Holy cow, Niko Price (12-1, 1 NC) knocks out Randy Brown with hammerfists on the bottom! The Floridian moves to 4-1 (1 NC) in the UFC; he has finished 11 of his 12 wins (eight by KO/TKO). #UFCBoise pic.twitter.com/AxCYZT3X8x
— Tanuki Usman (@Hamderlei) July 15, 2018
“The Hybrid” will meet heavy-handed judoka Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC 228 this Saturday inside the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Expect Price to hunt for another finish in his bid to move the needle at 170 pounds.
Before Price graces the Octagon against Alhassan, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. He recently invested in his own gym.
Prior to his highlight-reel knockout of Brown, Price spent his training camps with American Top Team. He recognizes the advantages of having a powerhouse team at his disposal but felt starting a gym was the direction he wanted to go. Price has since opened Futures MMA in Fort Myers, Florida, alongside longtime coach Jeremiah Rodriguez.
2. He fought in only one other promotion outside of the UFC.
Price went 9-0 as an amateur before making his professional debut under the Fight Time banner in 2012. He won all eight of his bouts with the promotion before linking arms with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Price enjoyed a meteoric rise despite never having trained in the martial arts as a child.
3. He is a firm believer in scouting opponents through film study.
It is not uncommon to hear of fighters who do not watch film on an upcoming opponent, leaving that task to their coaches. Price views that as a mistake. He believes watching film personally is the right approach to take, especially for fighters who game plan around finding an adversary’s flaws as quickly as possible.
4. His top priority for now is to stay active.
Every fighter lines up for a shot at UFC gold, and Price is no exception. However, to get where he wants to go, he understands the process involves piling up meaningful wins. Price has mentioned that he sees competing six times a year as the ideal situation.
5. He was into landscaping before hitting it big as a prizefighter.
In the beginning stages of his career, Price started training as early as 4 a.m. in Rodriguez’s garage so he could maintain his day job as a landscaper. Later, he established his own pressure washing business.