I would say my experience is definitely in my favor.

Photo via Anthony Herald Photography

For 22 year old mixed martial artist Andrew Huffman, tonight (February 10, 2012) is the opportunity of a lifetime. The Demolition Fight Team product out of Findlay, Ohio, will be taking on undefeated wrestler Alp Ozkilic in the quarterfinals of the bantamweight Tachi tournament at LFC 51, with the overall winner earning a contract with the rising Tachi Palace Fights promotion.

Huffman earned his invite into the tournament about three months ago when he competed at LFC 49 and scored a first round technical knockout against Tom Osbourne with just one second remaining in the frame. His performance impressed the promoters enough to give him a shot in a tournament which features a wealth of the top bantamweight prospects in the area.

Fighting at 135 pounds, however, is not exactly something Huffman is accustomed to. The Gary Young-trained scrapper has battled at much higher weight throughout his 20+ fight professional and amateur career.

“I fought at 140 twice [as an amateur],” Huffman stated, “and as a pro now, I fought Josh Robertson at 135 and just that other fight LFC 49 was at 135 too. This is most definitely going to be a tougher cut than the other ones have been. My last fight, I fought at 150 actually against Brandon Walker.”

Huffman’s upcoming opponent, Alp Ozkilic, is undefeated both an an amateur and a professional. He was also an All-American wrestler and is a member of the Turkish national wrestling team. Despite this, Huffman refuses to be intimidated by Ozkilic’s credentials, instead, focusing on his strength of competition.

“I’m definitely concerned about his wrestling,” stated Huffman.  ”His upper body wrestling moreso than shooting in and stuff, but I’ve been working my takedown defense like crazy and he’s never fought anybody tough. The best guy he’s fought was like 1-1 and it went to a decision. Other than that, he’s fought like two guys that were 0-3, one guy that was 1-5 and two of those fights went to a decision too so I think he just fights to control people with his wrestling and I’m gonna try to not let that happen. I would say experience is definitely in my favor.”

Even if he does find himself on his back, the Arlington native believes he’s got enough skill and has worked with enough people to get the fight back where he wants it.

“I’ve trained with a couple guys that wrestled at college, at Findley,” replied Huffman when asked about dealing with Ozkilic’s wrestling. “A lot of the guys I work with, they coach wrestling at different high schools and stuff like that. My wrestling is not terrible, it’s probably not one of my strong suits but I think I’ll be alright. I can definitely get my butterflies in and push him off me if it comes down to it and get back to my feet. I’m definitely ready to go. I’ve been working my ass off for the last couple weeks, the last couple months, really. ”

Huffman seemed completely at peace when talking about how he’d like to see his fight finish and he was brimming with confidence.

“I’m thinking that it’ll probably last at least until the second round and then I’ll start to wear him down,” Huffman confidently proclaimed. “Then I’ll start working my kicks in there, start picking him apart from there. I know my conditioning is not going to fail, that’s for sure. We’ll see, probably a TKO in the second round is what I would predict.”

Huffman enters this bout riding an impressive three fight winning streak. He’s got big plans for his future, and it all starts with winning his fight tonight, and then eventually, the entire Tachi tournament.

“I’m just trying to keep it rolling. I’d like to win this tournament, get an invite to Tachi Palace fights and get my name out there. That’s what they’re known for, building smaller guys up. I’m excited for it, that’s for sure. I can definitely test myself, find out where I’m at against the best competition. That’s what I’ve always wanted to go against.”

If Huffman can pull it off tonight, he’ll be well on his way to fulfilling his dreams.

Andrew would like to thank his coaches, Gary Young and Tyler Beckley as well as one of his main training partners, Steve Smith. He’s like to thank all of Demolition Fight Team and all the support he’s been getting from Findley, Ohio.