Former BYU Football Kicker Delivers Impressive MMA Knockout
Jun 26, 2022, 1:52 AM
Former BYU football kicker Andrew Mikkelsen delivered a knockout in the Fierce MMA Championships. (Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Don’t mess with former BYU football kicker Andrew Mikkelsen.
Mikkelsen, a lead BYU specialist in the early years of the Kalani Sitake era on kickoffs, had himself a night in the MMA cage on Saturday.
During a Fierce Fighting Championship middleweight match against Dominico McIntosh at the Maverik Center, Mikkelsen recorded a first-round knockout. See for yourself in the video below.
Andrew Mikkelsen (former @BYUfootball kicker) just DESTROYED in his 4th amateur MMA fight. He put on an absolute clinic, capped off with a Knockout—just 40 seconds into the first round. #BYU #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/fAPiV1aDKk
— Zack Vandermyde (@Zack_Vandy) June 26, 2022
After the knockout to McIntosh, Mikkelsen gave the spectators in attendance a victory bow.
The victory improves Mikkelsen’s amateur fighting record to 3-1 all-time. He began fighting last year when he took down Chris Choo at the SteelFist Fight Night. Then five months later, again in SteelFist, a win over James Collvins. Mikkelsen’s first loss was last month against Sebastian Mordecai, but he bounced back in the win column by taking down McIntosh.
Being a former football specialist, Mikkelsen’s impressive performance in the cage caught the attention of former NFL punter and now national sports talk host Pat McAfee. McAfee, also part of the WWE’s Smackdown, tweeted about Mikkelsen’s knockout, saying, “#ForTheBrand.” A term McAfee uses to show love to fellow kickers and punters.
🗣🗣🗣 #ForTheBrand https://t.co/H4PBxTyw12
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 26, 2022
About Andrew Mikkelsen
Mikkelsen transferred to BYU from Oregon State in 2014. He was part of the BYU program for four seasons in 2014, 2016-2018.
We saw signs of Mikkelsen’s hard-hitting ways during his time at BYU. Against Mississippi State in 2017, Mikkelsen laid a hit on a Bulldog kick returner that jarred the football loose to cause a fumble. BYU recovered the ball, giving the offense a short field.
Mikkelsen recorded 177 kickoffs in his four years with the Cougars. He also kicked five extra points, converting on all five. Then he also attempted two field goals, missing the first in 2016, then making his next opportunity in 2017.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
