Trading Steel for Gloves: Hickman’s Return to MMA

HOUSTON – For Taylor Hickman, the cage has always felt like home—even when life pulled him away from it.

“My opponent Alex Martinez—he’s 1-1 as a professional,” Hickman says. “I believe he’s going to try to take me down. It’s going to be a dog fight. That’s what I want, man. That’s what I got back into.”

Hickman, unranked but holding a 3-1 professional record, is set to make his return on July 27th for Fury FC, facing off against Arizona’s #6-ranked pro lightweight Alex Martinez. It’s his first fight in two years, after stepping away to focus on family and stability.

“Coming back from two years off—about two years ago, I sort of decided that I was going to focus on providing for my children a little bit more,” Hickman explains. “Now I got a three- and a five-year-old, and it just felt like doing MMA and personal training just wasn’t cutting it—just struggling buying Christmas presents and stuff like that. It was rough. So I decided to leave.”

In search of steady income, Hickman found work in directional drilling. But fighting never left his heart—or his daily routine.

“I got into directional drilling, did that for two years, and man, I just started getting the itch again,” he says. “I was shadowboxing every day on the construction site. I had my steel clubs and my maces—I’d be working out with those at nighttime. And I just missed it, bro.”

With 12 fights under his belt and deep ties to Houston’s MMA scene, Hickman knew exactly where to go when the time came to return. “I think I’ve had 12 fights now—they’ve helped me with 10 of my fights here at 4oz,” he says. “So this is like my second home. I’ve been cross-training here ever since I was with Alex Morono at Gracie Barra, so these guys have always been sort of my second home—home away from home. So when I told them I was getting back into fighting, they told me to come on out, and I’ve been grinding here ever since, man.”

Now, Hickman is ready to bring the same grit that pulled him through life outside the cage—right back into the fight.

Fury Challenger Series 14 will take place on Sunday, July 27th, 2025, and can be viewed on UFC Fight Pass, or in-person at Imagen Venues in Houston, Texas. Get your tickets at https://www.furyfc.tv/tickets/