A walk that's going to come after a trip through the sands of Nevada and into the bright lights and big dreams of Las Vegas.
On June 2nd, Thorson will be fighting on the 'Future Legends 7' card for the long running and respected 'King Of The Cage' promotion.
A promotion many fighters have used to springboard their MMA careers to bigger paydays, having gained exposure from the 'KOTC' events that go on to be viewed by thousands more via DVD distribution.
Although the chance to prove himself in Vegas is a dream come true, the road to 'Sin City' was not an easy or short one. The life long wrestler first had to overcome some extreme adversity before and after starting his MMA career.
The adversity before his start in MMA was an accident at age fourteen that caused him to lose sight in his right eye, hence his nickname 'Blindside.'
The fighting adversity stemmed from a beginning to his MMA career that would have tempted others to hang'em up.
"I started off with four losses straight out of the gate. It was absolutely a huge discouragement. You just think to yourself, what am I doing wrong?
"Should I just quit and give this up?"
But it was Thorson's competitive spirit, likely from his solid wrestling roots, that led him to keep his dream alive . He's now riding a five fight win streak heading to the city that never sleeps.
Thorson's rise to his 'King Of The Cage' fight is one commonly seen in MMA.
Wrestlers that still feel the need to compete after their wrestling days are over.
"I wrestled for twenty plus years. I did school wrestling, collegiate, freestyle, and grecco. I went to New Zealand on a cultural exchange team, Nationals up in Fargo. I missed the competition and wanted to go try it (MMA) out one night."
After getting pinned with four straight losses from his MMA debut, I was curious what it was like to finally get that first win.
"I wasn't even planning on fighting that night. I was just going to support a fellow fighter here in town. The promoter needed a guy and asked if I wanted to fight. I said sure why not and it just happened. I had been training for a fight that was two weeks later so I was already in great shape.
"It came into place just like it needed to."
Thorson isn't the only one that has benefited from his passion for Mixed Martial Arts and representing his home state. His children have also learned to appreciate the training their Dad puts himself through, even joining in at times.
"It's great to have the competition and exercise. I'm a father of five kids. Three of my own and my fiance has two. I like being able to teach them that there is a place and time to have fighting and competition.
"That's a real benefit (of training MMA). I take my kids to the gym and they know the only place we hit is in the gym on the heavy bags and stuff like that. It's nice for them to have that outlet so they aren't beating up on their brother and sister every night in the house."
With the sport finally regulated in Wyoming, I wanted the native's view on how MMA has evolved from a "wild west" free-for-all to where it is now.
"In the past, a professional fighter could come into Wyoming and pick anyone out of a crowd to go and fight somebody. You don't know what their record is, you don't know anything about them.
"I think one thing that needs to be stepped up is the blood work. You have no idea, you could be fighting someone with AIDS or HEP C and not even know it."
And the problem itself has often started at the top. Thorson is keenly aware of this as he himself is trying his hand at promotion.
"Some promoters don't care about their fighters, they just care about making money. They just want money in their pocket. That's all they want. This is a sport, if you take care of your fighters, people (fans) are going to come back. They're going to notice what you're doing.
"I'm also a co-promoter for 'Cowboy X-Treme Cage Fighting'. We've tried to do everything that would show people what they would experience if they traveled outside of Wyoming.
Thorson's own words couldn't sum up his long road any better as he looks to that night on June 2nd.
"I went out there and tried it out. Here I am a year and a half later, still interested in fighting and still learning more. Still learning new things."
Check back here for full results from Brian Thorson's fight in addition to the rest of card.
Brian wanted to thank his sponsors '5 Star Tattoo', 'Cowboy Saloon', 'Pistol Pete's', 'DCJ Combat Sports', 'Century Club', and http://www.uppercutsnews.com/.
If you liked this, check out the other links found below:
http://www.colorado-mma-colorado-boxing.com/2012/01/forget-about-pacman-vs-money.html
http://www.colorado-mma-colorado-boxing.com/2012/01/top-3-moments-from-ufc-142.html
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