[Gladius NH Press Release]
Little known Featherweight Taylor Trahan has toiled away with nearly twenty fights, flying mostly off the main stream of NorthEast MMA radar. But he won his last four Amateur fights and his Pro debut, and now he is ready to bring his game to the next level.
When Mixed Martial Arts promotion Gladius Fights makes its New England debut on June 29, the Notre Dame Ice Arena in Berlin, NH will play host to Gladius VI. The featured fight of the Pro card will see NH/Vermont local Taylor Trahan, in just his second Pro fight, taking on Amran Aliyev from Team Bombsquad. Team Bombsquad was voted by NorthEastMMA.net as the top Mixed Martial Arts team in New England and New York and has produced dozens of UFC and Bellator veterans. “I just don’t want to pad my record with easy fights,” Taylor told me in a recent interview.
At the age of 12 (or so), a young Taylor first watched MMA on television. “That’s when I first wanted to do this,” he said. Taylor grew up and lived in Littleton, NH for the first twelve years of his life, before his family moved over the state line to Vermont. “Yeah, I was born in the old Littleton hospital. My dad’s business is in Littleton, NH. Berlin is right in our back yard. I can’t wait to fight in Berlin!”
When He first began his training, teenage Taylor trained at Kaze Dojo in Lisbon, NH. Though his training and love for the game was solid, young Trahan began his Amateur MMA career with three straight losses. “I had my first fight just after I turned 18,” he said. “But after I lost to Lewis Corapi (leaving him with a 0-3 record) I began branching out a bit. I started cross training down in Manchester at Murphy’s kick boxing.”
Over the next two years and eight fights, Trahan ran off a 6-2 record, improving his Amateur record to 6-5 overall. His only two losses were to two of the North East’s best. “The loss to Cotito (Smith) really changed things for me. I started training with Vaca Moreno (Team Link Manchester). Vaca really changed the way I fight.” Vaca Moreno is one of the top Pro Middleweights in New England. He is a native of Brazil and a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt. “Vaca really showed me how to put all the pieces together as one,” said Taylor.
Things really turned around for Taylor, and he won all four of his final Amateur fights, which left him ranked in the top ten Featherweights (145lbs) in the NorthEast. Then, in January of 2013, Taylor won his Pro debut fight against Jamir Toledo. “Jamir was the toughest guys I’ve ever fought. He (nearly) knocked me out twice in the first round. He really put me out twice,” said Taylor. “He’s a BJJ Black Belt, and he hit real hard. He made me think twice about what I was made of.” Taylor came back to win the second and third rounds, enough for a decision victory!
Taylor and his brother Brett have started their own training center, Team Link North, in Saint Johnsbury, VT. “The fighters in the area needed a place to train,” said Taylor. Team Link North is housed in the Club at Old Mill. (Visit them at www.clubatoldmill.com) When Taylor is not training or teaching at Team Link North, he is working for his dad’s janitorial service business.
At just 22 years young, Taylor Trahan is looking to find out just how far his MMA talents will take him. On June 29, he will bring his game to the Notre Dame Ice Arena in Berlin, NH where he will face another tough opponent, Amran Aliyev, who comes to the cage with a 3-1 record. Much like Trahan, Aliyev had many Amateur fights before turning Pro. At 3-1, Amran is only a key win or two away from being ranked amongst the top ten Pro Featherweights in the NorthEast.
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