Nick Kirk is a 2001 Prior Lake High School graduate. He was a standout high school wrestler who went on to wrestle collegiately for the Gophers.

Kirk finished fourth in Class AAA at 135 pounds during his junior year of high school and improved to third place at 140 as a senior. He also placed fifth at 119 as a sophomore.

Kirk was recruited by the Gophers and wrestled there for one season at 141 pounds.

During the second half of his freshman season, Kirk got mono, and he never returned to the wrestling team.

He also left school and started working immediately, building highway and prison fences.

After years away from competitive sports, a friend eventually talked Kirk into signing on as an assistant wrestling coach at Minneapolis North. He enjoyed it, but it also showed Kirk just how out of shape he was.

Later, Kirk received a text message from former high school classmate Travis Reddinger, who was looking for training partners to help him prepare for an upcoming fight.

Kirk agreed, and that's how his mixed martial arts career started.

Kirk had two amateur fights and now he's 2-0 as a professional. While working hard to make it as a fighter, Kirk also works days as a butcher at Festival Foods.

Fresh off a win over Matt Gaffney last month in St. Paul, "The Big Hurt" will return to the cage Saturday, June 19 at "Havoc at the Hyatt 2" in Minneapolis against Erik Vo.

During the fight against Vo, Kirk will become the first-ever MNMMANEWS.com/Spinecrank co-sponsored fighter. So check him out in his new Spinecrank shorts!

Nick, you're jumping right back in the cage after last month's win. What do you know about your opponent, Erik Vo?

KIRK: Not much. I'm just told he's a freestyle fighter and he's smaller than me. I guess he comes

out kind of crazy, but we haven't found any video of him. But any time I hear someone is a freestyle fighter, I wonder if they're getting the proper training and technique. But I'm preparing for him to come out crazy. If I have to take him down and beat him there, that's what I'll do. If he's not coming at me crazy, I'll stay on my feet and work the standup.

You started in MMA just eight months ago. How quickly did you realize it was OK to get punched in the face?

KIRK: Right away. For me, it was always like a challenge. You get in there the first day, and you get your ass kicked. You think you're a tough guy, but they're going to kick your ass. So I went in and got my ass kicked, but it became a challenge for me to not get my ass kicked any more. I knew I was going to take my lumps and get hit, but the more and more hours I logged, I knew eventually one day I wouldn't get hit as much. So I'd go in and pick out the toughest guys every day. Over time, even the toughest guys were having trouble hitting me. Now I'm at a point where I'm not getting hit very much. It's weird, I was used to getting beat up in wrestling. College wrestling kind of prepares you for that, because guys are rough, they're dirty and they'll throw punches and cheap shots. Heck, I got beat up more in wrestling than I do grappling and doing MMA. So I think that helped prepare me for it. Really, it became a pride thing for me. Getting hit in the face hurts your pride more than anything.

In your last fight, your opponent, Matt Gaffney, kept trying to take you down. Did you find it as funny as I did that he apparently had no idea about your stellar wrestling background?

KIRK: Well, the thing is I wrestled, but I've heard people are having a hard time finding anything about me on the internet because it was so long ago. I'm 28, so I wrestled almost 10 years ago. And that's what guys are saying when they're offered fights against me. They say I haven't done shit since then, so they think I can't wrestle any more. I love that. I hear that and my ears perk up. I love fighting wrestlers, even tough wrestlers. I know exactly what they're going to do. Today at practice, I was rolling with Marcus LeVesseur for two hours. I'm not going to find a much better wrestler in the cage than that. With (Gaffney), he was tough. I knew he was a good wrestler, like a state champ in Wisconsin or something. And actually, he was a lot tougher than I thought. But I think I was a lot tougher than he thought, too. I think he thought he was going to come in and take me down and ground and pound me. That's why I love fighting a wrestler. If a wrestler can't do anything on his feet, he's going to start trying to take you down. And if you're a wrestler like me, and the guy can't take you down either, then he's got nothing. It's funny because that's why I've tried to really become a complete fighter. I've tried to work on everything, so I don't have to rely on any one thing and can be comfortable wherever the fight goes. That's why when people ask me now if I'm a wrestler, I say no. I tell them I'm a fighter.

In the Gaffney fight, you received a bad break when the ref made a strange move. After a failed takedown attempt, Gaffney pushed you up against the cage. You grabbed the cage, which is a no-no. Seeing the cage-grab, the ref stopped the fight. But instead of warning you or taking a point, he decided to put you on your back. Already strange enough, he decided to put Gaffney in your half guard. Gaffney proceeded to take advantage, pounding on you for a few minutes before you were able to get to your feet. How odd was that situation and was Gaffney ever close to finishing you?

KIRK: Well, for me, he wasn't hurting me with the punches. They weren't getting through. At the same time, I was very scared the ref was going to stop the fight. I mean, I couldn't get up. I couldn't get my hips out. His punches weren't getting through at all though. But that was my fault. I was just kind of holding on, trying to survive, and I shouldn't have been doing that. I made a lot of mistakes in that position. There were a lot of things I would do differently, things I do differently every day in practice. (Gaffney) was very strong. He had really strong hips. Most people can't hold me down in that position. But as for the ref, I was very upset that he put me down like that. But I was always taught not to argue with the ref, and that's what my coach, Sergio Cunha, taught me to do. So I didn't say anything. Next time I probably will because that was crazy. The thing is at no point in that fight did I get taken down on my own. The kid wasn't going to take me down. Yeah, I may have reached back and grabbed the cage for a split second, but it didn't prevent a takedown. I know he wouldn't have gotten the takedown there. So not only does the ref put me down, he puts the guy in my half-guard? How can he assume the guy would land in half-guard? But at the end of the day, it's on me. It was what happened, and I should have done things differently when I got down there. I made the mistake of trying to hold my position and try to get a stalemate and have the ref stand us up. That was totally wrong. Next time I'll expend the energy, get back up or work a sweep or something. I was kind of pissed and kind of shocked at the time, because I heard everyone booing. I knew it was the wrong call. But I shouldn't have let the guy pass me, that's for sure.

Gaffney did push you, and that's the first time you've been truly challenged. Did you need that?

KIRK: Oh yeah. He pushed my cardio, he pushed everything. I needed a fight like that where the third round meant something. Even though two judges gave me the second round, I felt like it was too close, so I came out thinking I needed to win the third round. He was tough. The thing I'm proud of for that fight was that I was fighting a tough guy, and I didn't go into wrestler mode. I stuck to the game plan, which was to defend the takedown and strike with him. I didn't have a lot of video on him, but I knew he was a wrestler and I heard he didn't have much standup. I'm proud that I stuck to my game plan. It's easy to just want to go to the ground when you're a wrestler. That's the best thing I did in that fight.

You're training with Sergio at the Minnesota Fight Factory. How's that going?

KIRK: Yeah, I'm also going to start doing some cardio at API. I just do my MMA with Sergio, but it's great. Shit, if you could have seen me the first day I walked in there. I couldn't throw a punch. I couldn't throw a kick. I was swinging from my pockets. Every time I went to the ground, people would submit me right away. Sergio works wonders. He stays on you all the time. If you do something pretty good, it's not good enough. You have to be perfect all the time. He lives up to his reputation. Every day we make improvements. I couldn't be more happy with Sergio.

You wrestled at 141 when you were with the Gophers, but it sounds like your plan is to work your way down to 135 as a fighting weight. How tough will that be?

KIRK: Yeah, the weight for this upcoming fight is set for 140. I'm planning to come in a little light for this one as I work my way down to 135. I had a shoulder injury, and I sat around for like six weeks. I got fat as hell. I came back and I've been chipping the weight down ever since. I want to come in for this fight at about 138 or 139, and then I'll get down to 135 for the next fight. I don't think it will be a drastic cut. But I don't think I've weighed that since I was like 17.

Who do you want to fight?

KIRK: I don't know if I should say. But we've talked about Brandon Merkt. He's a tough wrestler. He's someone that, if it's up to me, I'd fight him today. But I know that's not a smart thing to do. I have to get my cardio in a good spot. I have to work on everything before I'm ready for that. He's too tough to just step in there. I know he's a really tough guy to finish, so there's a good chance it would go the distance, which means my cardio needs to be there. I'm following (my agent) Jeremy (Bjornberg's) lead on this one. I need to keep gaining experience, and hopefully by the end of the year I'll be ready for a fight like that. Brandon has a great record, so I've been eye-balling him for a while. I think it would be a good fight. But I feel like I have the better striking right now. I've been working my Muay Thai with Sergio for about an hour and a half every single day. I think it would be a good fight for me, but a winnable fight.

You're working full-time as a butcher on top of fighting. Has your job been accommodating and what do they say when you come in with black eyes?

KIRK: They're pretty good about things. Right now, I kind of try to schedule things around fights, but it's tough. From day-to-day, I schedule my training around work. But they've been pretty flexible. As for the black eyes, I was actually pretty surprised, especially at first. I came in with some black eyes, and nobody said much. I was worried because I deal with customers, but for the most part, my job has been very supportive. Now people are asking when my next fight is. I'm very grateful for their support.

Are you planning to stay active for the rest of the year?

KIRK: Definitely. I'll fight as often as I can, every month if I can this summer. I want to do everything I can to get myself in a position for a big fight by the end of the year. I mean, I'm realistic. I'm 28 years old. I don't have a lot of time to fuck around if I'm going to make this thing happen. I need to get as many fights as I can by the end of the year and really try to do something.

What's the end goal for you?

KIRK: I want to be a world champion. That's it. It's world champion or bust. I've always been like that. Even (when I was wrestling at Minnesota), I trained only to be a national champion. If I got second, then the medal goes in a box and I'm never looking at that damn thing again. That's the way I am. It's the best or nothing. I think the one thing I would love to do some day is to be able to wrap a belt around Sergio's waist. He's there for me every single day. He has a lot of passion for his fighters. It would be a great honor for me to be able to put a belt I won around his waist. That's the true goal of mine.

Is there anyone you need to thank?

KIRK: Obviously, Sergio Cunha. I'd also like to thank everyone that I train with at Minnesota Fight Factory. They've all been there for me. I've been very fortunate. I trained with a lot of guys at Ambition in the past, too, and they've helped me a lot. I've always had great training partners and great coaches. Not everybody is that lucky. I'd like to thank all of my friends and family who have been so supportive. I'd like to thank my mom. She can't stand watching her son get hit, but she puts on her Nick Kirk t-shirt and screams like crazy when I'm fighting. I couldn't do this without all of the great people around me. I'd like to thank the Sterling Entertainment Group. Jeremy and Drew have helped and done a lot for me. I'd also like to thank Spinecrank for the sponsorship.