Brett Roller and Noah Thomas have blood between them that originated when they both wrestled for Wasson High School in Colorado Springs.  Brett was one year younger than Noah but even then, he didn’t cotton to being treated as a lesser athlete.  Now, 7 years later, they will meet in the cage but the stakes are even greater now.

After high school, Brett went onto a full ride wrestling scholarship at Western State College with the goal of competing in the Olympics.  An injured shoulder sidelined that ambition and the scholarship. 

These days Brett is a carpenter by day and adoring father to his 3 year old son Jackson by night when he isn’t training with his small group of talented best friends:  Jack Flynn, Vince O’Donnell and Spencer Hooker.  The group has recently become sponsored by Ballys Fitness where they are given a training room for practice 2 hours every night.  They have quickly attracted 10 – 15 wannabe fighters who have signed up to train with the cage professionals. 

Friday night Brett has a lot to gain in a win over Noah Thomas.  This will be Brett’s last night at 145 lbs. before he drops 10 lbs. to 135 for future bouts.  When asked where he wants to be in 5 years – he immediately answered that his ambition is to make it to “the top” – but he has no patience to wait 5 years – he wants to be there in 1!  He wants fighting to be his only job where he can spend more time with Jackson, focus on honing his combat skills and continue to put on great shows for his fans.

Noah Thomas took a different path after he and Brett Roller left high school.  Noah entered the Marines for 6 years where he learned discipline, responsibility and focus. 

Once he was discharged and had returned home, he found himself bored one evening so decided to attend a local Fight Night.  He proceeded to win 8 bouts against 8 different opponents which set him along a path that led him to the Ultimate Fighter where he was thrown out along with Marlon Simms after getting into a fight outside of the gym.  This Ring of Fire fight is the first fight of his comeback to prove that he still belongs in the Big Game.  

Noah’s first mentor and trainer was current IFL champion, Ryan Schultz who taught him not only skills but a humble attitude toward the sport.  Noah currently is being trained by the talented Adam Martinez out of Infinite Mixed Martial Arts Academy in Loveland, Co.  When asked what Noah sees for himself after this Friday night match-up, Noah responded that he prefers to concentrate on his current contest and not to get ahead of the immediate focus. 

Noah acknowledged that Brett Roller is a formidable opponent but one that he is looking forward to squaring-up against after their run-in in high school.  As he says:  “Watch for a fight that will be a sprint – not a jog”. 

With both fighters determined and hungry to win, this will be a fast-paced and exciting bout!