Magazine Design 2

LightHouse

Nov. 17

Vol. 5

Issue 42

Grand Haven Michigan

The Thrill Inside the world of Cage Fighting

Joseph Gunthrie circles in the cage with blood smeared across his back after breaking his opponents nose with a knee strike during a fight in Birch Run, Michigan, Friday, Apr. 13, 2007.

The Thrill Inside the world of Cage Fighting

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By Dan Nilsen • Photographs by Peter McCollough

eremy Wood wrestled his opponent to the mat, got on top of him and proceeded to punch his face at will, not stopping until the referee called an end to the beating.

Later, the 36-year-old Davison man tried to explain what turns an otherwise civilized, well-spoken family guy into a savage fight- ing machine for up to nine minutes in an octagon-shaped cage.

“The thrill,” said Wood, whose day job is removing asbestos and lead paint for a national environmental firm. “I wanted to experience it. It was just a challenge to see if I could be up to it.”

Wood is part of a growing legion of fight- ers and their fans who are turning a violent, often bloody activity into an entertainment industry.

Cage fighting, such as the Warrior Chal- lenge event that drew Wood and 700 fans to Perani Arena on July 14, is one form of a sport known more broadly as mixed martial arts. It combines boxing, kick-boxing, wres- tling and Jiu-Jitsu — a martial art focused on submission holds like chokes and arm-bars (pressure on the elbow joint) — with a dash of street-fighting. At higher, televised levels, it’s called Ultimate Fighting Championship and Bodog Fight. continued on p. 3

Chucky Mady defends himself from Justin Goodall during a match in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Friday, Jun. 22, 2007.

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n earlier version known as Toughman was legislated out of business after nine people died as a result of fights.

Mixed martial arts proponents are quick to separate themselves from the Toughman legacy.

“Toughman was a show, it wasn’t a sporting event,” said Davison’s Barry Young, 42, a Delphi engineer who won nine local Toughman shows but now helps train martial artists at a Grand Blanc club. “In that, you’d see a lot of guys just put out their cigarette and climb in the ring. It was pretty brutal.

“Here, not many guys are going to enter that cage unless they’re training. You look at those guys in UFC, those are athletes.”

MMA is legal in Michigan only at the amateur level. But a bill has been introduced that would legalize professional fighting in the state.

At the amateur level, wrestling is a big part of the action. Wood, a former Bentley High wrestler, is a “ground and pound” specialist — drop-

ping an opponent to the mat with a take-down and then punching wherever he can. In this match, he trapped his opponent’s right arm under his left knee and rained blows until referee Brad Beverly saw it wasn’t going to stop.

Fighters can end the punishment them-selves by “tapping out” — literally tapping anything to signal surrender — but some are stubborn, and a good referee won’t let someone be seriously

The thrill, I wanted to experience it. It was just a challenge to see if I could be up to it. hurt out of pride. This particular bout lasted about 90 seconds.

“It was pretty tough for him to defend himself once that arm got trapped,” said Wood. “He had a cut under his right eye.

“Brad is one of the best refs around. He knows when to shut it down.”

Choking is allowed, as is bending the elbow backward until it breaks, if someone lets it go that far. But there are rules prohibit- ing things like grabbing the clavicle and direct blows to the throat.

Fighters are barefoot and wear padded, fingerless gloves to soften punches. Para- medics also were on hand at this show and examined some battered fighters between rounds. One bout was stopped after the first round on their orders.

“We’ve had some issues with the state over it,” said promoter Mike Ballance, 46, a former fighter who now trains others at his Michigans Freestyle Grappling Club in Grand Blanc. “My take on it is, I’m a martial artist putting on events for martial artists. I’m not a hot-dog salesman or somebody who’s trying to take advantage of these guys to line his own pockets.

“What interests me is that these guys have a good amateur background so when they do continued on p. 4

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decide to go pro, like UFC or Bodog, they can look back and say Warrior Challenge was a great amateur event to get their feet wet in.”

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Jamie Villalouos, after winning a cage fight in the parking lot of Hooters in Bay City, Michigan, Saturday, Jun. 30, 2007.

he Perani crowd loved it, even as some matches settled into “horizontal clinches” — both fighters hugging each other tightly on the mat to prevent punches.

Calls of “Stand ’em up!” were some- times answered by Beverly, who ended the stalemates by returning the contestants to a standing position.

Up in the cheap seats ($20; others went for $30 and $40), Mike Breece of Millington was enjoying his first visit to an MMA event.

“The fighting is pretty good,” observed Breece, 35, who has been watching UFC for about 12 years. “The crap they do on TV to add drama — the shows about who’s saying what — that’s too much. “But this is pretty real here. This is fun.”

Breece, a confessed street-fighter, was mulling participation as he analyzed the action.

“To me, it’s a common sense — know- ing the human body and what joints to lock, what it’s going to take,” he said. “I’m out of shape, but if I could keep up with these guys, I could definitely keep up with any knowl- edge that’s in this ring tonight.

“Then again, everybody’s cocky until they get out there.”

The featured attraction of this show was a tournament for the 155-pound weight class. Four fighters were entered in that class, and it came down to Wood and Kyle Bergquist, a former football, wrestling and track standout at Kearsley High. Bergquist had a budding football career at Northwood University curtailed by a broken ankle, and the still- chiseled 20-year-old needed an outlet for his competitive drive.

“I’m used to being a three-sport athlete in high school, and I was sitting around doing nothing,” he said. “I came and watched the fights and it just brought back the wrestling in me. I said, ‘Man, I want to do this.’” continued on p. 5

Najee Shahid leans against the cage during an amateur mixed martial arts fight as medics check if he is able to continue fighting in Flint, Michigan, Saturday, Jul. 14, 2007.

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ergquist won his first two bouts, but after losing his third, he hooked up with trainer Andre Garcia at Ultimate Fighting Academy to learn Jiu-Jitsu.

The Wood-Bergquist bout was the highlight of the night, bringing the fans to their feet and many of them crowding around the cage for a closer view.

Bergquist scored the first take-down and slammed Wood to the mat twice. But Wood escaped a chokehold and ended the first round with Bergquist in a headlock.

Wood was on top most of the second round, then escaped another chokehold in the third round and finished the match punch- ing Bergquist’s face, elbowing his neck and kneeing his side. To his credit, Bergquist never tapped out.

As the ref wrapped the belt around Wood, fans chanted, “Woody! Woody!”

“I think he tired a little quicker than I did,” said Wood, now 5-1 in his yearlong career. “I might have had a little experience on him, too.

It’s good to see the guys out here handshaking and hugging when they’re done. That doesn’t happen after the bar.

“But I’ve got to give it to him. He was strong and he was tough. He’d make me nervous for a second fight.”

Such sportsmanship is another factor that elevates MMA above street-fighting. Contes- tants almost always hugged and praised each other after combat.

“This is a good way to get some aggres- sions out,” said Breece. “Better to do it here than on the street, where you’re going to get shot afterwards.

“It’s good to see the guys out here handshaking and hugging when they’re done. That doesn’t happen after the bar.” LH

Chris Shaski is put in a neck brace after losing to his opponent in a cage fight at Perani Arena in Flint, Michigan, Saturday, Apr. 14, 2007.

A spectator screams beside the cage at a mixed martial arts fight in Birch Run, Michigan, Friday, Apr. 13, 2007.

A paper towel, left by a fighter, sits on a bench in the parking lot of Hooters in Bay City, Saturday, Jun. 30, 2007.

A stretcher sits backstage at a cage fight at Perani Arena, in Flint, Michigan, Saturday,Apr. 14, 2007.

Fighters warm up before their fight in the adjacent warehouse next to an expo center in Birch Run, Michigan, Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007.

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