Thomas Blackorby is a second-generation kickboxer with eight national titles. But he doesn't want people to lose sight of the fact that his base is wrestling – or perhaps he does.
It's all part of the tricky package. In MMA, no one has been able to crack the Blackorby (5-0) code. A true lifelong mixed martial artist, Blackorby grew up on the mats and next to the heavy bags.
Raised by his father, Ryan, a kickboxer with 77 fights, Blackorby was cultivated at his family's gym, Peoria Athletic Club in Peoria, Ill. As soon as he was allowed to fight (with protective gear), his name was on the dotted line. He debuted at 14. When it was time for the training wheels to come off, he transitioned to full contact. He made Team USA and won all across the country. Blackorby had 33 amateur fights before he turned pro.
"I always loved it, and obviously watching UFC as a kid, like that definitely put that dream in my mind and heart at a young age," Blackorby recently told MMA Junkie. "I would say I was a little bit older when I was like, 'I want to go all in,' and that was when I probably was around 17 or 18 years old. That was when I started to really rack up a lot of wins in muay Thai and kickboxing and then make that transition to MMA. When I ended up fighting MMA for the first time, it was just like, 'This is it. This is what I want to do,' and I really haven't looked back since."