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North Idaho College Builds Champions

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North Idaho College Builds Champions

Killian Estes, 21, of Post Falls, is competing for a professional MMA contract on December 9th in Reno, Nevada. Although Estes’ opponent for the upcoming bout has yet to be decided, he said has no doubt that he will win the contract.

Estes is no stranger to the sport. He has a wrestling background that dates back to when he was three-years-old. His father, Parker Estes, has been the main influence in his life and fight career.
The elder Estes was a wrestler and began fighting at 19. The passion for the sport continued in the next generation as Estes watched and built up his skills over the years. The sport became a passion of his and he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father. Estes has five sisters and one brother, who wrestles at Post Falls High School. Estes himself was an Idaho state wrestling champion at Lake City High School.

After high school, Estes wrestled for North Idaho College under current wrestling coach, Pat Whitcomb. Whitcomb has coached other wrestlers who have moved on to MMA competition, such as Jamelle Jones. Estes wrestled with NIC for about a year before he decided to break away and become a full time fighter. He is a King of the Cage Amateur Middle Weight Champion, among other titles. He is currently sitting 9-0 in the amateur division and is making his own impact in the fighting community.

Estes follows many fighters, but is largely influenced by Conor McGregor. McGregor has made headlines in both the UFC and boxing. McGregor is known for his trash talk and gritty personality, which Estes has adopted himself to hype up his opponents.

With an undefeated record, he certainly backs up the talk.  Estes already has a massive following on his athletic page, with just under 14,000 and growing. Estes is currently training at AKA facility, under the tutelage of Trevor Prangley, a veteran in the sport. Prangley himself has fought in major promotions such as the UFC and Bellator. Typical training changes from day to day, but a sparring day will include Muay Thai Kickboxing and No-Gi jiu-jitsu (wrestling and submissions put together). Other days, Estes focuses on heavier cardio, including Airdyne bikes, focus mitts, and heavy bags to constantly work on lungs and breathing.

Estes’ weight-cutting process involves a ketogenic diet, including high amounts of protein. He also drinks at least a gallon of water a day to maintain hydration. Closer to fight week, he will increase his water intake to help flush everything from his body. Sitting in a sauna also allows for any water to be released from his body.

Estes’ mother and father separated when he was young and lived in separate areas. When Estes was a teenager, his mom became very sick and was later diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. He and his father made a three-day trip to see her. Upon his return home, his mother was hospitalized again and eventually passed away at 34 years of age. Estes had just turned 16. He said the traumatic experience pushed him to keep fighting and to train harder than he had before.

“I’ve never been able to explain the cage fight feeling, except that I put every good emotion and every bad emotion into my fighting and let it all out in the cage,” Estes said.
The day of each fight, Estes talks with friends, which he says gets him prepared mentally.

Estes has many sponsors including: Boars Nest in Spirit Lake, Freezia in Post Falls (owned by his manager Shawn Carr), and Patriot Supplements in Coeur d’Alene. Although his mark in the world of MMA is in its infancy, Estes is ready and willing to make a name for himself in professional MMA.

“I not only want to be in the UFC, I want to be a UFC champion,” Estes said.

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I'm a NIC student studying photojournalism. I am the sports photographer for the college. I shoot almost everything but love shooting MMA and boxing events.

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