It has been nearly three-months since Kevin Croom last fought and that will be the longest lay-off for the Albuquerque trained fighter since his monumental rise up the ranks following an eight fight win streak. 2013′s “Fighter of the Year” for SWFight returns to action tonight at Titan FC looking for his ninth consecutive victory.
In one of the most inspiring stories in New Mexico MMA, Kevin Croom spent 13-months from November of 2012 to December of 2013 blazing his way to mixed martial arts prominence by winning eight straight fights. While winning eight in a row isn’t record-breaking, it doesn’t happen very often and definitely not in the time-frame Croom accomplished it. In the initial years of MMA, it wasn’t uncommon for fighters to fight multiple times in a night or every weekend, but with the influx of thousands of fighters and the decreasing numbers of MMA promotions, finding eight fights in 13-months can be extremely difficult.
Before the eight fight streak, Croom had a record of 5-4 and was staring down two straight losses and had lost three of his last four overall. Needless to say, Croom was definitely not on the pathway to the big show or any big fights. Four submissions, three TKO’s and one decision victory later and Croom is nearing a remarkable nine-fight run. He will fight tonight at Titan FC 27 inside the Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.
Kevin Croom (13-4) was our Southwest Fight News “Fighter of the Year” for 2013 and with a win against opponent Bryan Goldsby (17-15), he will immediately propel himself for another career changing year. Goldsby is definitely a formidable opponent with over 30-fights to his name and standing across the cage against such notable opponents as Zach Makovsky, Ed West, Jessie Riggleman and Will Campuzano. He went to decisions with three of those fighters and holds a marquee victory over Jeff Curran within the Bellator MMA promotion.
Croom’s success is definitely sweeping the rest of the country; the prominent betting site Tapology has their leaderboard for fan voting published and Croom is a resounding 94% to 6% favorite amongst the sites community.
A win tonight will line-up things well for Croom who already has his next bout lined up, a MFC Title fight on May 9th against another fighter knocking on the door of the UFC. Croom is set to fight Anthony Birchak for the promotion’s title in a match-up that is very likely to send the winner to the big show.
For more information on tonight’s event, check out the Titan FC website (click here) and join us in sending our best wishes to Kevin Croom and his team who are all out in Kansas City with the “Hard-Hitting Hillbilly”!
http://swfight.com
FIT NHB Fighter And Former UFC Standout Tim Means To Host A “Meet Greet” At The Library On March 29th
Southwest Fight News will be in attendance for a “Meet Greet” featuring former UFC fighter and current Legacy FC Welterweight Tim “The Dirty Bird” Means at Downtown Albuquerque’s The Library Bar Grill. Means will join some of his teammates from FIT NHB for the “Meet Greet” event and dance on March 29th starting at 7:00 P.M.
Currently riding a two-fight win streak, “The Dirty Bird” Tim Means (20-5) is one of MMA’s most proficient finishers in the entire sport and is regarded as one of the top fighters in the 170-pound weight class unsigned by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) promotion. Means is one of the state’s premier talents and has risen up the ladder of popularity to become one of New Mexico’s most recognizable athletes.
On March 29th, a little over two-weeks away, Tim Means will join FIT NHB teammates Brenda Gonzales, Amber Brown and Ray Borg in signing pictures and other fan memorabilia for fans as well as interacting with the fight fans who come out to support the “Meet Greet” event. The four fighters represent the elite talent currently coming out of the FIT NHB gym.
Gonzales is the current King of the Cage Flyweight Champion and currently looking to end an injury-based hiatus; Brown made waves recently for joining the ranks of WMMA’s premier promotion, Invicta FC; and Borg is considered by many to be New Mexico’s premier young talent who will be fighting in a very significant bout next month for Legacy FC against Jackson’s MMA fighter blue chip prospect Nick Urso.
The “Meet Greet” is expected to host a raffle for some undisclosed prizes and while the signing will go on until 10:00 P.M., the event will continue from 10:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M. as a dance at the very popular Bar Grill. The Library is located at 312 Central Ave SW which is in Downtown Albuquerque on the corner of Central Ave and 3rd Street. Make sure to checkout the website for more information on the Bar Grill.
If you were looking for something to do the weekend of the 29th, look no further as we encourage the fight fans to take some time to get to know some of your local athletes and support them in their efforts. Southwest Fight News will be contributing some of the door prizes and potential raffle prizes with details to be announced as the event draws near. Make sure to like the fan pages of Tim Means, Brenda Gonzales, Amber Brown and Ray Borg on Facebook and follow them on Twitter (Tim @MeansTim, Amber @AmberBrown505, Ray @tazmex18)
http://swfight.com