Fight Path: Run-in with former classmate drove Kevin Croom to MMA success

Kevin Croom was working one of his two jobs, this one the graveyard shift at a gas station near Columbia, Mo., when a person walked in the door who would change his life.

Croom, a former wrestler, had moved back to town after drifting following high school and was trying to lock down what he wanted to do with his life. That night on his shift, an old high school classmate came in about 3 a.m.

“This is a guy I used to beat up in high school,” Croom told MMAjunkie. “He’s talking about how he had just had a cage fight and he’s this big badass. So I thought if he could do that, then I could.

“I quit smoking, and I had been doing two packs a day. I quit right then, because I knew I could get a fight.”

It’s turned into much more than that. After an undefeated amateur career, Croom has won nine straight fights to reach a 14-4 professional record heading into his matchup with Bryan Goldsby at Titan Fighting Championship 27 on Feb. 28 in Kansas City.

Appearing before main event Mike Ricci vs. Jorge Gurgel and co-main event Matthew Riddle vs. Michael Kuiper, Croom will try to continue another streak, as his last seven victories have all ended in the first round. Part of that success comes from his wrestling background, which allowed him to pick up some MMA skills quickly. And part of it is his striking ability that led a coach to help form his nickname, the “Hard Hitting Hillbilly,” which he has adopted enough that it’s the address of his website.

Now living in Albuquerque, N.M., to train with a variety of gyms in the area, Croom hopes he can produce another impressive showing that will get him closer to a bigger show, especially because he’s already compiled almost 40 fights in his six-plus years.

“I like to fight (often). It gives my life structure, and it’s easy to stay focused,” he said. “If you don’t stay focused and stay sharp, someone out there is going to kick your ass.”

Abundant energy

Croom has always been on the move. As a child, his Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder caused to him to be constantly looking for new things to do.

“Everyone said I was the sweetest kid you could find,” he said. “But at the same time, I was definitely a lot to handle. My parents didn’t really believe in medicine, so it was just natural.”

Croom’s father laid carpet to support the family. His son was gaining an early interest in fighting thanks to a fascination with ninjas and ninja movies.

He and his friends put together backyard boxing matches to help feed their interest. By high school, the wrestling team provided an outlet for some of that energy and that interest in contact, and by his junior season Croom had advanced to the state tournament level.

But then he didn’t wrestle as a senior, and after high school he moved around without much direction. Once he returned home, he picked up a day job with his father laying carpet and the job at the gas station.

Once a former classmate he knew he had beaten up plenty came in and said he was now a fighter, Croom knew he could do the same. Within two weeks, he had his first amateur fight, against another fighter who was new to the sport.

“I had long hair, and people told me later all they could see was arms and hair, I just demolished him,” Croom said. “The next fight was against a guy from Chicago, and I won again, and that’s when I got a trainer. I thought I could get serious.”

Streaking fighter

Croom’s main athletic background was in wrestling, so once he started formal training he was able to pick up the ground game. His standup game felt awfully familiar, maybe because of those backyard boxing matches.

Whatever the reason, Croom started off by fighting well, and also fighting often. He produced his first 20 amateur fights within 14 months, and he was a perfect 20-0. By that time, he was having trouble finding opponents, so even though he had only been in the sport a little more than a year, he became a professional.

He lost his professional debut in February 2009, but the wins came quick after that. He started traveling to Albuquerque to train under Greg Jackson and his family of trainers, and one of them provided the unusual nickname that stuck.

“I was working with Danny Romero, and he kept calling me ‘Triple H,’ and I didn’t know what he meant, but what was I gonna say?” Croom said. “So after about a month, I asked him, and he said, ‘Shoot man, you’re my hard-hitting honky.’ I changed it to hillbilly, which I thought would be a little more socially acceptable.”

Whatever the name, Croom was winning. He won at Bellator 26 in 2010, and after a rough stretch that involved three losses in four fights, he took on Brian Davidson at RFA 6 early in 2013.

“I had already beaten him, but the talk was like I was this big underdog,” he said. “I felt like I had to let the world know I was here and what I had done.”

His first-round win certainly did that, as did the six more that came consecutively after that. That brings him to next weekend’s matchup with Goldsby. Even though he’s not still doing the sweatsuit-while-laying-carpet weight-cutting technique he’s used in the past, Croom is still taking plenty from his background that he’s using to build his current success.

“He likes to come at you, and he’s explosive, and I feel like I’m the same way,” Croom said. “It’ll be a good fight.”

For more on Titan FC 27, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

Award-winning newspaper reporter Kyle Nagel pens “Fight Path” each week. The column focuses on the circumstances that led fighters to a profession in MMA. Know a fighter with an interesting story? Email us at news [at] mmajunkie.com.