MERRILLVILLE | John Kolosci pulled into the strip mall in a Honda Element and lugged a big equipment bag into L.A. Boxing on Sunday afternoon.

His vehicle seemed appropriate for his former career as a systems engineer and computer networker. But for John Kolosci the mixed martial artist -- the fighter -- it was at least a slight contradiction in expectations.

Kolosci made his biggest mark on the MMA world during Season 6 of "The Ultimate Fighter," the Ultimate Fighting Championship's reality show on Spike TV. When other eliminated fighters passed on an opportunity to fight eventual champ Mac Danzig in the semifinals, Kolosci didn't blink before accepting a rematch with the man who had forced him to tap out earlier in the season. No thinking it over. Clear cut. No contradictions.

But as it turns out, nearly two years later, Kolosci is nothing if not a paradox.

Years spent working in the business world no doubt meant long-sleeved button-down shirts that would hide his most noticeable feature: the tattoos that paint both his arms top to bottom. His right arm is inked up in such ornate detail that you want to borrow it to study it as a piece of art.

His goatee was long enough to be pulled into a mini front ponytail and tied off with a band.

As he began to prepare for an afternoon sparring session just six days ahead of only his second fight in 16 months, he started to tape two of his toes -- toes that had their nails painted. Black, of course.

His fiancee Cathy joined him at the gym, and at one point in the training session was holding a friend's dog, Killer, while Kolosci took a breather. Kolosci said one of his own dogs, a Chihuahua named Bambi, often joins him during sessions at the gym.

So we're expected to believe that a Honda Element-driving computer engineer who wears his goatee like Captain Lou Albano and paints his toenails, who brings his fiancee and lap dog to the gym with him, is some "ultimate fighter" tough guy?

Yeah. Hence, the paradox.

A full-time fighter

Several months ago, Kolosci decided to quit his computer job to focus on training full time. At the time, his last fight was on "The Ultimate Fighter 6 Finale," a Dec. 2007 submission loss to Matt Arroyo. He went back to the drawing board, but multiple injuries forced him off a few regional cards before he finally got back in the cage earlier this month -- 16 months after his last fight. At age 34, quitting a safe, paying job to make one more run at the fight game is a fairly hefty leap of faith.

"The thing is, for the past year I'd been thinking about (quitting my job)," Kolosci said. "I didn't want to be 50 years old saying, 'What if I would have quit? Could I have went farther? Could I have done better?' Nothing's 100 percent, nothing's guaranteed in life, and I just wanted to give it a shot. I could always go back to the computer industry afterward -- after my career is over and I can't fight anymore."

Kolosci said his goal is to make it back to the big show -- the UFC, easily the most recognized promotion in the world. But he said the dedication required to get there just doesn't afford a fighter a regular lifestyle.

"I know I couldn't compete at a high level without training full time," Kolosci said. "Working an eight-hour job, plus a couple hours travel, and then just training at night whenever I could wasn't going to get me to the next level. I looked at it from the angle that, yeah, I am older, but I'm still not too old -- so I've still got a good five or six years left in me. And I want to make the best of those five or six years and see where it could lead to. I can't compete in the UFC working a full-time job. There's no way. Nobody could do it."

After a win over Jay Finnegan in Kokomo on April 11 in what he admits was little more than a tune-up fight after the lengthy layoff, Kolosci next gets a fighter making his pro debut. He'll take on Rocky France as the headline fight on Saturday's Gladiator Elite show in Warsaw, an event that Kolosci said sold out its 1,000 tickets in about 24 hours. He said his gameplan is pretty clear.

"I want to finish (the fight) in the first round," Kolosci said. "I really think that my experience, the opponents that I've faced -- I've been through wars ... I think I can push the pace. My plan is to finish it in the first round."

There's no contradiction in expectations there.

For more mixed martial arts news, be sure to check in regularly with The Times' MMA site at nwi.com/blogs/mma.

Editor's note: This is the debut of a new weekly MMA feature in The Times sports section. Be sure to come back each Wednesday for more news, features, fight previews, commentary, exclusive fighter Q&A sessions and much more.

More online

Keep up with the world of mixed martial arts at The Times' MMA site, including an exclusive Q&A with John Kolosci, at nwi.com/blogs/mma.]]-->

Connect with Us