THE CLINCH REPORT

By: Jonathan M. King The Clinch Report

Photos By: John Walsh The Clinch Report

The 4th of July holiday may be in the rear view mirror, but Thor Skancke (6-6 MMA) saved his fireworks for July 10th. On that night Skancke will be taking on a very tough Jason Cordero (5-6 MMA) in the main event of ‘Fight Night 3’, and as always he promises to bring his own breed of fireworks.

“I am looking to put the pace on him early”, Skancke said. “He is not going to get past round 2. If he (Cordero) trained real hard his reward will be losing in the 2nd round, If he took me lightly he won’t last past the first!” Skancke said. At first the prediction may seem full of bravado but for Skancke its how he handles the reality of fighting.

Even though he sees his hand being raised, Skancke refuses to take anyone lightly. “I am physically and emotionally unable to take anyone lightly, anybody has a chance to beat me, so I train the same way every time.” Skancke said. “I come to knock you out quickly, I want to punch your teeth down your throat” Skancke said.

So although it may be an athletic contest Skancke makes no bones about his attitude when it comes to fighting!  “I don’t play games, I take every fight as a threat.”

Maybe that is why so many people come to watch him fight. Consistently one of the top draws on the local MMA scene for some reason Skancke translates to fight fans. Its not only his name that sets him apart, he truly is a showmen. From his entrance to his appearance, and his comical way Skancke is a guy you want to like. His fighting style reinforces that belief. Although he is awkward with the notion of popularity, he is not oblivious to his drawing power.

“People can tell when someone is the genuine article.” Skancke said. “I am a pretty exciting fighter to watch.  Many guys leave it ‘all out there’, but I handle business with a ferocity, and a reckless abandonment that most fighters lack, I have a kamikaze way about doing work, and I think thats why i put asses in seats.”

Skancke, a notorious brawler has spent the last year or so fine tuning his ground game. Recently under the tutelage of UFC/WEC veteran Gabe Ruediger, Skancke has made huge strides to increase not only his technique, but his confidence as well.

“My ground game has always been decent, I even won a few grappling contests, but for some reason in MMA it just wasn’t working. It took a new coach (Ruediger) to tie it all together, and to instill the confidence I needed in order to execute on the ground.” Skancke said. With his last win coming via submission it is difficult to argue with the results.

July 10th will be the test. In the end, the fight game may be cruel but its quite simple. Each fight produces a hammer and nail. For Skancke, the ends justify the means. The work will speak for itself, until then we can only anticipate. Until then we can only be satisfied with the fireworks we have seen, yet we can revel that their are still some more to come!

Thor Skancke Fights out of Tarzana Boxing Club/Systems Encino/10th Planet HQ

He is Sponsored By: Bottle and Pint, “The Hell and The Hunger” by  Mike Reynolds (In stores now), Pain Away, and Nutri Shop of Woodland Hills, and Ten Braves Apparel. 

He would like to thank his coaches Bernie Hopalian, Gabe Ruediger, Chris Buckner, and his manager George Bastmajyan. He would also like to thank all the fans that always come out in droves to support him.