Being a professional archaeologist means spending painstaking time, using your hands slowly and with precision so as not to break the object in front of you. Being a professional fighter means spending time taking pain, using your hands with speed and precision to break your opponent. Dayne Aristizabal isn't sure which one he wants to do yet.

The 21-year-old Spanish Fork native has spent five years training jiu-jitsu with Pedro Sauer, sharpening a ground game that has become among the best in the state. He's shown well in nine regional grappling tournaments, but until now hasn't tested how well those skills hold up when someone is trying to punch him in the face.

He'll get his chance Saturday at Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night against striker Dustin Collins, whose 7-1 record sports four TKOs.

“The thing people don't realize about jiu-jitsu is just because you can ice skate doesn't mean you can play hockey,” Aristizabal said. “You have to learn a lot of skills and broaden your game.”

While still training with Sauer's camp, he's been teaching some classes at Throwdown ETC in Orem and working with Griffen Reynaud and Derek Downey to do just that. It's only been a few months since Aristizabal started to learn standup, but already he's broken a few sparring partners' noses.

“He throws good hard punches, straight punches. He's just not real fluid with it yet,” Reynaud said. “For sure he's like a whole other level than most guys at jiu-jitsu, but that transition isn't always that easy for people.”

Whether Aristizabal decides to stand with a powerful, experienced striker like Collins remains to be seen. It's no secret that his strength and comfort zone is on the ground. Getting Collins there will be difficult, and doing so without opening himself up for a heavy shot will be another test.

“I don't like putting guys in over their head, but I like to test them and test them early because that's going to be a deciding factor in what they show and whether they want to fight,” Reynaud said. “If you go out and just get guys that you can submit or beat up in 35 seconds, it doesn't give you an idea of where you're at or a real sense of what the game really is. I like to give the guys opponents who can test them. Dustin's a really hard-nosed, tough dude. If Dayne shows well against that it gives him a good idea of where he's at and whether he wants to be a fighter.”

Aristizabal was home-schooled by a family of scientists, and he took a few semesters of classes at Utah Valley State University in 2006 with the thought of transferring to an archaeology program. It's a career path he's recently thought about picking back up. Whether he becomes the next big thing at 155 or the next big thing at the dig site could very well depend on Dustin Collins.

“I think I'll be one of his toughest fights that he's had for sure, but I'm still coming in with a lot less experience in a cage than he is. It's a good first fight,” Aristizabal said. “Win, lose or draw no one can say I took an easy first fight.”

IF YOU GO

What: Jeremy Horn's Elite Fight Night

When: 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23

Where: South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State St., Sandy

Tickets: $25 general admission, $75 VIP seats, at www.hornselite.com