The Pilot News - Fighter has watched the sport blossom

“My last fight was in ‘98 and back then the sport had a big following, but it was more of a cult-like following,” said Stockman. “Now it’s very main stream. It’s the fastest growing sport in the country. You can watch it on TV. It’s the number one pay-per-view event in the country. The other day I was in a gas station in South Bend and right next to the gum and candy, they had a display of fight items. It’s really kind of incredible how it’s grown.”
Stockman, a Plymouth resident, promotes fights through a group called the Michiana Fight League that works out of two venues in South Bend. They staged a fight at South Bend’s Century Center in March and plan another in August.
“When we first went to them, they weren’t sure it was something they wanted to do,” he said. “Now they asked us if we could put on a show every week.
Many negative opinions of the sport — in its supporters’ opinions — are the result of misconceptions about what happens in the ring.
“These are serious athletes, these guys train every day,” said Jacob Henson of Team Henson Jiu Jitsu and promoter of the cancelled event in Donaldson. “The guys in my gym work out at least three hours a day, sometimes more if they’re training for an event.”
The training involves all forms of martial arts, from wrestling to Jiu Jitsu. Fighters must master the fine points of nearly every form of fighting.
“A lot of the guys in our gym are old wrestlers,” said Stockman. “Once your college wrestling days are done, what do you do? This is how these guys keep at it. There is a lot of discipline involved and these guys work very, very hard at it. Most of our guys work out twice a day if they’re getting ready for a match.”
Those involved with the sport say in spite of the appearance, Mixed Martial Arts fighting is actually safer than other sports.
“In boxing, a fighter stands up and can deliver damage from an optimal position. If a fighter is in trouble he grabs hold and what happens? The referee breaks them up and that fighter is right back in that most dangerous position again,” said Stockman. “Once a fighter grabs hold in Mixed Martial Arts he has the opportunity of going to the ground and you don’t have to take the extreme punishment of the punch.
“Some of the intricacy and beauty of the match when you’re watching is figuring out what strategy the fighter is going to use — are they going to stand or go to the ground? There are literally an infinite number of possible moves.”
There are also a great number of rules and regulations involved in the sport.
“Right now in Indiana, Mixed Martial Arts is legalized and amateur boxing is not,” said Stockman. “There is a sanctioning body that controls the promoters. There are lots of criteria, and a lot of work has to be done to hold a match. I think that kind of oversight is great because it makes promoters have to do things the right way.”
He also says the bloodiness of the sport can be alarming to first-time watchers.
“The fighters wear smaller gloves with the fingers uncovered to allow them to grapple,” he said. “Because their fingers are uncovered, surface cuts and scratches can occur, and those kind of surface cuts do bleed, but they’re really just cosmetic. They aren’t dangerous in spite of what it might look like.”
Those involved also say that the ferocity of the fighters can be overplayed as well.
“There really is a great camaraderie between fighters,” said Henson. “You watch them after the match and there is a closeness of that realization that you just competed with a worthy opponent.”
“Most of the guys look on it like some people do a one-on-one basketball game,” said Stockman. “They aren’t violent and out there to hurt somebody. You really put yourself out there. It’s the challenge of it.”