5 Things You Might Not Know About Kevin Croom

Kevin Croom finds his back against the wall with no margin for error.

The Columbia, Missouri, native will seek his first win in nearly 20 months when he trudges into battle against Heili Alateng as part of the UFC on ESPN 34 undercard this Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Still winless inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Croom enters the Octagon in a tailspin after back-to-back losses. He last appeared at UFC on ESPN 32, where he dropped a unanimous decision to former Ring of Combat champion Brian Kelleher.

As Croom takes aim at Alateng, here are five things you might not know about him:

1. He fits the journeyman description.

Croom has fought for 24 different promotions during his 36-fight career. In addition to his three UFC assignments, he has competed in Bellator MMA, Titan Fighting Championship, the Legacy Fighting Alliance, CES MMA and Shooto. Croom has held titles in the Fighting Alliance Championship and Shamrock Fighting Championships organizations.

2. Proven investors back his efforts.

The 34-year-old Croom operates out of Glory MMA in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, where he trains under World Extreme Cagefighting and UFC veteran James Krause. Others who have called the gym home include Grant Dawson, Tim Elliott, Megan Anderson and David Onama.

3. His peak was impressive.

Inconsistency has marked much of Croom’s journey through the sport. However, he rattled off nine consecutive victories between Nov. 17, 2012 and Feb. 28, 2014. Those nine wins account for 43% of Croom’s career total (21). He has gone 7-9 with one no contest since.

4. He has a trainwreck quality about him.

Six of Croom’s fights—three of his 21 wins, two of his 14 losses and one no contest—have ended inside one minute. He suffered his quickest defeat when Willie Mack knocked him senseless in 37 seconds at a Warfare Xtreme Cagefighting show on May 2, 2009 and authored his fastest victory when he submitted J.R. Sotelo with a guillotine choke in 16 seconds at a Martinez Brothers Production event on July 9, 2011.

5. He was a serial killer’s first victim.

Croom had the unenviable fortune of welcoming Justin Gaethje to the sport in August 2011, when he faced the debuting future World Series of Fighting champion under the Ring of Fire banner. Gaethje put him away with a slam knockout in just 61 seconds.