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Yunker Competes in War in the Yard
Tristan Yunker, who works as an electronic games technician at Hoosier Park Racing and Casino, competed as one of the co-feature bouts Saturday, Aug. 8 during “War in the Yard.” The full-contact mixed martial arts (MMA) event included 10 fights, going three rounds at five minutes apiece for the format. Yunker was the eighth fight that took place on the card.
A native of Anderson, Ind., Yunker fought in front of his hometown crowd for the first time as a professional MMA fighter. The 24-year-old graduate of Highland High School was a standout wrestler in school, serving as captain of the squad for two years. He was named MVP during his senior year and still holds the record for most pins in one season.
Yunker has been pursuing a career as a professional MMA artist for the past five years. He has competed all over the United States, including a trip to Sydney Australia and a bout in Mexico. He admits fighting for the first time as a professional in Anderson was a thrill.
“I have a lot of family and friends out for the fight, so that really gets me motivated,” said Yunker prior to his bout Saturday. “I want to be on my “A” game. I’ve been working hard the past few months for this.”
Yunker entered the cage against Keith Wisniewski of Hobart, Ind. Yunker came out fighting. Wisniewski seemed to control the first round and one minute and 12 seconds into the second round after getting Yunker to the mat, Referee John Manley called the fight with stoppage due to strikes.
“I’m pleased with my performance tonight,” said Wisniewski following the win. “I’ve had the best training camp ever coming into this fight. My teammates really helped me out a lot. I had him (Tristan) in some bad spots and he handled it well. Tristan is a good wrestler and has a good upper body game.”
Although Yunker didn’t add another win to his resume, he still has a winning record as a professional, scoring 13 wins and nine losses. Yunker will regroup and start working toward his next fight.
“I usually have a fight every couple of months,” said Yunker. “But it sure was nice to have an event like this in Anderson.”
