The sport of mixed martial arts attracts athletes of all shapes and sizes.
Each competitor brings to MMA his or her own set of skills, advantages, and limitations. For many fighters, their limitations may be typical and shared by others who have decided to try their hand at MMA, such as a poor reach or lack of natural knockout power. But some enter the sport with such an obvious and marked limitation that many who observe question whether the person belongs in the sport.
One such fighter was Fighting Arts Academy product Nick Newell.
Newell the fighter:
Newell the human being:
Newell holds the distinction of being the only professional MMA fighter to compete in the sport despite having only one arm.
Born with a left arm that ends in a stump just after his elbow, Newell joined his high school wrestling team as a way to challenge himself. Despite describing the experience as the hardest thing I had done in my life, Newell persevered and went on to amass over 300 wrestling wins in high school and college.
Making his professional mixed martial arts debut at Cage Fighting Xtreme’s Rumble in the Jungle event in 2009, Newell surprised many of those watching in attendance by finishing his opponent with punches in the first round.
Newell would go on to compete in the Xtreme Fighting Championships and World Series of fighting, amassing a professional record of thirteen wins and just one loss before deciding to call it quits after defeating Tom Marcellino by unanimous decision in October, 2015.
Newell World Order will soon be opening his own training facility in Southern Connecticut. Nick Newell Mixed Martial arts will be an official CT affiliate of Fighting Arts Academy and will be accepting students of all experience levels.
Jeff Warsaw is the former executive editor of Long Island MMA Magazine, professional combat sports public address announcer for several NY/NJ MMA and kickboxing promotions, and a proud one-stripe white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under the famed Joe D’Arce. He is currently a musician, coffee enthusiast and host of the Stranger In A Strange Land podcast on YouTube.
