SpringfieldNewsSun.com

DAYTON — The crowd of 700 is favoring the hometown fighter, Todd Smart, at the Ohio Xtreme Fighting Holiday Havoc III Mixed Martial Arts show on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Smart's nickname, "Mid-life Crisis," is fitting.

The 40-year-old New Carlisle native is a former Pan American Games gold medalist in jiujitsu hoping to rejuvenate his fighting career in MMA.

As the fight begins, Smart and his opponent, Pittsburgh native Jack Tolley, trade jabs.

The fight quickly goes to the ground where Smart can use his jiujitsu background to the fullest.

But Tolley picks himself up and eventually lands a powerful blow to Smart's face that opens at cut on his forehead. With blood trickling down his forehead, the bell rings.

The judges score the first round 10-9 in favor of Tolley.

In the second round, Smart makes his move. He grabs an early takedown and pummels Tolley with several right hands to the body and a chop to the head. Tolley eventually escapes, and they trade punches the rest of the round.

"Deep breaths, Todd," Smart's trainer, Michael Patt yells at him. "Deep breaths."

Patt is the owner of Beavercreek Martial Arts who also is a pro in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The judges score the second round 10-9 in favor of Smart. It's an even fight to this point.

As the bell to the third round sounds, Smart is visibly tired.

Smart grabs a takedown early in the round, but Tolley is able to get on top of him and puts on a guillotine choke, a hold which a fighter encircles his arms around his opponent's neck.

Fifty-five seconds into the round, Smart is forced into a tapout.

Same, but different

Ohio Athletic Commission Executive Director Bernie Profato believes MMA, although it looks brutal on the surface, is a safer sport than boxing.

He said MMA provides a different kind of training such as Brazilian jiujitsu, Muay Thai, grappling and other martial arts. Boxers, on the other hand, take constant shots to the head during sparring sessions.

It still hasn't stopped Profato from trying to keep fighters as safe as possible, especially the amateurs.

"We wanted to get it as close as we could (to professional MMA) and still have the athletes be somewhat protected," Profato said.

It led the state to provide amateurs with a slightly different set of rules than the professional fighters:

• First, amateur fighters use six-ounce gloves. Professionals can use any gloves between four and eight ounces.

• The athletes may not weigh in before noon the day of the fight, which prevents any excessive cutting of weight.

• Amateurs also fight three 90-second rounds, unlike the pros who fight five 90-second rounds.

• They cannot strike an opponent in the face with anything but their fist.

• Fighters 35-and-older are allowed to compete only in the Masters Division — but that could change in the future. All fighters older than 35 are required to have a CT scan and all fighters older than 39 must have a CT scan, an electrocardiogram and a metabolic blood profile.

"If you came as a fan and watched," Profato said, "you wouldn't even know (of the rules). You're watching MMA. You don't want to take the identity away from the sport the people are watching on TV."

Fighters are suspended for 30 days after a technical knockout and 60 days after a knockout. A fighter must also wait seven days to fight after a bout.

You can't just turn pro, either — a fighter must have five documented amateur fights before they can become a professional. It also allows fighters more time to decide to turn pro, because once you do, you can't regain your amateur status.

Profato said he has all sorts of former athletes, such as wrestlers and football players, who expect to jump right into the pro ranks.

"We want to protect that guy from himself," Profato said. "Just because you can tackle somebody doesn't mean you can't get your (butt) kicked in this cage."

The regulations, however, have allowed amateur fighters the opportunity to feel comfortable stepping into the cage.

"They know what they're getting into," Profato said. "They're not jumping into the water not knowing how deep it is."

Several other states, such as Kentucky, North Carolina and Idaho, have adopted Ohio's amateur MMA rules.

"We're leaders in this, and that's what we're proud of more than anything else," Profato said. "We took the dice, rolled them, and they came up a winner."

The wait is over

Warren Roberds' time has finally come.

The 5-foot-11, 188-pound Enon native has waited nearly three hours to follow smart and fight in the OXF main event.

He walks into the cage wearing white trunks. He taps gloves with his opponent, Dan "The Dragon" Spohn of Columbus, as the fight begins.

The fighters trade jabs for 30 seconds, with Roberds grabbing a sharp punch to his right eye.

And, like that, it's over.

Roberds puts Spohn in an armbar, a hold which hyperextends an opponent's elbow and forces him to tapout — although Spohn later claims he didn't tap.

"He says he didn't tap, but I saw it and the ref saw it," Roberds said. "He's definitely a good fighter.

"He hits hard," Roberds continued. "He hit me hard a couple times. One I didn't see coming. I felt like I was doing all right. Once it went to the ground, I just grabbed his arm and that was it."

"It was exactly what I thought it would be — a slugfest," Patt said. "As soon as it went to the ground, Warren's jiujitsu was great. He's worked on it so much at our school. He hit that armbar and the ref told him to stop. That's why he stopped. I was going to get on him because I've seen that cost other fighters."

Roberds' record extended to 7-1. He said his plan is to follow Patt wherever he may take him — which, in time, will be professional MMA.

"I still want him to fight about five more fights before we turn him pro," Patt said. "I really want him to look smooth all the way around. A few more fights and he'll go pro."

Some go too early

Like every other sport in the United States, amateur MMA has fighters rushing to the professional ranks too early.

Extreme MMA Marketing and Promotions Director Greg Swanson said he sees it all the time. Money, Swanson said, is the main reason for the jump.

"Guys want to get paid and be the next Chuck Liddell," Swanson said. "They want to be able to say they're a professional fighter."

Dann Stupp of MMAJunkie.com said the key to easing into a pro career is finding the right management team, which usually consists of promoters who also serve as trainers and fight themselves — such as Patt, who is in the middle of a three-fight deal with UFC and is tentatively scheduled to fight Brandon "The Truth" Vera at UFC 96 at Columbus' Nationwide Arena on March 7.

"They're really the guys you want in the gym," Stupp said. "They know what's best for you. They won't let one of their fighters rush into competition."

Swanson said prospective MMA fighters can train at gyms with big-name professionals in nearly every state. In Ohio, fighters can train at Patt's gym or at JG MMA Academy in West Chester Twp. with Jorge Gurgel and Rich Franklin.

"People think: 'Just down the street I can learn from these guys I saw on TV,' " Swanson said. "It breeds the interest and success in the sport."

Stupp said the next group of fighters will be a unique one.

"You have guys growing up on MMA," Stupp said. "There will be a whole new generation of well-rounded fighters."

Ups ... and downs

After his fight, Smart laid in the fighter's area dejected and disappointed. He wanted nothing more than to come away with a victory.

"Well, that sucked," Smart said. "What can I say? Strong guy, good cardio. I gassed at the end. It was evenly matched until then. He grabbed something and I couldn't get out of it. I don't know how much more (glamorous) I can make it. I don't think he was doing much better than me.

"You win some, you lose some," Smart said.

Patt agreed.

"When he was hitting him with his right hand, I thought he was going to drop him," Patt said. "It was one round apiece. When he hits the ground, he has to improve his position. He's still trying to improve his stand-up, which is what you need to do in the amateurs. He'll come around.

"It's always hard to lose one when you know you've got control of it," Patt said.

Smart said he would review the films from the match, keep training and improve on what went wrong.

Even at 40 years old, Smart isn't giving up yet.

"I'm not going out like this," Smart said. "I'll be back."