AUBURN - This evening, an Auburn resident will be taking a major step forward in his career as a competitive fighter.

Kenny Alnutt, 22, will be competing in Gladiator III “Quest For Valor,” sponsored by Gladiator Fight Club. The event is taking place in West Virginia.

Alnutt will competing as a mixed martial arts fighter against a competitor, Matthew Beitz, that Alnutt admits he doesn't know too much about.

“I know he has a four-foot reach with his elbows,” Alnutt said. “I don't really know too much about him, so I'm a little nervous, but I'm excited. It should be a really good experience.”

Mixed martial arts is a full-combat sport involving many different fighting techniques, such as striking and grappling. In the past decade, the sport has developed a loyal following due to the success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Alnutt, who lived in Auburn until he was 6, moved to North Carolina, where he got interested in sports like wrestling and football through middle school and high school.

It was around this time that Alnutt, who moved back to Auburn to be closer to family, also got interested in pursuing martial arts.

It was through an old friend that Alnutt discovered that martial arts could be a great outlet.

“I had to do something to manage my anger,” Alnutt said. “I was getting into fights and stuff. My friend were telling me that after he got done with a workout he actually felt happy. So I decided to give it a try and I wanted to do something that would keep up the intensity of football and wrestling and this seemed like a good way to do that.”

Ever since those first tentative steps into the world of martial arts, Alnutt said he found the discipline and focus he needed and he has since gone on to study a variety of martial art styles, including Ju Jitsu, studying with people like Matt McConnell, Ben Bolding and Peter Petrosino at Cayuga Community College.

“Ben is one of Pete Petrosino's students and he saw me working out,” Alnutt said. “And then I started working with him and he has shown me a lot of stuff.”

At any given time, Alnutt is in the gym six days a week at the YMCA, working out and honing his skills.

While Alnutt is used to competition on the wrestling mats and the football field, he only recently has taken a step into the world of competitive fighting.

Alnutt said that until recently he never got involved in martial arts competitions.

But as opportunities have popped up, he has been taking advantage of them to gain more experience in the field.

“I had a fight in Ohio that I ended in 36 seconds with a spin kick,” Alnutt said. “And I've had a few fights in New Jersey. It has been pretty cool. Back stage at a sanctioned fight there are a lot of people and if they see a problem they will help you out. They are very supportive.”

Allnutt's performance in these early bouts have garnered him some attention from Gladiator Fight Club, a well respected club in the world of competitive fighting, a club that Allnutt said is heavily scouted by sponsors looking to bring fighters up to the professional ranks.

Allnutt was first contacted to compete at the end of December, but didn't feel like he would be ready in time.

When he was offered the chance to compete on April 19, he jumped at the chance.

“I'm excited,” Allnutt said. “I've been watching a lot of videos, looking at how the professionals do moves and trying to pick up a few new things and I've been here at the gym a lot. Right now I'm just trying to stay focused and I hope I have a good fight.”

Alnutt's match will re-broadcast on Versus but no air date has been set.