Arm bar, triangle choke and rear choke.
Those unfamiliar with the terminology probably don’t frequent one of the many local bars and restaurants that have been showing Ultimate Fighting Championship events on big screens to increased customer participation.
Joe Broussard, manager of Buffalo Wild Wings on Highland Road, said the mixed martial arts events bring in customers hours before the fights start and keep them at the restaurant until the main event, which often lasts until midnight.
Broussard said the fights lure many college students, particularly because the restaurant is located near campus.
He said there has been only one fight since the fall semester began, but the restaurant was packed for it. He said the size of the crowds depends on the importance of the fight, and bigger names draw bigger crowds.
Michael Labat, owner of Puncher’s Sports Bar on Third Street, said he doesn’t see an increase in customers on fight nights, but he does notice a mixed crowd enjoying UFC.
Though UFC events are popular, Labat said if a football game and UFC fight were to play on the same night, football would get priority.
“We’re LSU, first and foremost,” he said.
Benjamin Davis, a local MMA fighter, said his father was a fighter and helped spur his interest in the sport.
Davis said he currently competes in fights in New Orleans, but one day hopes to compete in the UFC. His training regimen includes learning all types of fighting styles like karate, wrestling and Muay Thai.
He said he thinks UFC has risen in popularity because people who fight get their friends and family interested in the sport.
Political science freshman Joseph Lopiccolo said he watches UFC fights once a month, either at the Fox and Hound on Corporate Boulevard or at bars in New Orleans.
He said he likes the sport, which incorporates wrestling, boxing and kickboxing, because it’s raw and fights have the potential to go on longer than other sports, in which referees will stop the matches.
“It’s entertaining,” Lopiccolo said. “When you think of an athlete, you think of football, but [UFC fighters are] extreme