On March 17 Mountain Force MMA will have its first promotion at the Eccles Ice Arena in Logan. The card is set and you can see matchups at the promotion's Facebook page. One of the pro bouts matches Miles Welk (of KOA gym in Layton) (at left above) with Nick Clem. Both fighters are undefeated. We have observed Welk's career for several years, from a successful amateur who captured regional titles through two successful pro bouts. We took the time to chat with him recently.
Miles, there have been fairly long gaps between your
two pro fights. Do you have plans to fight more often?
Welk: Yeah I've struggled to
stay in the gym and be consistent in my training. I've rededicated myself and
I'm going to see if I can't take my career to the next level so I'm planning to
fight at 3 times this year maybe 4 depending on how healthy I stay.
How is training going? You train at KOA. Who are
your trainers and other fighters you work out with?
Welk: I do train at KOA. I love it. It's an amazing
gym and it has so much to offer to everyone, especially fighters. It's a great
fit for me. Training is good. I'm working hard in every aspect. I’m just trying
to get better at being a mixed martial artist every day. My head coach is David
Castillo, my Jui Jitsui Coach is Anthony Lobato, My strength and conditioning
Coach is Bobby King. I have a room full of great partners. Bryce Edminister,
Bobby King, Hector Lopez, Edgar Sorto, Brandon Rease, Kelsey Skillman, Bryce
Scanlon,Alonzo Salas. We have a pretty stacked team right now.
How do you match strongly against your opponent?
Welk: My opponent is Nick Clem from Colorado. He's a
tough guy, had 12 amateur fights, 1-0 as a pro. He has good footwork and
lateral movement and I can tell he likes to wrestle and grapple so I feel like
I match up well against him. I feel like I can wrestle with anyone in the
125-pound weight class and my striking is getting better every day and so is my
jui jitsui . Overall I'm ready for whatever and match up well with him.
You are fighting, and getting some good publicity,
from a new promoter. What are your plans beyond this bout. Do you have a
schedule, plans to move forward in MMA?
Welk: This is a new promotion
Mountain Force MMA. They have been awesome to work with. Juan (Pablo) is the man, and
I'm looking forward to fighting and trying to get the W on the very first card.
Hopefully they'll have me back. I don't have anything scheduled yet but I have
plenty of teammates who do so I'm just going to stay in the gym and stay ready
for the next fight and help my teammates get ready.
Thanks Miles for your
time and good luck on March 17.
Some extra news: SteelFist has announced a very strong matchup for its Friday the 13th April card. Undefeated Carson Gregory versus former UFC veteran Clay Collard. This will be highly anticipated; either a gate for Gregory to move up early in his career or perhaps a means for Collard to move back into the major promotions. ... Locally, we are intrigued by a Fierce Fighting Championship promotional amateur title fight between Thomas Prestriedge, of American Fork, and Brandon Rease, who fights out of KOA. The pair fought two years ago at at SteelFist card with Rease getting a split decision. It's in Price on March 10, and we'll likely try to interview both soon.
And more ... Kelsey Skillman, amateur at KOA, is set to fight in April for SteelFist, and this weekend, Kaecy Raddon, formerly at One Hit MMA, who now fights out of Colorado, is fighting Roy Sarabia for a Sparta Combat League 155-pound amateur belt.
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