MMA makes Maryland debut
MMA makes Maryland debut 5,000 turn out for state’s first mixed martial arts event The first ever mixed martial arts…
MMA makes Maryland debut
5,000 turn out for state’s first mixed martial arts event
The first ever mixed martial arts bout in Maryland began Saturday night with a roar from the crowd and a flying kick to the chest.
The kick was delivered by Steven Baker, a 145-pound fighter from Wilmington, Del., and it was witnessed by more than 5,000 people at 1st Mariner Arena. They snarled with appreciation, many of them having waited hours, and in some respects years, for this moment.
And while Baker ultimately wasn’t successful — he tapped out just 1 minute, 45 seconds into the bout when his opponent, Jim Hettes from Scranton, Pa., got him in a choke hold — the first MMA event in Maryland did seem like a success.
There was a fair amount of blood, a whirlwind of punches and plenty of bruises during the 11 fights on the card, which was presented by Shogun Fights. There were no serious injuries, and the promotion ran relatively smoothly.
Ryan Mackin and Dave Daniecki, former area high school wrestling standouts, both won in dominating fashion, and Baltimore’s James “Binky” Jones won a unanimous decision over Jason McLean in the main event.
Jones dedicated the fight to his close friend, Marty Kusick, a former state champion in wrestling at Northeast High who died of a drug overdose this summer.
Jones, who trains with Mackin and Daniecki at Baltimore’s Ground Control Academy, wore Kusick’s trunks in the ring for the fight.
“He was like a twin brother to me,” Jones said. “It was always one of our dreams to fight in Maryland.”
Jones’ win capped a fairly memorable evening for the MMA community, which has lobbied for years to get the sport legalized in Maryland. Saturday night’s event was the first to capitalize on the booming popularity of MMA, but several more are expected in the coming months.
“I thought we’d have maybe 3,000 people here,” said Frank Remesch, general manger at 1st Mariner Arena. “But we probably ended up somewhere around 5,000. So it exceeded all our expectations. To me, to see it all come together like this, it’s really a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.”
Remesch, as well as first-time promoter John Rallo of Dundalk, stressed that they knew they couldn’t replicate the atmosphere of a big-time Ultimate Fighting Championship event, the kind that regularly occur in Las Vegas and are packed with celebrities.
But they did their best to create as much electricity as possible. As fighters walked toward the octagon-shaped ring, pulse-pounding heavy metal or hip-hop blared from the speakers and man-made smoke wafted through the air.
Professional models hired to serve as ring-card girls wore bikinis and strutted around the ring between rounds.
The crowd included its share of mid-level celebrities. Ravens running back Ray Rice stood ringside for much of the night, posing for pictures with fans and cheering on the action. Baltimore native and Washington Wizards assistant coach Sam Cassell was also in the crowd sitting with friends, as was former Baltimore Colts running back Lenny Moore.
MMA legend Renzo Gracie even showed up to support of Rallo. Gracie, a fifth-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, said he would consider fighting in Baltimore.
“I wish for my debut I’d had a crowd like this,” said Gracie, who trained Rallo. “It is an unbelievable experience for John.”
There was even a somewhat surreal ringside appearance by baseball Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson, who said he flew to Baltimore from San Francisco specifically to attend Shogun Fights.
For the most part, the local fighters received highly partisan support from the crowd, which felt like a mixture of veteran MMA fans and novices. At times, they roared with a approval when the fighters flailed at each other, barely making contact, and other times they remained relatively quiet when a fighter was close to ending the fight with a submission.
One of the best — and bloodiest — bouts of the night featured Mackin, a Hammond alum. Mackin, who works as a corrections officer in Howard County, was making his professional debut, and he got an early wake-up call, getting cracked in the head with an elbow by his opponent, Joe Kelso, in the first round of their bout. It opened a cut that bled down his face and onto his chest.
But Mackin fought back in the second round, hammering away at Kelso’s face, much to the delight of the fans, and he eventually won the fight by submission.
“I had a ton of support here,” Mackin said. “It’s a little nerve-racking, but it’s a blessing, too. I get really amped-up whenever my friends are there watching me fight, so it was awesome.”
Daniecki, who wrestled Loyola and played lacrosse at Penn State, had one of the most dominating performances of the night, choking out Wade Drake in 2:25.