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Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series tracking former SIU football player Natu Visinia. He is slated to fight in an upcoming cage fighting event in Carbondale. The DAILY EGYPTIAN will tell what life is like inside the sometimes-bloodied ring.
Natu Visinia used to smash opponents while wearing pads, but football wasn't his passion.
Visinia said his true calling is to fight in a cage.
On Sept. 29, Visinia - a former offensive lineman for the SIU football team - will fight at Carbondale's Sports Blast gym. The event will mark the city's first mixed martial arts event. Visinia said he trained in mixed martial arts while still playing football to enhance his flexibility and cardiac capacity.
Out of six fights, Visinia has only lost once, and that time, the victor had little to cheer about.
"He left me a voice mail," Visinia said. "He told me 'Good fight, you know, I think you cracked my rib. And I think you broke my nose.'"
Visinia is ranked No. 6 nationally in his weight class for the International Sports Combat Federation.
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But opponents forget about the knockouts when the fight concludes.
"After the fight, you shake each other's hand, buy each other a drink and that's it," he said.
The fight in Carbondale will be Visinia's last event as an amateur.
Tim Fickes, Visinia's trainer, said Visinia will become a professional fighter after the Sept. 29 fight. He called Visinia a well-rounded fighter who doesn't have a specialty, but fights best while on his feet.
"His strong point is his stand-up stuff," he said. "He's a powerful puncher."
But before the punches, knockouts and intensive fights, it all started for Visinia on SIU's football field.
Matt Limegrover, SIU's offensive lineman coach, called Visinia one of the most athletic "big guys" he's ever known. Visinia had the potential to excel in football, Limegrover said, but lost his love for the game along the way.
Off-the-field troubles didn't help any.
"He's such an aggressive kid," Limegrover said. "Unfortunately, he always wanted to go ahead and knock someone's block off."
Limegrover said lineman need to control their aggression or they get out of position. For Visinia, he said, the skills were there. His focus was not.
"Kid's got a head of cement. I've seen him take some shots on the practice field," he said. "He won't go down, and he'll keep coming after you."
However, those tactics that were never allowed on the football field might come in handy while fighting inside the steel cage.
There are no teammates in a cage fight. It will be one-on-one.
"I think he likes that," Limegrover said. "He's in control of his own destiny, so to speak."
Alejandro Gonzalez can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 273 or agonzalez@siude.com.
