A natural athlete who earned the Pop Warner football level nickname of
“Hitman” growing up, Virgil Zwicker met mixed martial arts through his
boxer brother.
The brother returned to the San Diego area to take an MMA
fight in 2002. Zwicker liked the idea, and he planned to watch.
But Zwicker’s brother faced an injury that threatened to postpone the
fight. Zwicker, he admits, had done his share of fighting with cousins
and other residents of the reservation growing up – not to mention his
years in and out of correctional facilities from the time he was 13 – so
he moved in as a late replacement.