scurlaruntings
04-23-2009, 01:29 PM
[Only registered and activated users can see links]
This time, Kyle Maynard left home and made his way to Auburn, Ala., a week early.
Two years ago, when he almost made his amateur mixed-martial-arts debut, Maynard held a greater concern about all his fight meant — and how much it was despised — in the MMA community. He had been home in Suwanee, Ga., where his MMA interest began more than two years before as a high school senior.
But too many people didn't want him to fight. They didn't like the idea of an accomplished high school wrestler who was born with no arms or legs below the elbows or knees with an awesomely inspirational personal story participating in an Atlanta amateur event. The Georgia body that sanctions such events didn't like the idea either, so officials denied Maynard a license to fight, and the issue went dormant.
Until recently. With another push made mostly on his own behalf, Maynard is scheduled to make his delayed amateur MMA debut on Saturday at Auburn Fight Night at the Auburn Covered Arena in Auburn, Ala. The fight's announcement caused major ripples in the international MMA consciousness and reopened the debate about Maynard's place in MMA.
Maynard has tried to avoid that debate this time, changing his Internet home page away from the number of MMA websites he reads daily and moving his training camp to Auburn instead of Georgia.
Still, he's surprised his fight has caused such uproar, and this time he's not reading about it.
"With the Internet being an open, anonymous forum, people feel like they can say anything, things they probably wouldn't say to my face," Maynard told MMAjunkie.com ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) on Tuesday. "That doesn't really surprise me as much.
How does this work exactly? The guy has no arms no legs and is 3 foot tall?
This time, Kyle Maynard left home and made his way to Auburn, Ala., a week early.
Two years ago, when he almost made his amateur mixed-martial-arts debut, Maynard held a greater concern about all his fight meant — and how much it was despised — in the MMA community. He had been home in Suwanee, Ga., where his MMA interest began more than two years before as a high school senior.
But too many people didn't want him to fight. They didn't like the idea of an accomplished high school wrestler who was born with no arms or legs below the elbows or knees with an awesomely inspirational personal story participating in an Atlanta amateur event. The Georgia body that sanctions such events didn't like the idea either, so officials denied Maynard a license to fight, and the issue went dormant.
Until recently. With another push made mostly on his own behalf, Maynard is scheduled to make his delayed amateur MMA debut on Saturday at Auburn Fight Night at the Auburn Covered Arena in Auburn, Ala. The fight's announcement caused major ripples in the international MMA consciousness and reopened the debate about Maynard's place in MMA.
Maynard has tried to avoid that debate this time, changing his Internet home page away from the number of MMA websites he reads daily and moving his training camp to Auburn instead of Georgia.
Still, he's surprised his fight has caused such uproar, and this time he's not reading about it.
"With the Internet being an open, anonymous forum, people feel like they can say anything, things they probably wouldn't say to my face," Maynard told MMAjunkie.com ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) ([Only registered and activated users can see links]) on Tuesday. "That doesn't really surprise me as much.
How does this work exactly? The guy has no arms no legs and is 3 foot tall?