A Saxon graduate and former standout wrestler is about to step onto one of the biggest stages in combat sports!
This weekend, Netflix enters the live MMA business for the very first time, and fighting alongside some of the sport's more recognizable names will be Hastings High School graduate Kenny "The Boss" Cross.
Cross came to HASS in third grade when he enrolled in Northeastern Elementary. He remained in the district all the way up top his graduation.
Netflix's debut event, MVP MMA 1, is loaded with star power. Names like Ronda Rousey, Nate Diaz, Mike Perry and Francis Ngannou headline a card designed to introduce millions of viewers to Netflix’s first live mixed martial arts showcase. Standing alongside those stars is Cross, who has spent the last decade grinding his way toward moments exactly like this.
“I didn’t care who the opponent was,” Cross said when he received the offer. “When I found out what I’d be making and where I’d be fighting, and that it was on Netflix, I was in.”
MVP MMA 1 streams live Saturday, May 16, from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. Cross is scheduled to face France’s Salahdine Parnasse, who enters the fight riding a 22-2 record.
For those who followed Cross during his Hastings wrestling days, reaching a stage this big probably feels less surprising than inevitable.
Before he became a professional fighter, Cross built his reputation on the mat at Hastings High School, where he qualified for the state wrestling meet three straight years and finished fourth in the state as a senior. Even then, the toughness and determination that now define his MMA career were already impossible to miss.
"I didn't want to wrestle at all, at first," the introverted Cross explained. "I didn't like the singlets. I didn't like the way it made me look, but I realized when I watched my brother wrestle that, all of a sudden, everyone was respecting him and he was doing really well in wrestling and making friends. And, I was like 'Maybe I will wrestle."
Cross' prep wrestling career was an impressive one. His senior year, his only two losses were at the state meet.
But Cross’ road to this MMA moment has looked different from the polished path many top fighters follow.
After high school, he went to work, spending years in blue-collar jobs before deciding to test himself in a sport that was rapidly growing in popularity. His first amateur fight at the Barry Expo Center lasted less than a minute and ended with his hand raised. Remarkably, he went 7-0 as an amateur before ever formally training at a gym.
“With my journey, I like to learn the hard way,” Cross said. “I was just lucky and talented and blessed. I went pro and won three more and I still had no idea what I was doing. I hadn’t joined a gym yet.”
Cross eventually earned opportunities with some of the sport’s biggest brands, including Bellator, Dana White’s Contender Series — where he earned a win — and even a selection for The Ultimate Fighter reality series before he was shifted to alternate status on the show.
Now carrying a professional record of 17-4, Cross says his focus never drifts too far beyond the next fight. Still, he knows what this opportunity could mean.
“I love where I’m at right now but it’s always been a goal of mine to get those UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) shorts," Cross said. "It’s my dream to fight in that UFC octagon.”
A turning point came in 2022.
After heading to Las Vegas for The Ultimate Fighter, Cross realized talent alone would no longer be enough against the sport’s elite. He made the decision to fully commit, convincing his now-wife to move west and chase the dream head-on.
That decision changed everything.
Today, Cross trains at Syndicate MMA in Las Vegas and says the sacrifices are paying off.
“I said ‘Let’s work’ and I was laser focused and doors kept opening with that mentality,” Cross said. “Three years later, we have a nice house, I’m with a great gym, I’m acquiring sponsors and eating steak dinners with UFC champions. It wasn’t the route that MMA fighters usually take, but I did.”
Now, the former Saxon wrestler who once learned the sport on instinct alone will fight in front of a worldwide Netflix audience.
And back in Hastings, there is plenty of pride in seeing one of their own reach this level.
On Saturday night, Cross believes he is ready for the moment...one he has dared to dream about for a long time.
"Growing up, I was told I'm from a small town. Quit dreaming so big. Like, people would scoff at me and look at me like I was insane and laughable because I wanted to do things outside of trim carpentry and hard labor and construction because that’s what we were raised on," Cross said.
Turns out, they were wrong and he was right.