By Luke Henderson – – –

Kevin Tyner with UFC fighter Ed Herman

The Colorado fight community has a new brawler to cheer on this Friday night at the Sparta Combat League MMA event, The Bro Show, at the Denver Merchandise Mart.
Kevin Tyner, nicknamed ‘The Mad Irishman’, is roaring out of Canon City by way of Texas to take on Justin Gonzales.

“He’s a beast. An unbeaten former college wrestler and I’m the underdog big time in this fight. But it will be to my advantage if he underestimates me,” Tyner said.

Tyner’s story is as Irish as they come. A boy without a home, a child looking for belonging and self-control. “I grew up in foster care all my life. Going through around twenty foster homes brought out a lot of anger, sadness and disappointment and I was a small kid until tenth grade,” Tyner said. “I was always getting picked on, being a little kid with red hair, so I started fighting in the streets, getting into trouble until I joined wrestling.” From there Tyner began to excel at the sport and regaining control of his future. Once he saw that going to college for wrestling probably wasn’t a possibility Tyner turned his focus to MMA and currently fights out of the Pacific Warriors gym in Pueblo.

Ironically, ‘The Mad Irishman’ moniker didn’t come about from his life-history.
“I got my nickname at weigh-ins the first time I fought for Steve Alley [Kickdown MMA] and he saw all my Irish tattoos and he thought it fit me. It has just stuck ever since,” Tyner said.

For fans curious about this relative newcomer to the scene he promises excitement on Friday night. “I can guarantee all you MMA fans that there will be a knockout or submission come fight night. I believe I have a chin of steel and I don’t get knocked out and my submission defense is great. I think everyone can take the hint from that,” Tyner said.

For more information about Sparta Combat League’s fight card at The Bro Show, go to www.SpartaCombatMMA.com.