Dawson, Primus and Streeter Prepare for Eugene MMA Event

Seth Dawson working Thai pads.

Seth Dawson will fight on the same card as Frankie Streeter at Midtown Throwdown IV at the Lane County Fairgrounds on May 12. Brent Primus will also fight pro against Roy Bradshaw.

Brent Primus stays focused between workouts.

Seth prefers to fight locally when he has the option. "I can go from my house to the weigh-ins, from the weigh-ins to my house, from the fights to my house." Seth lives close to the fairgrounds and likes being able to go right home to his girl and his dogs instead of being in a random hotel room. Knowing good sources for healthy foods is another reason Seth prefers local fights.

When asked about additional pressure when fighting local, Seth said, "It does add pressure, but when it comes down to it, it's just going to be me and him in the cage...."

Seth started his MMA competition as a "stand up, sprawl and brawl fighter". After he lost some fights on the ground, he focused on his jiu jitsu and wrestling. He's often been the taller fighter in the 145 pound weight class and plans to use his length as a strategy.

On his opponent, Seth said, "He's got a good jiu jitsu game- it's comparable to mine. I think at the end of the day, mine will prove to be better. I train with the best here."

Seth's opponent trains without the gi for his MMA and submission wrestling fights.

Seth's opponent, Brent Alvarez, trains at Art of War with Kobb for his Muay Thai. Seth has competed against Kobb's students a couple of times and understands that their team is familiar with Seth's style.

Seth analyzes his opponent as being the stronger, shorter fighter. "If it goes [to the ground], I'm prepared for it," Seth said.

"[Alvarez] is a bit older than me. He just won the NAGA masters division, I believe, in Expert or Advanced [category]," Seth said. "He's got a good ground game and has been active in the no-gi tournaments..."

They will meet in the 145 lb featherweight division. Seth acknowledges that Alvarez has fought at 155 lbs and will be the bigger fighter. "I walk around pretty light... I don't like to make a big cut."

This will be Seth's 8th MMA fight and his debut as a professional. Over the last several amateur fights that Seth volunteered for, he's had 5 fall through. Seth decided just to go pro, figuring that it'd be less likely that his opponent would back out.

Seth doesn't know if Alvarez has fought recently, but recalls that former stable mate Evan Dunham has fought twice against him as an amateur. "I'm younger, I'm hungery and I've got a lot of fire in me," Seth said. "I have a lot of respect for Brent Alvarez and he's a good fighter and a good martial artist – we're just going to go out there and put our skills to the test."

"I'd like to thank everybody at Northwest Martial Arts for being a team." He thanks his training and sparring partners. "Ryan Clark has done a lot for me... Brent Primus, Tony Sanchez, Mark Manning – the list goes on and on."

 "I also want to thank Tye Smith at Dark Side Tint, George Birns at High Priestess"