Submitted photo – Orion Cosce in action in Redding last month.
Preparations are going well for Orion Cosce ahead of this weekend’s main event at the Bear River Casino fight night.
The former Hoopa High wrestler, who is 4-0 as a professional MMA fighter, will return to the cage for the third time in five weeks on Saturday night in a showdown with veteran Justin Baesman at 171 pounds.
And the 25-year-old Humboldt native is confident going into his first pro fight on the North Coast.
“Training’s been going really good,” he said. “I’ve been training every day making sure my cardio is on point, and making sure my strength is on point.”
With the fight now just days away, this week it’s mostly about cutting weight.
“The hardest part is cutting weight,” Cosce said. “Once I make weight, everything else is easy.”
His opponent brings plenty of experience to showdown, having fought in 41 fights as a pro.
The 38-year-old journeyman is 18-22-1 after starting out his career 13-4.
None of Cosce’s four pro fights, however, have gone the distance, with the former Hoopa Warrior ending three of them in the first round.
And he’ll be looking to do the same this weekend.
“As it always has been, once I see my opening I’m going to try and take it and finish the fight and capitalize on it,” he said. “I’m not going to try and rush things, but if I feel it’s there I’ll take it.”
A limited number of tickets are still available for the fight.
Tickets can be purchased through Cosce’s social media, along with t-shirts, with the fighter receiving a percentage of all tickets sold that way.
Tickets are also available through the casino.
Last month, Cosce defeated Ryan Wilson in 11 seconds in Redding, and followed that earlier this month with a third-round TKO of Joseph Kropschot in San Francisco.
###
Ray Hamill writes at humboldtsports.com, where you can read lots more about sports in Humboldt County.
CLICK TO MANAGE