Troy Mandaloniz appears as one of the competing fighters in the Spike TV network’s mixed martial arts contest reality series The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra. He is 27 years old, and has an MMA record of 3-1-0. Mandaloniz is a native of Hilo, HI, though he has undergone most of his extensive training in Las Vegas, NV. He is a childhood friend of fellow fighter B.J. “The Prodigy” Penn, whose father taught Mandaloniz the basics of grappling when he was only in the fourth grade. He later on trained and competed seriously with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in 1997, getting help from Penn on strengthening his MMA style and utilizing the right techniques.
Mandaloniz then departed for Las Vegas with the intention of participating and improving himself full time at Mark Laimon’s Cobra Kai training center back in 2001. He has also worked part time as a bartender and at the airport in order to fund his needs. Undergoing combined instruction from Team Couture and Cobra Kai, Mandaloniz mainly wants to boost his endurance and cardio ability, taking advice from the coaches of The Ultimate Fighter. But aside from mixed martial arts, he is also a devotee of football.
(Photo courtesy of UFC)