by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG

Editor/Publisher

The Orcas Fight Camp continues to dominate at mixed martial arts matches.

Orcas fighters Tyler Nigretto and Andy Nigretto, in his first pro match, both beat their opponents during Combat Games’ “Battle at the Bay XIII” at the Swinomish Casino in Anacortes on Nov. 14.

Tyler beat Kyle McGrough in just over 20 seconds. Andy, who had the main fight of the night, beat Chris Aparicio in just over two minutes.

It was a meaningful evening for Coach Colt Hausauer, who has been training fighters at Orcas Athletics for the past few years. Andy and Tyler, who are cousins, have been working with Hausauer since the beginning.

“I knew they were going to win – no doubt in my mind,” Hausauer said. “They trained very hard for this. People don’t realize the fight is the fun and easy part. It’s the training that is hard. And they work hard to make the fight easy. It has been paying off.”

Tyler said that since both he and Andy have physical jobs and work outside, it took a lot of determination to make it to the gym each day.

“Even though my fight was only 27 seconds, training goes back monthsm,” he said. “My last fight was a year ago and you bet I was coming back stronger than ever.”

Hausauer, himself a professional MMA fighter, won his match this past July at Battle at the Bay. Andy also won his amateur match at the same event.

“I had a few pretty good fights against some talented local amateur fighters so we just took the next step and went pro,” Andy said.

Since Orcas Fight Camp started competing at local MMA matches, the island community has rallied around the athletes. At every event, dozens of islanders come to cheer them on.

“Having a crowd like that makes you want to do your best,” said Tyler.

Added Andy: “The support is unreal. I can’t really describe the feeling I get seeing everyone in the crowd when I get in the cage, but it’s pretty cool.”