All across America there are mixed martial arts gyms like The Pit in Arroyo Grande, filled with students who want a future in the rising sport of MMA. There was a time, however, when the sport was seen by society as barbaric and inhumane.
So intense were those sentiments that presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) verbally rejected the sport in 1996 – saying it wasn’t even a sport and was more akin to human cockfighting that deserved to be banned.
Many local fighters and fans chalk the remarks up to not being properly informed, and indeed, the senator’s views changed due to recent regulations.
On Aug. 24, 2007, McCain told NPR, “They have cleaned up the sport to the point, at least in my view, where it is not human cockfighting any more. I think they’ve made significant progress. They haven’t made me a fan, but they have made progress.”
To MMA fan and dairy science sophomore Thomas Vansteyn, McCain’s recent change of opinion seems to stem from political convenience after the sport grew in popularity.
McCain, he says, “is seeing how big the sport is growing and changed his view to keep some voters happy.”
John Hackleman, owner of The Pit, sees the shift in position as more genuine.
“(McCain) was misguided, uneducated to the sport,” he says. “I think with education, with the (Ultimate Fighting Championship) bringing the rules to a new level, a lot of people will see it differently. When he got educated, he was the first to admit he was wrong.”
A 10th-degree black belt, Hackleman has been involved in MMA for more than 30 years, and has studied Hawaiian Kempo for 20. In addition to running the gym, he also serves as a trainer for professional fighters like former UFC light-heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell, who wrestled at Cal Poly.
Other prominent fighters training under Hackleman include Antonio Banuelos, Scott Lighty and Glover Teixeira. Hackleman says some of his fighters – and Liddell especially – took offense to McCain’s initial attitude.
“I think it hit them a little harder,” he says. “It bothered them more, maybe. It’s their livelihood and they didn’t realize that he was just uneducated.”
Mostly due to gyms like The Pit, the following for MMA has grown rapidly on the Central Coast.
Its local spike in mainstream acceptance and popularity has been recently exemplified by the progression of Chad Mendes. Last year, on behalf of Cal Poly, Mendes was the No. 2 wrestler in the country at 141 pounds. After graduation, he chose to pursue an MMA career at the featherweight level by training in Sacramento at Ultimate Fitness (co-owned by Urijah Faber, a former UC Davis wrestler who became a 145-pound World Extreme Cagefighting champion and the world’s top-ranked featherweight).
Apparently, the transition is paying off. Mendes applied his wrestling background and added kickboxing and punching skills to win his first professional fight Sept. 29 in Lemoore.
James Stuart, 30, of Arroyo Grande, has a 5-year-old son studying at The Pit and agrees with McCain that the sport has changed for the better.
“The sport has come a long way,” he says. “As for having one of my kids in the sport, it’s great. It’s great for them self-defense wise, but it’s also good for them because they’re learning a new skill.”
Stuart went on to say that he disagreed with McCain’s first remarks, but isn’t bothered by them.
“It’s his opinion,” he says.
In relation to the upcoming presidential election, most fans and those involved in the sport say McCain’s comments will not affect how they vote.
“If it was one candidate feeling one way and one another, it might sway my decision,” says Greg Baker, a 43-year-old Grover Beach resident with a membership at The Pit. “But with the issues the country is facing right now, it won’t be at the top of my issues.”
When McCain made his statements, MMA ratings and pay-per-view buys were low.
Today, though, there are many MMA organizations like UFC, WEC, IFL and the EliteXC that have become ratings boosters for networks like Spike, Versus and CBS.
From being called “human cockfighting,” the sport has become accepted to a point where its competitors are respected.
“I think fighters work really hard,” says biology sophomore Jessica Felix. “There’s nothing wrong with that kind of fighting as long as it’s controlled and regulated.”