CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Jordan Rinaldi still has a tough time comprehending that this is his job. It still makes him nervous.
"I mean, it's a good nervousness, because it keeps it sharp," says the 30-year-old Rinaldi. "At the same time, you're like ... 'How did I choose this? How did I come to be standing inside a cage about to try to beat another man up?' It's just insanity."
That's what was going through his mind as the bell sounded for his first fight as an amateur mixed-martial artist, back in 2008.
And that's what he'll be thinking on Jan. 27 in Charlotte, when he touches gloves as a professional with the undefeated Gregor Gillespie to start the biggest match of his career: a lightweight bout that's part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship's big "Fight Night" event.
His big brother Joseph, 32, will be equally tense.
Joseph's done as much as anyone, Jordan says, to help him navigate the path from fighting for bragging rights at a Charlotte flea market to this televised pro bout at cavernous Spectrum Arena. Jordan may be a heavy underdog in this fight, but the smartest bet of all would be on Joseph shouting his head off from his seat in the lower level.
But exactly how did Jordan Rinaldi _ a guy who has bachelor's degrees in both finance and accounting from UNC Charlotte _ come to make beating people up a career? And why was his brother so dead-set on him doing it?
