave for Chicago on Friday 9/21 to spend several days training with Gideon"The Gladiator" Ray and Keith Hackney at Hackney's Combat Academy in RoselleIL. Eric laughingly told us thatalthough he anticipated very challenging work-outs with Ray and Hackney, thathis biggest challenge would be to avoid the amazing Italian Beef sandwiches,hot dogs and fries from Chicago-based Portillos. This interviewer has been there and totally concurs!!

Eric's passion for this sport nearly landed him a spot onSpike TV's The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Eric was flown to Las Vegas twice for auditions and interviews. Although his skills earned him a likely spoton the show, a follow-up medical examination disqualified him due to allegedprevious skull injuries. Althoughdisappointed, Eric recognized that the elements that make the show so popularwould not necessarily reflect the kind of role example he would want viewed byhis students or his children.

Photo by Dan Magnie

 We talked at some length about the drive of the young MMAfighters and their passion to have the "good fight". There is mutual respect and admiration for the skill andintelligence it takes to compete in the ring and cage. As children, we used to try our coordinationby patting our heads and rubbing our tummies simultaneously. Imagine the multi-task skill sets of boxing,wrestling, muaythai and submission grappling! Every athlete in this sport wants a chance to challenge themselves tobecome more proficient as they face fighters of different skill strengths. Thatis what drives Eric now. He sees Duane "Bang"Ludwig of Ring of Fire fame as being the current local best-of-the-best andwould like a chance to pit himself against the biggest names in his weightclass. That likelihood is a matter forthe promoters but the point here is that this is not an issue of contenders whowish to trash-talk and bloody their opponents, it is more a matter of athleteswanting to hone their fight skills.

On Friday night, Eric will face Bryant Craven for the KickDown Pro Welter Weight MMA Title which is sure to be an exciting bout. The challenge forEric's promoter, trainer and friend Steve Alley is to find the challengingfight for Eric and they both acknowledge that the fight with Craven is going tobe just that. Craven won his contest atKick Down 41 in Casper, WY recently so he will be hungry to continue hiswinning streak.

So, where does Eric see himself in 5 years He sees his passion for the sport taking himfrom inside the cage on the mat to still being inside the cage but as areferee. He is already a highlyrespected referee but envisions a future as a referee for the UFC in Las Vegas. That fits perfectly with his manager andfriend, Steve Alley, who would also like to make his path to the big show as aRing Announcer. We may very well seethese two talented men be exactly where they aim to be and still workingtogether.

Don't miss Kick Down42 at the Red Lion Hotel in Denver. Eric's match is only one of many excitingcontests being put together by gifted promoter, Steve Alley on a fightcard that will feature up to 13 bouts. The action starts at 8 pm Fridayevening.