The sport of mixed martial arts has grown in popularity ever since Arizona Sen. John McCain called it “human cockfighting.”
McCain once referred to the gruesome punches a fighter can take to the face while positioned helplessly on the ground as un-American.
While there are plenty of people who view the sport as barbaric, Buckeye MMA coach Josh Williams said that comment and comments like it are ignorant, and many critics are simply jealous.
“You can do boxing, wrestling, judo, karate and kickboxing, but you put them all together and people have a problem,” he said. “You have kids going to karate and kung fu at a young age, and they step out here and get wiped the floor with by a guy with high school wrestling experience.”
The people who look down on the sport do not bother Williams, who said he loves coaching his local team, which consists of professional and amateur fighters.
He said owning his gym and teaching MMA sounds a lot better than working at the hospital or using the degree in English he earned from Ohio State in 2002.
Williams got into cage fighting when he was 15, shortly after the sport of MMA originated in 1993, and he has competed professionally.
As a coach of the sport, Williams has excelled, advancing more than 20 fighters to the professional level.
His gym, located on 4608 Indianola Ave., is home to 75 fighters, both professional and amateur.
Aaron Hughes, a third-year in pharmaceutical studies and Buckeye MMA member, is on the verge of reaching the professional level.
Hughes held an amateur belt in 2009 after only two years of training at Buckeye MMA.
“I started freshman year fighting and I love it,” Hughes said. “It’s just the adrenaline, competing and just being in there I like most.”
For pro-fighter Eli Ayers, a 2005 OSU graduate, the sport has been great to him. At 35, he still competes, although he said he is near his last years participating.
“I am getting past my prime, but I love the sport,” Ayers said. “It’s a test of one’s mental and physical capabilities.”
Williams also sees potential in one of Buckeye MMA’s newest members, Matt Comer, a 2009 OSU graduate and member of the 2009 Big Ten Championship 4×400-meter relay at OSU.
“With his sheer athleticism, [Comer] is going to be a nightmare for people at 185 pounds,” Williams said.
And although some wish the MMA fighting style only existed in popular video games like “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Combat,” it is a sport that is growing tremendously in popularity.
Hughes has had thousands of hits on YouTube for his title match against Josh Robinson. Millions tune into the Ultimate Fighting Championships, the highest level of cage-fighting and the highest money-making league in MMA.
“It is still very much an underground activity,” Hughes said. “If more people, normal people, just did it — they would have a lot more respect for the sport.”
Ayers said until someone walks a mile in his shoes, comes to the gym and trains at Buckeye MMA, he does not want anyone to judge
him.
