Pound for pound
By GAYLE WEBER
The competition.
It's what drives 10 local mixed martial arts fighters.
The concentration.
It's what can make or break the fighter in the ring.
The discipline.
It's what makes the sport a sport.
Bryan Redetzke and Steve McIntyre will find out for the first time this weekend how much those three characteristics really play into a fight.
Redetzke has been training for nearly a year and hopes to get his first chance to fight someone outside of the training room on Saturday.
"I was kind of nervous I wasn't going to get to compete after all the work I put in," Redetzke said.
Trainer Kevin Gottschalk is 90 percent sure a competitor in Redetzke's weight class will show up to fight at Hays' first MMA event Saturday at the Ellis County Fairgrounds.
McIntyre, a Fort Hays State University freshman, started training in September.
"I'd been playing football, and I needed something that was contact to replace it," McIntyre said.
He started practicing martial arts when he was 12, so he had some background to get started in the sport.
MMA techniques consist of punching, kicking, grappling and jujitsu. The only protective equipment worn in the ring during competition is fighting gloves.
The fighters practice each Tuesday in Hays and do strength and conditioning work on their own every day.
"You have to work out a lot mainly just to be in really good shape," said Nick Budig, Hays.
Most of Tuesday's practice was spent on cardiovascular training, which team organizer Jeff Searles said accounts for 70 percent of a fight. Nutrition and staying healthy also contribute to a fighter's chances of winning.
Budig has been training for MMA events for more than two years and will be competing in the only professional fight Saturday.
The professionals fight in three 5-minute rounds, compared to the amateur's three 3-minute rounds.
The most challenging aspect of the fight for Budig is the discipline.
"It's hard to keep your mind under control," he said. "It takes a lot of preparation and concentration."
Learning to grapple has been the most difficult part of training for Jake Philbern, Hoisington.
"I didn't wrestle or anything in high school," Philbern said. "The ground is really difficult -- to learn how to position your body."
Philbern makes the commute to Hays each week as well as Russell, besides training in his home each day. He said his two biggest supporters are his sons, ages 4 and 6.
"It's a really good sport. A lot of people don't understand it," Philbern said. "The last two guys I fought, I'm friends with them now."
Philbern, a former amateur boxer, said his goal in the ring during each fight is to end it as quickly as possible.
"It's neat to put on a show for the crowd and go three rounds. But if you can get it over quick, why not?" Philbern said.
Saturday's 7 p.m. event is sold out, but Gottschalk and Searles hope to have another one in Russell in the future.
There will be at least 11 fights Saturday, with Budig's match as the feature at the end of the night.
The Kansas Boxing Commission has licensed the event and will provide a referee and judges for the event.