College Grad Quits Job at Halliburton to Focus on Making it in MMA; Making Pro Debut at XKO 14 this Saturday

Casey Hudson | photos: personal archives

ARLINGTON, TX, February 15, 2012 – Have you ever felt the urge to just up and quit your job for the sake of following a dream?

Less than years ago, Casey Hudson was at a crossroads. He has just graduated from Fort Hays State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and had to figure out what to do with his life. Around the same time, he also got the urge to try his hand at the sport of MMA – a natural progression in interests since he wrestled all four years collegiately.

So from there, he balanced the two priorities in his life – learning how to become a fighter while at the same time working on career.

“Right after school I went to work for Halliburton and went straight into the oil fields working crazy hours, he says.”

It was grueling, intense work. His career was tough and training made life even tougher. Taking his first fight in October 2010 against an opponent with a 4-1 record, Casey lost his first fight via split decision and knew he had to prioritize MMA if he was going to make something of himself in this sport.

That was his last loss.

Since then, he has won four straight fights while fighting for RMMA in New Orleans and NMEF in Colorado Springs. The crazy thing about that streak of wins is that he did it all without the benefit of a team, coach, or even regular workouts. He was working so ridiculously hard at his day job that he barely had time to “get in a run” before bed. In his last fight, he faced a New Mexico state champion who was still wrestling at Adams State, a tough team in the same conference he wrestled in. “I mopped the mat with his body,” he says.

It was then that he decided to step away from what he describes as a great paying job to pursue his fight career. Goodbye Halliburton, hello trying to make it in MMA.

“My friend Douglas Frey has taken me under his wing and introduced me to a great network of people that have given me endless amounts of information and pointers to help me along,” he says about how he’s been able to progress as a fighter since making the transition. “Doug and I only live a few minutes away from each other so we make the commute together to Colleyville and work out at Fitness Fight Factory. We also make the 35 minute drive to Coppell and train with the guys at Mohlers Jiu-Jitsu. The training partners between the two gyms are unbelievable. I have learned so many things in the past few months and owe it all too the guys these gyms. Big thanks to William Campuzano, Evan Cutts, Rafael Casias, Johnny Bedford and Coach Mohler.”

“Of course my ultimate goal is to make it to the top, but I want to have the reputation of being a tough fighter first, someone like Chris Lytle or the Diaz brothers. Personalities aside, anytime you fight one of those guys, you know it’s going to be an all-out war, a dog fight. I want to be known as that type of fighter that commands respect in this sport”

He’ll begin trying to craft that reputation as a pro this weekend at XKO 14 in Arlington.

“I’m fighting Klayton Mai out of Octagon MMA in Dallas. I know he comes from a tough gym with a bunch of hard-nosed training partners, so I’m expecting him to bring the fight. None the less, I’m feeling confident anywhere the fight goes and I expect the same from Klayton. This should be quite the rumble and I’m looking forward to it!

“Before the fight I want to give a HUGE thanks to my sponsors – DOM Fight Gear, Fight Icon, REMAX of Mansfield: hudsonhelps.com, Edward Jones Mansfield: Chris Ison, REPSUSA.net, Edward Jones Ft. Worth: Jeff Hudson, Fitness Fight Factory, and Wreck 1 Fight Management. Find me on twitter @CaseyHudsonMMA!”

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About Mike Calimbas

Mike Calimbas is a mainstay within the Texas MMA and Grappling scene and a frequent contributor to TXMMA.com and other publications, online and print, as writer, photographer, and analyst. To contact Mike for any reason, feel free to add him to your network through the Facebook and Twitter links directly below. Also, follow along on Twitter via @TXMMAfeed (#MMA) and @mikecalimbas (everything else)!

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