7/12/2008 8:56:00 PM Cage fighters battle the sport's profile
Josh Hedges, UFC via The Canadian Press/ The Associated Press UFC, pictured with, from right, light-heavyweight James Irvin and Houston Alexander, has almost as many different rules as similarities with Rage in the Cage.
PRESCOTT VALLEY - Say you walk into a room full of people and several of them are professional fighters. Picking the fighters out from the rest isn't as easy as you might think.
Some might have a pro-wrestler model in mind, but don't be fooled. When the Rage in the Cage (RITC) mixed martial arts event hits Prescott Valley and Tim's Toyota Center on July 26, the roughly 40 fighters to get in the cage could be more of a hodgepodge of the population than the crowd there to see them.
"(People think) that we're animals," RITC fighter Jojo Thompson said.
Thompson, a.k.a. Chocolate Thunder, might be one of the guys that you would pick out of a crowd as a fighter.
The 27-year-old super heavyweight has been to prison three times, all for assault. But even he could fool you with his big smile and friendly attitude. And he wants you to keep that in mind.
"Yeah, I was a knucklehead," Thompson said. "I've changed. And we're professionals at what we do. We just don't go out in public and pick fights with people. We do this in the cage. We do this for you guys (the fans)."
Thompson, an electrician and a father, has a Kimbo Slice kind of story, similar to that of the online and now MMA phenomenon. He decided to get paid to do this instead of getting in trouble.
Thompson even smiled and pounded the table emphatically, saying Slice could be in his future. In the meantime, he's just enjoying what he's doing.
"This is big time," he said. "I'm looking forward to going overseas and all that other good stuff."
But not everyone came up fighting on the streets. Matt Spencer certainly didn't. He wasn't any good at team sports as a kid. And the 37-year-old now teaches high school chemistry and biology.
Spencer was on his way to his first black belt and decided to put his skills to the test eight years ago. He was hooked.
Five fights, two shoulder surgeries and a blown ACL later, Spencer is teaching both in school and the cage.
"It's become my passion," he said. "I was going to go back to med school but I decided to open up my own studio. By day I teach high school and as soon as the day is over I come over and train these guys in my gym."
One of Spencer's (fight) students is now in RITC as well.
Justin Cuevas is just 18 years old. His first fight came in June, six days after his birthday.
"I've been doing it since I was 14 though," he said, "training and sparring."
Cuevas has a job and goes to school full-time. So why fight?
"I was always playing baseball and I'm really competitive," he said. "And if I don't compete, I'm really grouchy. One thing led to another. I joined my wrestling team and I've been doing it ever since."
The self-described "preppy kid" is a grappler at heart and likes to brawl to put on a good show, but he's not just a mindless brawler.
"I walk around in my Hollister polo and my plaid shorts and sandals," Cuevas said. "I'm the least likely guy to ever be in a street fight."
Cuevas is also different than many of his counterparts in that he doesn't necessarily want to make fighting his full-time gig. He plans to graduate from college and go from there.
"You can't rely on your body," he said. "I've already had a shoulder surgery and blew out my knee. It's fun while you can do it."
Every fighter, regardless of background, puts a lot of thought into their craft and they want you to know it.
"(People think) we're cavemen," said Mike Greenwalt, a 27-year-old firefighter from Flagstaff. "I didn't really notice it until I started doing promotional stuff.
"People think we're just unskilled people that get in a cage and it's like a bar fight where we just try to beat each other up. It's actually a lot more technical than that. We all train and have healthy lifestyles and really try to condition our bodies and our minds to do this."
Styles, rules differ from UFC
PRESCOTT VALLEY - Whether familiar or unfamiliar with mixed martial arts, most would relate the sport to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
"It's kind of apples and oranges," Rage in the Cage Director of Operations Barry Jarrel said. "We're both MMA. We both do MMA fights. We consider UFC like a tier 1. We consider ourselves a 2-3. I would say that we're in the business of developing fighters."
July 26 in Prescott Valley will be the 112th event for the Arizona-based Rage in the Cage as it approaches its 10th anniversary. It has had UFC fighters fight in its events, but it also features amateur fighters.
While it's not "tier 1," it's been drawing large crowds for years.
"Crowds have pretty much always been good," Jarrel said. "That's why we're at over 100 shows. Not many organizations can say that."
The Arizona State Boxing Commission regulates the rules for RITC. Among the differences from the UFC are no elbow strikes and no closed-fist strikes to a grounded opponent.
Amateur fighters can't use closed-fist strikes at all.
"That's the lamest rule there is ever," Justin Cuevas said. "I boxed for a year so I'm really lacking in striking but it just takes a complete element out of the game. It's pretty much just grappling."
Cuevas' background is in grappling anyway, but he knows the crowd wants to see stand-up fighters and he wants to oblige, regardless of the limitations the rules might place on him.
"I'm here to give what the crowd wants and make it an exciting, enjoyable experience," he said.
Naturally, the rules are in place to protect the fighters in a sport that can be dangerous.
"It's hard," said Mike Greenwalt, who is entering his second fight. "I understand the reasoning behind it. But it's hard growing up with a boxing background and then trying to break the habit for an event. At the same time it's good to ease yourself into the full-contact, pro-style fights."
One of the fighters not under amateur status is Edwin Dewees, who is slated for the main event.
Dewees is a UFC veteran. With his status comes other opportunities, and he recently signed a multi-fight deal with potential UFC competitor Affliction.
Dewees will fight in a preliminary bout on Affliction's debut on pay-per-view on July 19, one week before he is set to fight at Tim's Toyota Center.
"He's still scheduled to be here," Jarrel said. "We just hope he does well."
Dewees cannot fight for five days after getting in the cage. Of course if he is injured, he will not be able to fight. If he gets knocked out or TKO'd, he can't fight for 30 days.
"We're hoping he does well, we're hoping he wins, we're hoping he wins fast," Jarrel said.
Reader Comments
Posted: Sunday, July 13, 2008
Article comment by:
chad ikei
Due to his current signing of a multi-fight contract with Affliction Edwin "Bam Bam" Dewees will not be fighting in the scheduled RITC fight in Prescott on July 26. It was noted that Edwin would not be fighting in the RITC fight the moment he was notified of the Affliction fight deal over 3 weeks ago. For whatever reason, there must have been a misunderstanding and someone still had Edwin scheduled to fight at the RITC when his name should have been pulled off the main event card along with his image from all event posters.
Edwin wants to make sure that he doesn't dissappoint any of his fans that may show up unknowingly to watch him fight on July 26. As his coach I took it upon myself to keep his mind focused for his upcoming fight this Saturday and follow up with you so it can be corrected in your paper.
Edwin hopes that all MMA fans, especially his fans, cheer for him on Saturday July 19, 2008 at the Affliction-Banned event in Anaheim, CA when he faces Antonio Rogerio Minotouro Nogueira in the Light Heavyweight battle. Edwin's bout is scheduled to be on the free televised portion of the event on Fox Sports Net Live that evening. For more information on the fight go to http://www.afflictionclothing.com/banned_july19/fight_card.php
We are planning on returning back to AZ with the win and hope that all his Prescott fans will watch him on the televised portion on Fox Sports Net. Thank you for all your support through the years and bless you all.
