The past few months have been frustrating for Cody Stevens, with several of his fights getting cancelled, including one that was scrapped just three days before the show. With a month of training under his belt at Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Phuket, Thailand, the 30-year-old American says he is as hungry as ever.

“I think I’ve absorbed lots of new techniques through Tiger trainers Fernando (Maccachero), Wiktor (Svensson), Roger (Huerta), and all the Thai trainers” he says, “I’ve been nothing but focused on training. I’m ready to go out there to put on a good performance and get a win for Tiger (Muay Thai), Fight Farm, and all my gyms back home

Stevens (8-5) has a fight lined up on January 19 against Cory “The Irish Car Bomb” Mahon (10-5) at the Rocktagon XXIII “Journey of Champions” event in Cleveland, Ohio at 145 pounds.

Though almost all of Mahon’s victories have come from submission, Stevens is excited to use his polished arsenal of all-around skills (from striking to groundwork) in what should be an exciting match up.

“People think I’m a wrestler because I come from wrestling but my goal is to be a hybrid fighter,” he says, “my kicks got a lot of snap on them, I feel light on my feet right now, my elbows and knees are on point. If he wants to pick his poison and try to take me to the ground he can try if he wants to.”

Stevens’ last bout was a loss in July to Wilson Reis, an eight-time Bellator veteran with more than double the experience of the Mansfield, Ohio-native. His four fight losing streak doesn’t seem like it will continue, however. For a time, it was difficult for him to get fights, forcing Stevens to accept any challenge even if they were against Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts, fighters with over double the experience, or even with just three days notice.

“I will take any fight, I’m all about the warrior spirit,” Stevens says, “You can say I made some bad choices, but in my eyes I’m out here to get experience.”

This will be Cody Stevens’ first fight as part of the newly minted Tiger Muay Thai and MMA Training Camp Fight Team. Below is the first part of our MMA Tryouts series.