More notes on MMA in WNY
Mixed martial arts (MMA) events are still banned here. New York is one of 10 states still stonewalling events. But with gyms and fighters galore, the sport thrives in Western New York.
Here are a couple more notes on MMA’s evolving impact here in addition to today’s story in the print editition.
--- The biggest event in MMA history is set for this weekend with UFC 100 at Mandalay Bay drawing some heavy hitters. Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir headline a card of 11 matchups for the historic 100th Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Among the matchups is one fighter that grew up only a few hours from Buffalo — Jon “Bones” Jones of Endicott, N.Y. I caught up with Jones last week by phone. Jones from Rochester sounds familiar? It you follow Syracuse football, it should. Both of Jones’ brothers, Arthur and Chandler, are on SU’s defensive line.
Arthur and Chandler had the bulk. Not Jon. Thus the nickname, Jonny “Bones."
The three of them always wrestled around in the living room. “Bones” said his mom routinely replaced coffee tables and couches. A 177-pound defensive lineman in high school, Jones wasn’t big enough to play football in college. So wrestling was his ticket. After winning a juco national title at Iowa Central Community College, he dove into MMA.
“Mixed martial arts is exploding,” Jones said. “It has taken over boxing. Just a few years ago, everybody knew who Tito Ortiz was and Chuck Liddell. Now, UFC fighters are really becoming mainstream athletes. You see them on TV every day.
This weekend, Jones (8-0) will battle Jake O’Brien (11-2). The training has been grueling. Jones even joined his brothers for some of the Syracuse football team’s cardio-intensive workouts. Saturday's rumble is by far the biggest fight of his life so far.
“We’re both wrestlers,” Jones said of his matchup with O’Brien. “So, it’ll be interesting to see who wrestles better than the other and can pull the trigger first."
Like Jason Trzewieczynski in today’s story, Jones isn’t the blood-thirsty fighter you’d expect. His UFC entry song is hardly something you’d do a bench press to. No, “Angry Johnny” by Poe is more like something you’d listen to at the beach.
“It’s pretty much about walking soft and carrying a really big stick,” Jones said. “It’s a woman singing. A lot of guys like rap and rock but this is really smooth. I love it.”
--- Also caught up with Assemblyman Joe Giglio (R-NY) last week. Giglio represents Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Allegany counties. The Raging Bull events in Irving, N.Y., and Knockout Factory in Salamanca took him by surprise. On the reservation, MMA events are legal.
“I didn’t realize that was happening on Seneca land, that they had mixed martial arts,” Giglio said.
Giglio pointed out that assemblymen have talked about the economic value of mixed martial arts, and that it could potentially help New York’s struggling economy. He hasn’t taken a hard-line stance on the issue himself, admitting that he hasn’t paid much attention to the controversy.
“I’ve heard everybody else say, ‘Look, it’s in New Jersey, in Ohio, in Pennsylvania. We’re missing the boat. We would regulate it the same way everybody else regulates it.’ They want it passed also because in a lot of ways we are the capitol of athletics.
“To get into the argument, what’s the difference between boxing and that? There’s more drama here in the cage and all but in the end, they’re both trying to knock each other silly.”
---Tyler Dunne
