The Local MMA Scene (Then And Now)

I have been a fan of MMA for a long time. My roots in combat sports start when my brother-in-law James Dignan, Sr. began to teach some of the family in Judo with various styles of karate and other Martial Arts added in the mix. That was a long time ago, the mid to late 70's, and since then I have seen Martial Arts & combat sports evolve into what is now called Mixed Martial Arts.

I wish that MMA had come to Pennsylvania much earlier, I would love to be able to compete inside a cage. That dream isn't totally impossible under the current rules/regulations in Pennsylvania, but it is very hard for someone my age to be able to get inside the cage to fight MMA.

So, awhile back I decide to settle for being a fan of the sport. Any promotion I found on TV or on video I watched, and then finally MMA came to Pennsylvania. At the time the only promotion that came to Central Pennsylvania and the Altoona area was the VFL (Valley Fight League). My first local show I was lucky enough to see Charlie Brenneman in action, who would go on to the UFC for awhile before coming back to the local/regional MMA circuit.

At the time I was just a spectator who had seen tons of professional wrestling shows at the Jaffa Shrine in Altoona, Pa. and that was the only reference point I had to gauge what a show should look like. It was exciting to see MMA live, and it wasn't until later that I would come to know what is involved in putting on an MMA event. But this was before all of that and I thought the VFL shows were exactly like what the UFC, Pride and other big name promotions were putting on.

Poster for my 1st local MMA event

I saw 2 more VFL events, and had Charlie Brenneman not been called up to the UFC I would have seen one more... but it wasn't until November 12th 2011 that I got a taste of what a local/regional MMA event could look like. That was when I was lucky enough to attend CDMMA 2 from Altoona based MMA Promotion Complete Devastation MMA. The promotion became affiliated with Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA, a gym that my nephews Jason Dignan, Patrick Johnston & James Dignan, Jr. operate with Byron Brumbaugh.

I was lucky enough to be asked to attend CDMMA 2 by my nephews, and this event at the Blair County Convention Center was way different/better than previous live events I had seen at the Jaffa Shrine. The setting was more intimate because the seating was much closer to the cage than what I had previously seen. And while I had seen some people post online that they didn't like they way the seats were arranged, I feel there really isn't a bad seat in the house at the Convention Center. If I had one comment for improvement it might be that the seats in the back could be more elevated than seats closer to the cage - but that is a minor nitpick. I was in the first row of General Admission that night, and I feel that being 6 rows back from cageside was very close. I can say that I enjoyed this event much better than my previous experiences, and not just because I "knew" more of the fighters on the fight card because they trained out of Dignan/Brumbaugh MMA.

My seat for CDMMA 2

Beginning with CDMMA 3 (February 25th 2012) I was lucky enough to help out with the Complete Devastation events. My nephew got me in helping set up the cage, lights, audio/video equipment & anything else needed to help get things ready to go. I ended up being the person who would clean up blood on the cage floor. Getting to see the action from just a few feet from cageside was pretty amazing, sitting next to the cage girls was a bonus. Seeing everything that goes into making an event happen made me realize that there are promotions that do it better than others. After CDMMA 3 I realized that there was a huge difference from the way VFL had put on events from the way that Complete Devastation was doing it. To me, it seemed clear that Complete Devastation was more interested in putting on a better show, one that was more exciting for fans, better for the fighters and overall better to attend/watch.

Me doing work at CDMMA 3

Something I really enjoyed about the Complete Devastation was the way they brought in established fighters to be at events for a "meet & greet" as well as hold a seminar for fighters. Because of this I was lucky enough to meet former UFC Lightweight Champion Sean Sherk and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Dan Severn. Both fighters put on amazing seminars and were very accommodating with fans who wanted a photo with them or asked for their autograph. These two treated everyone they met with respect, and I heard some incredible stories from fighters I look up to and admire.

Me with Dan "The Beast" Severn

Me with Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk

Dan Severn Seminar

Sean Sherk Seminar

I consider myself to be blessed to have met the people involved with Complete Devastation MMA, and I have my nephews Jason, Patrick & Jimmy to thank for that. Because of them I have been able to witness some amazing MMA fights and meet fighters I had watched on TV and on the internet. The fighters who train at Dignan-Brumbaugh MMA have been awesome in the way they have treated me, and I consider many of them to be friends. In my opinion it is no coincidence that this gym produces some of the best fighters in the Central Pennsylvania region, and I expect to see several of the fighters I have met at local/regional events to make it to the larger promotions & fight on TV and PPV.

Me with nephews Pat Johnston, James Dignan Sr & Jason Dignan at CDMMA 4

Me with Ring Of Combat HW Champion Brendan Barrett at CDMMA 8

Me with former UFC veteran Corey Hill at CDMMA 5

Another example of how lucky I have been is how I had been able to help out with a local show on MMA co-hosted by CDMMA announcer/commentator Drew Shannon & CDMMA commentator  Albert Cameron. Albert & Drew began with a show that aired on the local ABC affiliate & on YouTube called the MMA RunDown, but that show ended its run and now these two have a weekly YouTube show named Cage Nation TV. I had helped out in the form of holding the camera on occasion as either Drew or Albert did a video interview for the shows. I would submit content that sometimes made it to the shows such as news highlights, fight match-ups, fact checking & other items of interest involving MMA/Combat Sports. Probably the hardest thing I had to do regarding Drew & Albert was to keep a secret regarding the shows beginning at CDMMA 8. The MMA RunDown had finished its run on TV & YouTube and local MMA fans were disappointed that the show wasn't going to continue. Before the fights began at CDMMA 8 Albert & Drew asked me to be the camera man for a video they wanted to shoot. We went to one of the locker-room areas back stage so nobody would be around to hear, and that was when the announcement of Cage Nation TV would be launching soon happened. It was only about 2 days before they posted the video, but that was a hard 48 hours to not say anything about what I had witnessed. Two months later the show launched on YouTube. The show has a loyal following and continues to report on the MMA scene from a local perspective.

Making the credits on Cage nation TV

Complete Devastation 8 was a transition point in the promotion's history. The original owner had chosen to sell to pursue other business ventures, and local businessman Drew D'Auria took this opportunity to purchase CDMMA and with the help of friends from Nova6 Studios (who has been doing the audio/video for Complete Devastation for 3 or 4 events) were starting a new era for the promotion & the local MMA scene.

I had come to know some of the people that would be involved with the new ownership/management of CDMMA in the events leading up to the event that happened in March of 2013. I have known some of them from years before, and I knew that they were more than competent at video production and that this would be a perfect fit for what the promotion could become going forward.

As a fan of MMA I had hoped that the promotion would continue the established schedule of CDMMA having event about every 2 months, but when it was announced that the new owner would take some time to evaluate the situation before trying to put on a new event I realized this was a very smart decision.

The new owner announced that the promotion would look into what the previous owner/management had done right, what was not done so well, and where there was room for improvement - so that Complete Devastation MMA moving forward could produce the best MMA events possible. This is a very sensible approach in my opinion, and as the first event completely under the new owner/management team approaches on November 16th I anticipate this event to be even better than previous CDMMA events in the past, and that is saying something because every event I had seen had been better than the ones before it in terms of better audio/video production, better fight match-ups, and a better overall experience for viewers in attendance and fans of quality MMA.

I have long been a supporter of the local MMA scene, whether it be here in Pennsylvania or anywhere in the Country. The local scene leads to the regional scene, which becomes the national & international MMA scene. The fighters you can see at a local event like Complete Devastation will become the fighters you can see in the XFC, Bellator, Resurrection Fighting Alliance, and the UFC. 

Supporting the local MMA scene is what makes the larger promotions be able to pick from the most talented fighters. When you purchase a ticket for a local event you are helping that promotion to have more events. This means that the professional fighters they put on their fight cards are able to do what they love for a living and to help support their families. Being an MMA fighter is an expensive thing to do. There are so many costs involved such as gym memberships, equipment/accessories, fighting outfits, supplements & food, gas to travel to/from practice and to/from events, fees for licensing, bloodwork/paperwork - not to mention everyday expenses like rent, utilities, food, clothing, and other aspects of supporting a family.

It is very hard for a fighter to be able to make fighting his/her only form of income. At the local level the money a fighter gets paid isn't enough on its own to make ends meet. If a fighter is lucky they might be able to fight every 6 weeks (fighting more often than that can risk injuries that could prevent the fighter from being able to fight for an extended period of time) so fighters almost always require a "day job" to help pay the bills. Even with sponsors & merchandise sales, a fighter often struggles until they make it to the larger regional/national promotions. But it all begins with fight fans buying tickets to the local shows. Without this the fighters can't get the experience to make ti to the larger shows... so supporting MMA on the local level is very important.

Having said that, I feel it is equally important to make a distinction between quality MMA promotions and ones that cut corners or just don't seem interested in making their events be a smaller version of the very professional promotions at the regional/national/international level. Bad MMA events/promotions shouldn't be supported in my opinion, because doing that means it enables the less professional promoters to keep doing what they are doing very wrongly. I feel it is better to not support a bad promotion so that they either get the hint & improve the quality of their events and the way they do business, or for them to go out of business so better/more professional promotions can continue to do things the right way.

In my opinion, Complete Devastation MMA is one of the better promotions in Pennsylvania, if not the entire Northeast. I feel confident that the new ownership/management team will continue to improve the quality of the events that they put on, and I believe that CDMMA 9 will be even better than previous events put on by this promotion. The fight card for the November 16th event is shaping up to be STACKED with great match-ups involving local fighters & quality fighters from outside the Central Pennsylvania area. Match-maker Ryan Glunt tries to find the best match-ups so that the fights will always be exciting and the fans will be entertained. 

November 16th begins a new chapter for Complete Devastation and the Central Pennsylvania MMA scene. We look to the past for inspiration, and look to the future with hope for better events with amazing fights! I want to thank the new owner of CDMMA for taking over a successful MMA promotion and trying to make it even better. I look forward to being at Complete Devastation 9 and witnessing the awesome fights put together. You can get your tickets at http://cdmmaonline.com/shop/ - tickets start at ONLY $15 and premium tickets start at the very low price of $35... get your tickets now before they sell out! BE THERE!!!

I have gone from purely a spectator of MMA to someone who is lucky enough to help promotions with aspects of what it takes to put on an MMA event, to someone who also writes about MMA for this blog, MMAmadhouse.com and I am in the process of doing a YouTube show with some family members & amazing friends I have met in the MMA community (hopefully we can get the show on local TV as well as YouTube) and possibly a weekly internet radio show on all things MMA and Combat Sports. The DaMMAge Report should be ready to launch late December 2013 or early January 2014. Look for it & hopefully you will support that effort as you do this blog.

The local MMA scene is alive & well - and thanks to the new owner/management at Complete Devastation MMA I feel it is in very good hands!

Thank you and I hope to see you at the fights!!!