What started as a small group of University of New Mexico student fighters meeting in the mat room to train has now become the official Mixed Martial Arts Club.
Founded by experienced fighters, the club meets every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday from 4-5 p.m. in Johnson Center to kick ass and take names. Prior to the club’s conception, a fighting community at UNM built its ground game through word of mouth, according to black belt karate fighter and MMA Club Treasurer Mark Evans.
“We've sort of been building a small community of martial artists,” Evans said. “We would just come in and people would see us from on the track or whatever. They'd come in and be like, ‘Hey, what's going on?’ And over time, we just built a larger and larger group. And so finally we decided, why don't we make this an official thing?”
Around 15 people were expected to attend the club’s first official meeting, Jacob Armstrong — a jiu-jitsu, wrestling and MMA fighter and the MMA Club president — said before the meeting. An hour later, turnout came swinging, with around 30 people showing up.
The MMA Club’s ultimate goal is to get MMA recognized as a collegiate sport at UNM that competes against other universities, according to Armstrong.
“We have to start off by creating our program and getting together our group, our team, our fighters, whoever it's going to be, and then working with other schools — which we're currently in contact with about starting tournaments, dual meets, different kinds of things where our teams can all compete — and we can create a nationwide system,” Armstrong said.
Albuquerque is one of the top five cities for pursuing MMA, Armstrong said. If the club was able to compete in collegiate sports, it could eventually dominate MMA teams across the country on the mat, Armstrong said.
The club’s ultimate goal is only possible through fostering a welcoming environment for people of all skill levels to be able to come and train, Evans said.
“I think mixed martial arts is probably one of the easiest sports to enter,” Evans said. “You can pursue a path that allows you to work towards the things you're better at.”
The club can lend new fighters boxing gloves and shin guards used for striking during the meetings, Armstrong said.
“All it takes is interest,” he said. “The best thing about MMA is you don't need to be Michael Jordan. You don't need to be anything. You can be any build. We have every kind of build, and you can just come in and all you need to do is want to learn and just be kind.”
In the UNM MMA community, no one is ever scared to bring new people to the mat, Armstrong said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Fighter Alex St. Clessis Brown sees potential for the club to grow into something “pretty major,” they said.
“I plan on competing,” St. Clessis Brown said. “Don't you want to beat Texas at some point?”
For Evans, MMA is a good way to build confidence and test himself, he said.
“I think what I like about MMA specifically is that I feel like I always have to challenge myself to do better,” Evans said. “You may not see the changes when you look back a few months between your skill then and skill now. If you consistently keep practicing, you'll say, ‘Wow, I'm so much better than I used to be.’”
Nate Bernard is the news editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @natebernard14
Nate Bernard is the managing editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @natebernard14
