West alum Fike to make MMA welterweight debut Saturday
· Yahoo Sports
Stepping into any ring takes a tremendous amount of dedication and pride.
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West 2024 alum Trevor Fike has those qualities in abundant supply.
The former three-sport standout, a exercise science and a physical therapist assistant major at Shawnee State presently, will make his welterweight mixed martial arts (MMA) debut as part of the New Line Cagefighting (NLC) 49 stop.
Fike, who will represent Hoover Combat in the fight, will take on Athens, Ohio’s David Farmer on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. at the Boyd County Convention and Arts Center in Catlettsburg, Ky.
For the 21-year old, the opportunity to fight is a long time coming for Fike, who had his initially scheduled MMA debut on Aug. 22 delayed after Fike’s previously scheduled opponent backed out of the fight.
“It means a lot to me,” Fike said. “This is something that I have worked towards and it is finally here, and getting the opportunity to step in the cage for my first MMA fight is something that I am really proud of. I know there is going to be nerves and excitement, but I am ready to go out there and compete and see what the work I have put in can do.”
An All-District honoree in all three of the sports that he played in high school, the athletic Fike was a standout edge in football, forward in basketball and ace pitcher in baseball for West.
On the gridiron, Fike was named as an All-Southeast District talent in each of his final two seasons for West after making 96 tackles, six stops for a loss with a sack and an interception for the Senators in 2022 as a junior. West finished 11-2, won the SOC II Championship by defeating Wheelersburg, 14-7, in Week 10 to finish the year unblemished in the conference standings, and reached the regional semifinals, its best season since going 10-2 and reaching the same stage in 2017.
As a senior, Fike finished with 58 tackles and nine tackles for loss — helping West finish 8-3 in 2023. Fike ultimately finished his four-year football career with 252 tackles and was a three-year starter.
Between basketball and baseball, Fike racked up four additional all-district honors, including earning All-Southeast District honors in baseball during each of his last three seasons of competition. Fike was named as an All-Ohio honoree by Prep Baseball Report.
“Every sport I have participated in helped prepare me in different ways,” Fike said. “They’ve prepared me by teaching me how to compete, how to be physical, dealing with failure and being able to move on to the next play. MMA combines a lot of the lessons that the other sports have taught me. I truly have had amazing coaches in every sport and I will forever be grateful for every sport and life lesson they instilled in me along the way.”
Since graduating high school, Fike has been a heavy contributor in additional ways. After serving as the President of West’s Key Club and serving as a member of the school’s BETA Club as well as its prom and yearbook committees and earning a GPA north of 3.5 in high school, Fike continued his career from a baseball standpoint at Shawnee State before focusing on his studies and helping the Shawnee State Athletic Department out as a student worker, where Fike worked on various projects and initiatives that helped SSU in its transition from an NAIA member to its present status in NCAA Division II.
Not surprisingly, his go-getter attitude meshed well with Hoover Combat Athletics, a highly renowned and respected martial arts program located on Carey’s Run in West Portsmouth, which is run by Nate Hoover.
“I started training at Hoover Combat Athletics about a year ago,” Fike said. “Before that, I really didn’t have any martial arts or grappling background, really didn’t even know what I was getting myself into. A couple of my buddies (Noah Coleman and Eli Sayre) talked me into going down to Hoovers and starting Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. So then I saw what it was and started training because I wanted a challenge, physically and mentally. And then not long after that I fell in love with it. Then Derec Jones mentioned MMA to me and told me I should start training to get on a fight card and the more I trained and competed in Jiu Jitsu, the more I wanted to take the next step and test myself in MMA.”
Beyond Hoover Combat Athletics’ work in helping Fike get into what he has referred to as the best shape of his life physically, the HCA program has helped Fike mentally as well.
That’s been proven with Hoover Combat Athletics’ success across multiple age groups and disciplines.
One example of many would be in late 2023, when Gabriel Wills and Sydney Hoskins, who attends East Junior and Senior High School, combined for four world championships in the 2023 Submission-Only Good Fight World Championships.
Willis won the Gi-Grappling Teens Intermediate, Teens Intermediate No-Gi and Teens Advanced No-Gi Grappling titles as an eighth-grader. Then, this past March as a 16-year-old sophomore, Willis won first place in the adult blue belt 145-pound division at the Arnold Classic in Columbus.
Now a junior, Willis has been at the forefront of trying to get wrestling started as a program at Wheelersburg, and has met with Wheelersburg Local School District leadership in an effort to get the sport added within the school system.
East, where Hoskins attends, has taken it one step further. The Tartans will be adding wrestling and are seeking a head coach for the sport, both boys and girls.
Fike’s seeing the same type of optimism that Hoskins and Willis had under Hoover’s leadership.
“Hoover Combat has helped me in a lot more ways than just physically,” Fike said. “Obviously, I’m in better shape and stronger than when I started, but the mental side has definitely been the biggest change. You get put in uncomfortable situations constantly, and you have to learn how to stay calm even when things aren’t going your way. Nick Sherman and I went through crazy mental challenges last winter during and after every morning class, training, lifting, and cold plunging. I could name off so many people at Hoover Combat who have pushed me and I’m really grateful for everyone in the gym and especially my coaches. It has helped me become more disciplined and confident both inside and outside the gym.”
In regards to his debut, Fike is simply looking to control what he can control. The 21-year-old is simply grateful for the opportunity that has come about — and thankful for the blessings and the lessons that he says God continues to bestow upon him.
“I’m really strong in my faith and I’m grateful that God gave me the opportunity to be able to do this for him and give him all the credit but also, this is probably one of the things I am most excited about,” Fike said. “I’m from Portsmouth, and being able to represent my community and the gym means a lot to me. The support I have received is unmatched and I will never take that for granted. I have had many sit down talks with Tim Dunn, Nate Hoover, Brody Riffe, and Derec Jones who have full support and belief in me to let me go out and represent the gym and I am forever grateful for them.”