Cal Poly?s most famous fighter might be Chuck Liddell, but another set of former Mustangs and San Luis Obispo natives are taking center stage at the Madonna Inn Expo Center this Saturday in fights to save wrestling.
Faced with budget cuts, only two public universities in California have wrestling programs: Cal State Bakersfield and Cal Poly. Some fear that, without funding, wrestling could be an endangered sport, which is why Cal Poly alumnus Scott Adams began organizing these Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fights.
He named the series Fight for Wrestling (FFW) to raise awareness and money for the two programs that are ?wrestling? to preserve their respective athletics departments.?This weekend?s series is the fourth of the FFW installments, which alternate between Bakersfield and San Luis Obispo.
One fight to look for is wine and viticulture senior Mike Gahan facing off with Jorge Acosta, an 0-1 MMA fighter. Gahan, who boasts a 2-0 record in FFW matches, made his pro debut in Mott Gym last year in the FFW series.
Arturo Basulto, who competed for Cal Poly wrestling, will also take to the ring against Brandon Hasley, a former Cal State Bakersfield wrestler along with San Luis Obispo resident Brandon Drucker.
?We booked a lot of local fighters for more ticket sales,? Adams said. ?We?are trying to raise awareness about wrestling and about MMA. It?s going to be a lot of fun.?
In the first FFW at Cal Poly, Adams said he helped raise $25,000, which was then matched for a grand total of $50,000 which went directly to the wrestling program.
Fresno State ended its wrestling program in 2006, UC Davis followed suite in 2010 while Cal State Fullerton became one of the latest schools to end its program this April.
Wrestling head coach Brendan Buckley was not at Cal Poly at the time of the FFW event last year, but he is excited to be a part of it Saturday.
?I heard nothing but positive reviews (about FFW),? Buckley said. ?Scott Adams puts on a good event that people not only enjoyed but they raised good funds for the wrestling program.?
Current Cal Poly wrestlers will be on-hand to help stage the event, including selling tickets and acting as security.
?First of all, (the fight) is to benefit wrestling, benefit the Cal Poly wrestling community to benefit the the MMA community,? Buckley said. ?Wrestling is really working side-by-side with MMA since the most successful athletes in the MMA are largely coming from a wrestling background.?
Liddell and Chad Mendes, who placed second at the NCAA National Championships in 2008,?are both former Mustangs who went on to have careers in MMA.
Cal Poly?s own Gahan comes into the fighting world through a different avenue, but he appreciates how much the sport of wrestling has given to the martial arts community.
?I came into the sport as a kickboxer, and I?m picking up the wrestling now that I decided I wanted to do MMA,? Gahan said. ?I?m blessed to be here in San Luis Obispo, since Cal Poly has such a good wrestling program.?
He said working with some wrestlers from past teams made learning the wrestling aspect of MMA easier.
?Just having Cal Poly wrestling as a powerhouse in the sports, and the resources that come with that, definitely benefits me as a fighter, so I?ll do anything I can to help them,? Gahan said.
Nine fights will be held at the expo Saturday, all featuring a variety of martial arts styles.
?It?s definitely an exciting sport,? Gahan said. ?Anything can happen in there. The fight can end in any way. It can be a stand-up brawl, it can be a boxing or kickboxing match, a wrestler could take a guy down. There are so many styles of martial arts, so it?s all about the (match-up).?
Adams encouraged people who have never been MMA fans to attend the fight.
?All you have to do to become a fan is come to a live event,? he said. ?You?re gonna see wrestling, boxing and kickboxing. We?re bringing in a full production (with) sound and audio from DJ Audiobit. It?s pretty incredible.?
The doors open at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 1, and the fight begins at 6 p.m.?Tickets can be purchased online, and cost $40 for general admission.
Source: http://mustangdaily.net/fight-for-wrestling-at-madonna-inn/
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