Erik Koch earned his nickname in his very first mixed-martial-arts fight. A brother who spent incalculable hours on an 8-by-8 mat in a basement helping him train gave it to him.
Wanting to be an MMA fighter from the time he was 12 years old – long before it was common – Koch sneaked into fighting for the first time when he was 17 years old in Davenport, Iowa, in 2005.
He was matched up with an opponent from the respected Miletich camp, and he was trying to make his mark. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa native dyed his hair red for the debut. Then strutted around, admittedly looking like a kid.