Being at the top of his game, local arm wrestling sensation Allen Ford is heading to the bright lights of Las Vegas to pursue a unique arm wrestling opportunity.

Over the last 20 years Ford has achieved notable accomplishments in the world of arm wrestling. Most recently, he won first place in both arm classes at the provincials in Barrie and in 2011 won his third straight national title.

Riding on that success Ford is slated to participate in British professional arm wrestler and television show producer Neil Pickup's debut program Arm Wars.

Pickup is bringing his successful series to Las Vegas and Ford is on the bill to participate in the two-day tournament.

"I am willing to give up winning my fourth national (title) as well as another chance at the worlds," said Ford.

Ford describes Arm Wars as an unusual tournament because all the matches will be super matches where the arm wrestlers will arm up one on one with the best four out of seven matches which means Ford will be competing against only one person.

Having come by the sport naturally, the national arm wrestling champion has minimized his participation from the sport he loves over the last few months to improve his performance.

"I always had this sport naturally," explained Ford. "I just arm wrestled, while other guys spent hours in the gym.

However, earlier this year Ford felt he wasn't performing to his full potential by "just doing what I was doing."

After hearing the results other local athletes were experiencing by attending L.E.A.P. High Performance crossfit program, Ford sought the help of the trainers to improve his performance.

"It kicks my butt," admitted Ford. "It pushes me every time I go there. People have seen my improvements."

Recently, he participated in an arm wrestling tournament at the Toronto Pro Supershow.

The tournament didn't include a weight class which left Ford competing against men much heavier then he. The medium built man faced off against men weighting 79 to over 181 kilograms. The tournament consisted of five eliminations, which had participants facing off until they lost five matches.

"I ended up placing third overall," said Ford. "I was very happy with third in that format."

And this Saturday, July 21, Ford is heading to the Arm Melter in Belleville where he will compete in three super matches all in the same day. Using both of his arms, he will again compete against men in various weight classes.

"Kinda crazy," he admits. "I am not just having matches with guys my own weight."

Ford will be travelling to Las Vegas for Arm Wars Sept. 29 and 30. The tournament will take place at the Mr. Olympia Show.

Having secured one sponsor, Excel Exterior Vinyl Products, Ford is looking for businesses to sponsor him on his Arm War quest.

Cyndi Mills is a Daily Observer multimedia journalist

cyndi.mills@sunmedia.ca