Kelsey Brunner, Deseret News
PROVO — Mention mixed martial arts and the late legendary fighter and actor Bruce Lee, and BYU defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki’s eyes light up. He zeroes in on you like you just dumped a gold brick in his pocket.
Tuiaki really gets into this stuff. And he likes to apply his experiences as an MMA fighter to football, using its philosophy and techniques to improve hand-eye coordination, footwork, balance and focus.
Right after Tuiaki finished playing football at Southern Utah, he took up MMA fighting to earn extra money, following in the footsteps of his brother Lolo.