NCAA champ Andrew Alirez embarks on MMA journey: ‘All in on the fight’

Andrew Alirez’s MMA debut may be flying under the radar. It’s a bit different feel than the last time he made an athletic jump.

As one of the top high school wrestling recruits in the country, Alirez prioritized loyalty over limelight. He stuck close to his home of Greeley, Colo., committing to the Unviersity of Northern Colorado.

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“My whole family went to Greeley Central,” Alirez recently told MMA Junkie. “My dad was state champion. My brothers, everybody, my cousins went there, so I went there. I was a four-time state champion. I was the No. 1 recruit coming out of college, out of everyone in the country and then I chose to stay home and go to a smaller program in Northern Colorado, so it was pretty tough. I was recruited by pretty much everybody in the country. But yeah, I decided to stay home and represent.”

Whether it was karma, hard work, skill or some combination, his choice proved wise. In 2023, Alirez became the first NCAA Division-I champion in school history, going 28-0 on the season with wins over Lachlan McNeil, Beau Bartlett and Real Woods.

Upon the conclusion of his collegiate career, Alirez briefly pursued the Olympics, qualifying for U.S. team trials, but lost narrowly to Nick Lee and forfeited out of the tournament.

Alirez considered another Olympic attempt, but chose against it. Since childhood, Alirez had a different aspiration. It remained in the back of his mind during his entire wrestling career – and now Alirez is making it a reality.

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“It was never a matter of if, it was a matter of when,” Alirez said. “I always knew I wanted to do MMA, even as a kid. I used to not even want to go to college. I wanted to just start playing at 18. But as I got a little older, went the college route, it was either now or seeing if I wanted to pursue the 2028 Olympics. But I’ve made a decision to go all-in on the fight.”

Alirez comes from a wrestling family – but perhaps more so, a fighting family. His father (also Andrew Alirez) was a wrestler-turned-pro MMA fighter. His uncle and cousins all fought. The generations before them were boxers. Alirez himself grew up boxing and compiled a 10-0 record.

As much as his pro debut Saturday at Sparta Army vs. Marines 17 in Loveland, Colo. will be a new venture, it’ll at the same time be revisiting his roots.

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“I’m the type of guy that if I do something, I’m going to do it all the way,” Alirez said. “I wouldn’t start this MMA journey if I didn’t believe I could be a world champion one day. Obviously, like I’m sure a bunch of people, being the UFC champion is my ultimate goal and what I’m striving for every day.”

In order to best build his abilities, Alirez has aligned himself with elite training partners. His wrestling prowess proves useful to some of the UFC’s biggest names, and in turn, he gets to work on his striking with top contenders.

Alirez splits time between Catalyst Jiu-Jitsu, and working with renowned MMA-wrestling coach Said Saparov at Pound 4 Pound Muay Thai, and training at Cory Sandhagen’s Tiger Beetle Martial Arts alongside Brandon Royval, Tatsuro Taira and others.

“It shows you what the best feel like, and that’s something that even in my wrestling career is extremely important,” Alirez said. “I’ve been to the highest level of wrestling, and you have to put yourself in those situations. Every day, you’ve just got to start keep getting better and better and better. So I’m very encouraged and I’m super motivated because I know I have the ability. Obviously, I’m just starting off, so I’ve got a long road ahead of me, and by no means looking past that. But I’m very encouraged in what I can do.”