Keith Cutrone may be only an amateur in the field of mixed martial arts (MMA), but he’s already proven to his opponents that he’s as deadly as his action-movie heroes.
In fact, Cutrone has fought a complete three-round bout only once, which was ruled in his favor. Since then, he’s fought two others that didn’t last as long: one, at the California Fight Syndicate, where he brought to submission his opponent (none other than the son of Chuck Liddell’s trainer) in about 40 seconds; and another just recently, when he locked an arm-bar on his opponent in 16 seconds.
“I didn’t know much about the other guy, but I knew about his kickboxing,” Cutrone said. “I put up a high kick, and when he stepped in, my foot was on his shoulder. He tried to take me down, but he was open for an arm-bar.”
Cutrone’s quick fights landed him in a great position for his Nov. 12 bout—the semifinals of the California Fight Syndicate state championship.
Though Cutrone is making his way through the brackets, he’s trying not to let the tournament occupy too much of his mind.
“I’m happy where I’m at,” he said.
This article appears in Nov 11-18, 2010.