Underground fights
The regulation of MMA is becoming old news, and the sport has seen its profile rise dramatically. So, sometimes it is easy to forget that in some large states like New York professional MMA is illegal, and young men still turn to small underground shows to gain exerience.
The New York Press recently found one of these underground shows - the Underground Combat League. The show takes place every few months "at an undisclosed location in one of the Five Boroughs," and is never advertised for fear that the authorities will shut it down. Fighters range from a karate student testing himself in his first fight to a brazilian jiu jitsu instructor who brings 100 students to watch him compete.
The article reminds me of watching 16 year old Karo Parisyan fight at the Kage Kombat show in 1999. I had recently began training with Karo at Gokor's gym, and I went to root him on (along with the other fighters from the school). The fights were not exactly legal, and it was the first show I ever attended, so my adrenaline was really pumping. Would there be riots? a police raid? alien abductions? Would my training partners come through or end up in a heap on the canvas?
There is something about being at these small shows that big events can never quite duplicate. After seeing so much written about the upper echelon of the sport, it is worthwile to look back again at the other end of the spectrum.
(BTW, Karo and they guys from Gokor's cleaned house that night, in case you were curious.)
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The New York Press recently found one of these underground shows - the Underground Combat League. The show takes place every few months "at an undisclosed location in one of the Five Boroughs," and is never advertised for fear that the authorities will shut it down. Fighters range from a karate student testing himself in his first fight to a brazilian jiu jitsu instructor who brings 100 students to watch him compete.
The article reminds me of watching 16 year old Karo Parisyan fight at the Kage Kombat show in 1999. I had recently began training with Karo at Gokor's gym, and I went to root him on (along with the other fighters from the school). The fights were not exactly legal, and it was the first show I ever attended, so my adrenaline was really pumping. Would there be riots? a police raid? alien abductions? Would my training partners come through or end up in a heap on the canvas?
There is something about being at these small shows that big events can never quite duplicate. After seeing so much written about the upper echelon of the sport, it is worthwile to look back again at the other end of the spectrum.
(BTW, Karo and they guys from Gokor's cleaned house that night, in case you were curious.)
I was at a few of those old "Kage Kombat" shows in San Pedro. It, along with "Neutral Grounds" were exciting because this stuff was so new (to me at least).
There were some exciting, though not very "high level" fights back them. There were also some horrible mismatches; well trained fighters from brazil going against some complete yahoo.
Like Fabiano Iha's "Neutral Grounds" fight in Compton against that creepy gay guy who had NEVER trained but "got off" on being in the ring "fighting".
I hope he enjoyed his busted elbow!
Posted by Anonymous | 6/04/2006 5:38 PM