Vince Murdock knew this place was different.
After hopping around Detroit, Michigan, and training wherever he could, Murdock traveled to watch his friend Daron Cruickshank compete on The Ultimate Fighter: Live finale. Urijah Faber coached Cruickshank, and he invited them back to his gym in Sacramento. Soon enough, Murdock found his way to California’s capital and couldn’t help but fanboy as fighters entered the gym.
“Guys just kept popping up on the mat,” Murdock said. “One second, it was Joseph (Benavidez), and then I’d look over, and I’m like, ‘Oh, s***, there’s Chad (Mendes).’ And I was like, ‘These are guys that I looked up to,’ and I just thought the world of them.