Wazzup Pilipinas!When
Casey Suire (5-0), of LaFayette, Louisiana moved to Jakarta, Indonesia nearly a decade ago, he was just an ordinary, hard-working American trying to get by. But when he was introduced to mixed martial arts by a friend in 2009, he became obsessed with the sport and what started out as an interesting workout became an intense, burning passion.
“I can remember watching my first MMA show and it was very exciting but thought you would have to be crazy to do that,” said Suire, as he recalled how he first discovered mixed martial arts.
Suire, a certified country boy, spent his childhood days growing up in sunny southern Louisiana but since being employed by a major Oil & Gas company, he was sent to Angola and Africa on assignment before finally settling in Indonesia. He’s been abroad for eight years now.
It was there that he discovered mixed martial arts.
“In 2009, I met an Australian kickboxer and out of curiosity started training with him in Balikpapan,” said Suire.
“He downloaded some Bas Rutten videos and we watched them to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. After three months, I had my first amateur MMA match at lightweight, and fought to a draw. I moved to Jakarta soon after (the amateur fight) and started training with fellow ONE fighter, Fransino Tirta. I went 5-0 in MMA competitions over that time.”