NCAA champ Andrew Alirez embarks on MMA journey: 'All in on the fight'

"I'm the type of guy that if I do something, I'm going to do it all the way," Alirez said. "I wouldn't start this MMA journey if I didn't believe I could be a world champion one day. Obviously, like I'm sure a bunch of people, being the UFC champion is my ultimate goal and what I'm striving for every day."

In order to best build his abilities, Alirez has aligned himself with elite training partners. His wrestling prowess proves useful to some of the UFC's biggest names, and in turn, he gets to work on his striking with top contenders.

Alirez splits time between Catalyst Jiu-Jitsu, and working with renowned MMA-wrestling coach Said Saparov at Pound 4 Pound Muay Thai, and training at Cory Sandhagen's Tiger Beetle Martial Arts alongside Brandon Royval, Tatsuro Taira and others.

"It shows you what the best feel like, and that's something that even in my wrestling career is extremely important," Alirez said. "I've been to the highest level of wrestling, and you have to put yourself in those situations. Every day, you've just got to start keep getting better and better and better. So I'm very encouraged and I'm super motivated because I know I have the ability. Obviously, I'm just starting off, so I've got a long road ahead of me, and by no means looking past that. But I'm very encouraged in what I can do."

Alirez, 25, isn't rushing into things, though he'll begin at the pro level. His debut will be at a 140-pound catchweight vs. Bruce Martin (0-2). Should things go well, he'll drop to bantamweight.

"I'm going to go in there and kind of see what happens," Alirez said. "I don't know exactly if I want to sit there and try to strike. I know at any point, I could take a guy down and submit him, so it's just going to kind of be through the course of the fight. Obviously, I'm looking to utilize my biggest strength, which is my wrestling. But again, if something else is opening up, I'm definitely going to take it. My main thing is get him up out of there. That's the biggest thing."

While he plans to stay humble, Alirez won't lose the chip on his shoulder. Alirez says during his wrestling career he'd almost feel offended standing across from someone who thought they could beat him.

"I think one thing from a mentality standpoint, everyone in my family is a fighter to the core. You never get anything given to you," Alirez said. "I've always had to grind everything out the hard way. Even when I was wrestling, you see a common mentality of wrestlers nowadays where it's like, 'Go out there, have fun, and just do your best.' That's probably a better way to go about it, but I was never that guy.

"I felt almost disrespected by somebody standing across from me thinking they could beat me, so I've always kind of had that in me, and then it's been bred into me through my family and everything. Then my boxing background, I believe, gives me a big headstart over a lot of guys transitioning from wrestling. I've done pretty well, and the main thing is I'm around really good people that are willing to help me, so I think I'm in a great position and everybody's going to find that out."

When he forecasts his fighting career and what it looks like, Alirez envisions world notoriety and championships. But all that remains to be seen. One thing that's always guaranteed though? Even the most prolific accomplishments won't change his unwavering loyalty to his people in Greeley.

"I've just been a small town kid who's been representing the city from, from Day 1," Alirez said. "I'm kind of, through and through, about loyalty, and I've represented my hometown for my whole life. I went to college here. I did things, won a national title, the first one ever here. Yeah, I'm just a guy from a small town looking to make it big.

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: NCAA champ Andrew Alirez embarks on MMA journey: 'All in on the fight'