TRAINING: Wake up at 6, go for a run, then go to work (my job). After that I hit the gym at 4 for strength and conditioning and then at 6:30 I go do wrestling, MMA, or jiu-jitsu, depending on the day.

When and why did you start training for fighting? I started training seven years ago. It was a chance happening. I walked into the gym with a buddy to beat somebody up – I was a bad dude back then – and one of the trainers, who was a really personable guy, started talking to me after I hit the mat and got beat up and got mad. And I was so competitive I came back the next day and got beat up and I kept coming back, and before I knew it, I loved the sport.

What ranks and titles have you held? I’ve just been out here grinding, just trying to get to this stage and not worrying about the little titles along the way.

Do you have any heroes? My hero is my wife. I’ve been here for three months and she’s been watching my nine month old son all by herself and working full-time.

What does it mean for you to fight in the UFC? It means everything to me. This is the culmination of six years of hard work and sacrifice. A lot of people said I couldn’t make it this far, that I wasn’t athletic enough, that I wasn’t this or wasn’t that, and here I am, knocking on that door, ready to kick it wide open.

Did you go to college and if so what degree did you earn? No

What was your job before you started fighting? I drove a semi and delivered beer for a beer distributor

Ranks in any martial arts styles: Blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Gustavo Dantes

Favorite grappling technique: Rear naked choke

Favorite striking technique: Right hand

•    Team Cruz member

•    Pro since 2006

•    Three wins by submission, two by KO

•    Winner of four of his last five pre-TUF fights, with his only loss coming in January of 2011 to Efrain Escudero

•    Also faced UFC vet Edgar Garcia 2007, losing via decision