For Taylor Pierce, success is the only option in budding MMA career

While Taylor Pierce is all in on MMA at this point in his career, it wasn't always clear that professional fighting would be his path.

"I have four brothers, and two of my older brothers are wrestlers, so I started wrestling in sixth grade," Pierce said. "I was like a mediocre wrestler. I would fail off the team at high school and come back the second half of the marking period. I didn't take it too serious."

That changed quickly once Pierce put on a gi.

"Around junior year, I started training jiu-jitsu, and even just my mediocre experience in wrestling really helped me be comfortable in jiu-jitsu," Pierce said.

From there, things escalated quickly. Pierce had found his passion.

"I had those intentions of making it something I was going to pursue," Pierce said. "I clicked with this sh*t, man, so I knew I knew this was for me as soon as I started doing it, to be honest. I knew I could make a way somehow. I didn't really have anything else going on in terms of academics or anything like that. I actually dropped out of high school, so it's been all about jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts since I started."

Following a successful amateur career, Pierce turned pro in 2019 and actually suffered a decision loss in his debut. In 2020, he stepped in the CFFC cage for the first time and was able to register his first victory.

Pierce was satisfied with the result but knew something wasn't right.

"My first and second pro fight, I had bone fragments floating in my arm, so I got that surgery, actually after my second fight," Pierce said. "That put me on the shelf for a little bit, so that and COVID kind of had me a little more sidelined than I wanted, but I feel like I'm doing good now."

After 15 months away from competition, Pierce returned to action in 2021, picking up another victory at this past May's CFFC 96.

Now Pierce steps in the cage again at Saturday's CFFC 105 event, which streams live on UFC FIGHT PASS from Philadelphia's 2300 Arena. He takes on fellow featherweight prospect Joe Tizzano, who actually had an up-close look at Pierce earlier in his career.

"I know he cornered against me in 2020 in my second pro fight, so I've had my eye on him since he was a 2-0 guy," Pierce said. "I thought I might have been fighting him in my last fight before I got matched up, but you know, I've had my eye on him.

"He probably thinks he's had his eye on me, but when he cornered against me, my arm was f*cked up. That was a strategic fight. So was my last fight, so those don't really show anything about my style at all. So as much as he probably thinks I'm on his radar, I'm not."

Featured on the main card of Saturday's event, Pierce knows it's his time to shine. With no backup plan in place, it's imperative to deliver a memorable performance and build some momentum toward his ultimate goal.

"This is a high-profile fight, just like I was looking for," Pierce said. "This is what you want as a fighter. You want good opportunities and you want to do well at the right time in front of the right people, and that's how you end up in good places."

Fortunately, he believes this matchup will deliver exactly what fans will want to see.

"I think this is a fight where when I'm at my best and he's at his best, I'm better than him anywhere the fight is," Pierce said. "I think he's a guy who goes forward, and I think I'm a guy who goes forward, so that usually makes fireworks and exciting moments."