Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Boxing/MMA: The rise of youth cage-fighting
Boxing/MMA
The rise of youth cage-fighting
Legal and regulated in some states and banned in others, youth MMA is growing in popularity
By Roman Stubbs
June 8, 2022
TEMECULA, Calif. — Isaiah Triana woke around 4:30 a.m. and shivered in the dark of his hotel room at a Holiday Inn off Interstate 15. He was cold and hungry. In less than eight hours, he would step into the cage for the most important mixed martial arts fight of his career, but first the 10-year-old needed to cut weight to be eligible. He didn’t eat for several hours, and when he stepped on the scale at the U.S. Fight League national championships later that morning, he was relieved to learn he was under 63 pounds, about four less than his normal weight and the necessary mark for his division.
{snip}
Ten-year-old Isaiah Triana traveled across the country to compete for a national title. The Florida fighter goes by the nickname “The Natural” and is a colorful showman, mimicking his UFC heroes inside and outside the cage. (Alisha Jucevic for The Washington Post)
“He’s like a unicorn,” his trainer, Douglas Vileforte, said as he began to wrap Isaiah’s hands. “We just have to make sure we don’t break him.” ... The trainer handed his young fighter a protective cup, a mouthpiece and headgear. An official finally shouted, “Isaiah Triana, it’s about that time!”
Outside the cage, the organizer of the tournament, Jon Frank, was still checking in some of the 182 kids who paid their $100 entry fees to compete for a national championship in California, the first state to regulate youth MMA and one of the few places in America where young fighters such as Isaiah can compete in legally sanctioned bouts. Youth MMA remains unregulated or illegal in many states, and as the sport has grown in popularity over the past decade, so have questions about how to safely offer it to kids, some of whom dream of being the UFC’s next generation of stars.
Like other physically demanding youth sports, youth MMA is viewed as problematic by some because it exposes kids to potential brain injuries. But unlike youth football, hockey or even karate, youth MMA has been slower to gain public acceptance. Proponents of the sport maintain they are misunderstood even as they try to implement stringent safety protocols and differentiate themselves from the violent image of professional leagues such as UFC.
{snip}
By Roman Stubbs
Roman Stubbs is a sports reporter for The Washington Post. Twitter
The rise of youth cage-fighting
Legal and regulated in some states and banned in others, youth MMA is growing in popularity
By Roman Stubbs
June 8, 2022
TEMECULA, Calif. — Isaiah Triana woke around 4:30 a.m. and shivered in the dark of his hotel room at a Holiday Inn off Interstate 15. He was cold and hungry. In less than eight hours, he would step into the cage for the most important mixed martial arts fight of his career, but first the 10-year-old needed to cut weight to be eligible. He didn’t eat for several hours, and when he stepped on the scale at the U.S. Fight League national championships later that morning, he was relieved to learn he was under 63 pounds, about four less than his normal weight and the necessary mark for his division.
{snip}
Ten-year-old Isaiah Triana traveled across the country to compete for a national title. The Florida fighter goes by the nickname “The Natural” and is a colorful showman, mimicking his UFC heroes inside and outside the cage. (Alisha Jucevic for The Washington Post)
“He’s like a unicorn,” his trainer, Douglas Vileforte, said as he began to wrap Isaiah’s hands. “We just have to make sure we don’t break him.” ... The trainer handed his young fighter a protective cup, a mouthpiece and headgear. An official finally shouted, “Isaiah Triana, it’s about that time!”
Outside the cage, the organizer of the tournament, Jon Frank, was still checking in some of the 182 kids who paid their $100 entry fees to compete for a national championship in California, the first state to regulate youth MMA and one of the few places in America where young fighters such as Isaiah can compete in legally sanctioned bouts. Youth MMA remains unregulated or illegal in many states, and as the sport has grown in popularity over the past decade, so have questions about how to safely offer it to kids, some of whom dream of being the UFC’s next generation of stars.
Like other physically demanding youth sports, youth MMA is viewed as problematic by some because it exposes kids to potential brain injuries. But unlike youth football, hockey or even karate, youth MMA has been slower to gain public acceptance. Proponents of the sport maintain they are misunderstood even as they try to implement stringent safety protocols and differentiate themselves from the violent image of professional leagues such as UFC.
{snip}
By Roman Stubbs
Roman Stubbs is a sports reporter for The Washington Post. Twitter
6 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
enjoy a sport where the object is to give your opponent a concussion or worse. It is barbaric and should be outlawed, but what the hell do I know. 
