While most students spend their weekends doing homework and hanging out with friends, Cathedral Catholic sophomore Gabe Simpson knocks heads inside a ring for the privately owned American Fight League (AFL).
Gabe competes in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) which was brought to the forefront of American media via the professional MMA league, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The sport encompasses every martial art, from wrestling and boxing, to jiu-jitsu and muay-thai.
Since seventh grade, Gabe has been going up against kids from around the world and has fought his way into its top echelon. He said, “So far this year, my record is 8-0, and my ranking in my weight class [165-180] is 4th in the world at this summer’s. Vegas Classic open ”
Although MMA can be bloody and dangerous, the sport’s adrenaline high is not what attracted Gabe. “The thing that inspired me to get into MMA was my friend that just graduated from LCC. He’s been a fighter since he was 8. I started MMA when I was in the middle of 7th grade, so I’ve been going at it for about 3 years now,” he said.
In a sport that is almost impossible to master because it has so many disciplines to learn, Gabe has fought his way to the top in a remarkably short amount of time. While he is well-rounded in many types of martial art, he says that submissions and jiu jitsu are definitely his strengths.
Gabe does not hesitate to share his secret going into a fight. He said, “If I’m winning drastically, then I’ll usually go for a quick submission, or just keep the fight on till they stop me. If it’s evenly matched, I’ll go for a submission, and if I’m losing, I’ll seize whatever opening I can get to win.”
There have been plenty of MMA fighters that have made a name for themselves over the years, from Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell to Randy “The Natural” Couture; for an aspiring martial artist, there is no shortage of people or idols to look up to. Gabe said, “The fighter that I look up to the most is Mirko Cro Cop. He’s been knocking people out since before I was born.”
A sport like MMA is not easy to compete in, as hours of training, traveling and cutting weight can put a lot of stress on a fighter. For Gabe, the motivation is simple. He said, “The thing I enjoy most about my sport is that it’s something I really love to do. Sure the training is hard, and you get beat up, but I love it. A lot of my friends try MMA with me and quit after two practices. I honestly enjoy the challenge of bigger people coming at me.”
Even given tremendous early success, Gabe still is unsure about making this sport his career. He said, “I’m just going to take this sport as far as I can until I can’t fight anymore.”