Over the next few weeks US Combat Sports is set to take you on an inside look into the mind of aspiring Ultimate Fighter Josh Lanier. Known as “Big Country”, the Cage Academy fighter out of North Carolina hopes to advance through the tryouts and loom large in the UFC’s welterweight division. The UFC is the ultimate dream when it comes to MMA. That is what makes The Ultimate Fighter reality show so compelling. TUF puts its audience front and center as a group of fighters live, train, and fight alongside of one another. In December hordes of fighters will flock to Las Vegas in hopes of being selected as part of the next TUF cast. The eligible weight classes this round is lightweight and welt...

Tom Vaughn is arecognized name among members of the MMA community, not only here in New Mexico, but throughout the world. The head coach of FITNHB has trained and represented fighters for the last 10 years, spending much of thattime “grinding it out” on the road building all aspects of their game. He is also the Southwest representative for King of the Cage, and he has recently become, on top of all that, the head coach of Power MMA in Gilbert, AZ.

Friday nightAustin “No Doubt” Trout (23-0, 13 KO) will be engaging in what is considered the biggest audition of his career. Trout will face the World Boxing Council’s 14th ranked Frank LoPorto of Glenroy, Victoria, Australia in both boxers american television debut on Showtime. Trout will be making his second defense of the WBA’s “Regular” Super Welterweight title on Showtime’s ShoBox: The New Generation at Cohen Stadium in El Paso, Texas. His opponent, LoPorto is a 5 foot 10 inch orthodox fighter and a former Pan Asian Boxing Association Light Middleweight champion. The men are even in stature with Trout holding a slight two-inch reach advantage. “It’s gonna be a good fight. He’s a guy...

Eric Kucevic has been a part of Albuquerque martial arts for the better part of the last 15 years. Although he was not born in New Mexico, he still considers himself a native, having moved here when he was a small child. Kucevic had no real father figure in his life, dropping out of high school in the 11th grade. He didn't participate in sports, but began working at the early age of 13, beginning with delivering papers, and he has never really been without a job since. When the rest of his class graduated, he decided to take his GED, which he passed and then decided to join the Navy. That lasted for less than a year, after which he got into the electrical trade. 


Meet Coach Arlene Sanchez-Vaughn - Fighter, Mother, Bouncer, Trainer, Gym Owner, Mentor, US Solder, Paramedic - she really is every woman, and a role model for any woman (or man for that matter) interested in becoming a professional cagefighter, kickboxer or boxer. She moved to Albuquerque as a teenager, with a strong background in Olympic swimming, but was forced to lay aside that dream, due to lack of proper training facilities in the area (at that time.) A somewhat “angry, rebellious teenager”, Vaughn got into several street fights (none of which she lost, thanks to boxing instruction by her father from the time she was four-years-old). Right out of high school, she got married and had ...