[1] He served as an assault amphibious vehicle crewman in the United States Marine Corps from 1994 to 1998, during which he also taught primary marksmanship and combat water safety.

Today he continues to work with various branches of the U.S. Military to train them in hand-to-hand combatives using Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

[4] While his record for the WEC reads 0–2, Cardella was a winner in the minds of several fans and critics after his fight against Danny Castillo ended a split decision.

[5][6][failed verification] In his fight with Castillo, he became the first fighter in the WEC to win more than one round on a judge's scorecard, purely by scoring points with an offensive guard.

[8] Cardella has been known to coach a number of professional MMA fighters, including UFC contender Kamal Shalorus,[9] Strikeforce top title contender Tim Kennedy,[10] former UFC star Roger Huerta,[11] and Bellator fighter Chris Spicer.