After wrapping up wrestling career, Mark Carosella set for pro debut at New League Fights
Mark Carosella | photo by Katie Jay
“I got started in MMA after I had decided to take a season off from college wrestling,” Carosella told BluegrassMMA. “I needed a way to stay in shape and stay competitive so I started training in MMA and liked it enough to do it competitively. I was planning on turning pro after 5-0 but instead decided to return to wrestling after my 5th fight for my senior season.”
Carosella wrestled at Heidelberg University, where he is also finishing up his degree in computer science.
Upon returning to MMA, the 22-year-old Demolition Fight Team product dropped the first bout of his career – to another former collegiate wrestler in Adli Edwards.
But he bounced back in his final amateur bout in December, earning a decision victory over another tough opponent in Avery Arellano at IT Fight Series 48.
“When I returned to MMA it was decided that I would turn pro after a couple tune up fights, as I had just taken six months off from the sport,” Carosella said. “I was planning on turning pro after my seventh fight but ended up losing to [Edwards] so after that loss we decided that eight fights was plenty of amateur experience and I was making a lot of progress in practice, so if had won my eighth fight, which I did, I would turn pro. ”
That pro debut will come this weekend against Chicago area native James Sanchez. The Team Top Notch product was 5-2 as an amateur.
“I don’t know a whole lot about James Sanchez,” Carosella said. “But either way I am very confident that my skill set will be difficult for anybody at this level to deal with.”
You can view the full fight card for New League Fights: Lucky Strikes here.
