Blood, cars, techno music and half-naked women. These elements combined for the first mixed martial arts and car show under one roof at “Punishment at the PMAC” on Saturday night. The event, put on by No Love Entertainment and Gladiators Academy of Baton Rouge, was billed as the largest mixed martial arts event ever to come to Louisiana. The event featured amateurs and professionals from the Baton Rouge area. Before the fighters entered the steel cage, announcer Schnake and three women in bikinis and high heels took the stage to Devo’s “Whip It.” “You are here to witness today’s fastest growing attraction on the planet,” Schnake told the crowd. The crowd went wild as the first fighters took the stage amid smoke and strobe lights. But the excitement was short-lived, as the first fight was plagued by technical difficulties. The stage lights and sound went out, and the fight had to be stopped. This was met with boos from the audience. “I just want to see somebody get whooped,” a man yelled from the audience. The amateur fights resumed with a total of six fights. The audience rose to its feet with the matchup of “Severe” Devere Hawkins of Memphis and University student Travis Olinde. The general studies senior, who is also on the University’s wrestling team, trained for this fight for about six weeks in Brazilian jiu jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, boxing and sambo. He had Hawkins pinned to the mat for most of the three rounds and was the unanimous winner of the match. After a short intermission, the fighting resumed and professional mixed martial art fighters entered the steel cage. The second half of the fight card featured more blood than the first. The fight between Micah Lopez of Lafayette and Lance Thompson of Slidell ended one minute and four seconds into the first round, with Thompson being declared the winner by knockout. Lopez rose from the mat with blood coming from his face, and Thompson’s professional MMA debut ended in victory. The crowd could not stay seated for the fight between Donald “The Python” Mayeaux of Gonzalez and “Ruthless” Russell Jones of Baton Rouge. Jones made his professional mixed martial arts debut at “Punishment at the PMAC.” The three time world kickboxing champion was the crowd favorite, with audience members screaming, “Nobody likes you Mayeaux,” and “Do work Russell, do work.” After Mayeaux was given a five minute recovery period for an inadvertent groin shot, the crowd yelled, “Kick him in the nuts again, Russell.” Jones was declared the unanimous winner after three rounds, settling a long-held grudge between the two men. “I’m 46 [freaking] years old,” Jones said. “I found Jesus a year ago today,” he explained, pointing to his shirt that read “Jesus Saves.” He thanked Jesus and said he wouldn’t be where he is today without him. The bloodiest fight of the night was between Ron “Killing” Fields of Dayton, Ohio, and Ricky “The Pit bull” Folse of Raceland. Seconds into the fight, Fields struck Folse on his forehead. Blood began to drip down Folse’s face and onto Fields, and the fight was paused several times in order to wipe them off. Eventually Fields was declared the winner by technical knockout after the on-site physician ordered it to stop. As blood poured from Folse’s head onto the mat, a woman ran into the aisles. “Come on son, you can do it. Let him fight. He can go one more round,” she screamed, followed by an explanation to the people around her that she was Folse’s mother. “He bled more than that when he was little. He beat other kids up all the time.” Around midnight, the fighters for the main event entered the steel cage. Antoine “The Rampage” Skinner from Muncie, Ind., fought Rich “No Love” Clementi, owner of No Love Entertainment. Clementi, fighting locally for the first time in more than five years, was declared the winner by technical knockout. As most of the crowd filed out of the PMAC, some stayed behind to congratulate the winners. Many came out to support their favorite fighters. “My husband was fighting tonight,” said Mamie Credeur, whose husband “Crazy” Tim Credeur won his fight against Chris Gates. “These guys train for four or five months, and it’s great to see them get to do what they’ve been practicing for so long.”
—-Contact Sarah Aycock at [email protected]