Not too long ago, a pastor asked Joe Rogan about how to become the UFC’s Chaplain… this is an uncensored video of their exchange.
This video illustrates the reason we are so excited about what we have been able to accomplish over the last year with MMA chaplaincy through FIGHT CHURCH! Things are going great! However, this is also the reason we need your prayers and support to keep fighting the good fight!
I had the honor of working at the most recent Superior Cage Combat event here in Las Vegas at the Orleans Arena. It was an amazing event featuring some of MMA’s top up and coming professional fighters. It was an amazing opportunity to rub shoulders with the fighters, talk with trainers/coaches, and continue to solidify FIGHT CHURCH’s place in the MMA community.
One exciting detail about the event was the victory of Bristol Marunde. He advanced his pro MMA record to 15-6 and won the SCC Championship title in the 185lbs weight class. Bristol is an incredible athlete and a man of Faith. He has been a friend to FIGHT CHURCH and we will be catching up with him for an interview very soon!
SCC is a great promotion that has a tremendous future! They plan to put an event on every other month. I have been invited back to work at the next event in January and am very much looking forward to it! Get your tickets as soon as you can!
FIGHT CHURCH stepped up and ran the backroom at the TUFF-N-UFF event on 11-11-11 at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino… it was a great night!
We had 5 people working the event! That’s the most help we have ever had. FIGHT CHURCH was able to work both the red & blue corner locker rooms, stage fighters and work ringside. A big “thank you” goes out to all our volunteers. You guys did a great job! Every event we work, every connection we make and every relationship built or deepend leads to an opportunity for lives to be changed.
More pics and details on the way!
This is an interview we did with professional MMA fighter Justin Wren a couple of weeks ago…
Busy Couple of Weeks for FIGHT CHURCH
I have some super exciting news to share with you and I promise to keep things short… here we go!
First, FIGHT CHURCH has a brand new board member. His name is Pastor Brian Roberts. He is currently working with a church plant project in Minnesota. This past week, Pastor Brian, traveled here to Las Vegas to do a short “missions trip” with us in order to help out and become more familiar with our ministry. I had a great time showing him what we do here with our FIGHT CHURCH MMA Chaplain ministry. We had the opportunity to visit all our regular gyms, speak with many fighters/coaches, interview UFC fighter Justin Wren and even worked a charity fight event at XTREME COUTURE!
Pastor Brian came to Vegas because he thought that we had a great “idea” for a “potential” ministry opportunity. However, once he arrived and saw what has been accomplished over the last year with the gyms, fighters and organizations, he was very impressed and wanted to be involved. The more we shared with one another, the more we knew we were on the same page and wanted to work together. He has a passion for ministry, experience in sports chaplaincy, and is a fan of MMA. He is going to be a tremendous asset to the FIGHT CHURCH team. That is why I am excited and proud to make this official announcement!
Second, I was invited by my friend and former Kempo instructor, Pastor Pasqual, to share a little bit about FIGHT CHURCH to the Men’s Ministry of International Church of Las Vegas which runs right around 200 men. Things went very well and I met some great men. One of those men was Jayson McDonald. Jayson told me that he had been waiting for a ministry like FIGHT CHURCH to come along and that he would love to help out. So, just two days later, we put Jayson to work with me and Pastor Brian at the charity fight event. He had a great time and plans to help us out as often as possible!
Third, the end of the year is quickly approaching and we have several events, projects and purchases coming up that we absolutely need help with in order to make them possible! I will not go into detail here, but if you are interested in being a part of something amazing, shoot me an e-mail or give me a call ASAP!
Fourth, Help us out by telling your friends, family, pastor, etc. about us. Keep in mind that it doesn’t matter if they are a fan of MMA or not. FIGHT CHURCH is about loving & ministering to people! The more people that know about us and partner with us, the more we can do that! So, forward my e-mails,“friend” me on facebook and “like” our FIGHT CHURCH facebook page, follow me on TWITTER @pjoshboyd and wear one of our sweet FIGHT CHURCH shirts, which you can purchase at www.fightchurch.bigcartel.com!
Finally, I will be posting the Justin Wren interview very soon. There are a ton of events coming up including SCC 3 at the Orleans Arena on November 4th. I am so happy that FIGHT CHURCH will be working that event! It will be our very first time working with this impressive new professional MMA organization.
Please be in prayer for us. Thank you so much!
MORE ON MIKE “300” HAYES…
Not too long ago we featured Mike “300” Hayes in a short segment. I had the chance to talk with him the other day about his upcoming fight, his faith, and how he got here…
Mike Hayes started his journey of faith and his road to becoming a professional MMA fighter in the same place. A few years back his life got off track, he found himself on the wrong side of the law and he ended up doing some time in prison. Turns out this may have been just what he needed!
Mike told me that while locked up, he watched a MMA event on TV and became interested in this sport. He felt confident that he was capable of competing. With no prior training or experience he began to work out and train.
Although Mike had been taken to church as a child by his parents, it was never something he thought much about or considered to be his thing. Now in prison, with time on his hands, his priorities changed, a serious reevaluation of things was in order and Mike said the need for something different became very clear. He began to read the Scriptures, attend Bible study group and seek the Lord. Over time he grew both physically and spiritually!
Upon his release Mike continued his journey of faith as well as his training to becoming a MMA fighter. When given the opportunity to test himself as an amateur fighter, he welcomed the challenged and was successful. After going pro, Mike won his first 7 fights and holds a total professional record of 15 wins, 4 losses and 1 draw.
These days, Mike still trains with some of the guys from the very beginning, but two of his main training partners are fellow pro fighters Eric Dahlberg and STRIKEFORCE fighter Trevor Smith. On the spiritual side of things, Mike has put together a great team as well. He attends the Eastlake Community Church and surrounds himself with people who challenge him and keep him in check.
In just over a week, Mike will Headline an event in what has to be the biggest fight of his professional career that has huge implications on his future in the sport. Obviously, there is a lot to this story and there is no way I could ever do it justice, but hopefully you at least know that this is a great guy. I am so excited to see how things continue to unfold for Mike. And I am glad that our lives have intersected!
Please join with FIGHT CHURCH and pray for our friend Mike Hayes. Also, check him out on Facebook, send him an encouraging message and support him any way you can!
FIGHT CHURCH is praying for the RUTHLESS and the rest…
There is an amateur fighter here in Las Vegas named Rudy Morales. I have talked with him several times and even had him and his beautiful family over to my house for dinner. He is a great guy who is trying to live a good life while working hard to become a professional fighter.
We see each other at all the events and I pray for him before he competes. He loves FIGHT CHURCH and thinks what we are doing is great! The other day he even said that we should put his RUTHLESS FIGHTING TEAM on the website as our “official team”. We don’t exactly have an official team, but we love Rudy and his guys just same! It would be the least we could do considering Rudy has gone into battle more than once with “www.fightchurch.com” printed on his shorts.
Over the past year I have had the opportunity to meet so many amazing people in the MMA community at events, at gyms, and all over the city. I have prayed with and for them, sat with them, ate with them, talked with them, met with them, cried with them, laughed with them, watched fights with them, trained with them, become friends with them, celebrated with them in victory, hurt with them in defeat, etc…
I am so excited about the future of FIGHT CHURCH and the opportunity of continuing to love the people of MMA and help in any way we can!
FIGHTER SNAPSHOT: Mike “300” Hayes is a professional heavyweight MMA fighter with a record of 15 wins, 4 loses and 1 draw. He is also a believer. He will be fighting UFC veteran Sean McCorkle in the CFA 2 main event in Miami, FL on July 23rd. I am going to try to interview him between now and then if his training and my schedule allows. In the meantime, I asked Mike how important he thought a ministry like FIGHT CHURCH could be for guys like him who are trying to live a life of Faith and be a professional MMA fighter. This is what he had to say…
“As a fighter, I struggle with the pull that the sport has away from my family, friends, and faith. It’s not easy to turn your head from the ring girls and female fans that surround you. Most normal church and ministry organizations don’t have a clear understanding of what a fighter goes through, so it’s hard to receive advice from them. This doesn’t even touch on Vegas. Obviously it’s the Mecca for the sport, and as athletes make it to the big fights there, they are also making more money. It’s called sin city for a reason….the temptations are enormous, and the added fame and money make it a very difficult, but necessary, place for a fighter to go.
MMA athletes have a very unique audience to which our influence can be dramatic. I haven’t even made it to the UFC yet, but I did a charity event at a junior high school near Seattle about a month ago. The kids there all knew who I was and treated me like a superstar. I was shocked! It really made me realize that I need to pick and choose my words in the media very carefully because everyone is listening. It would be great to have an MMA chaplain to help fighters like myself to say and do the right thing, whether in Vegas or back in our hometowns. With the incredible platform to reach out to people that we’ve been given, I feel like I have a larger responsibility to focus on my words and actions so that I represent Christ the best I can. Looking forward to meeting you at some point, and doing my part in reaching out to people.”
Well, here are some quick facts about Shamar, according to Wikipedia, “Shamar Bailey is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2006, Bailey has made a name for himself fighting in the Midwest, and his 1-1 stint with Strikeforce. He was a competitor on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos.
The son of a pastor father, Shamar Bailey was raised in a very strict Christian household which moved him across state lines six times before his 20th birthday. Bailey was homeschooled until his senior year of high school when he elected to attend the local Greenwood, Indiana, public school. During his senior season at Center Grove High School, Bailey excelled on the varsity wrestling team, going undefeated over the course of the year.
After high school, Bailey attended college and majored in church-ministry.
Building on his impressive senior year at Center Grove, Bailey entered Division III Maranatha Baptist Bible College in Wisconsin where he continued to thrive on the mats, earning All-Conference three times and being named NCAA National Qualifier. The Church Ministries major returned to Indianapolis after graduation and began to train with Jake O’Brien and Chris Lytle to stay active as he mulled over an offer to move to Colorado Springs to train at the Olympic Training Center with the World Team training camp. Bailey began to feel more comfortable in the sport and decided to decline the invitation in order to pursue mixed martial arts and soon after, in 2006, Bailey had his first pro fight, a first round submission victory over Courtney Ray.
For the past four years, Bailey has trained with Integrated Fighting Systems while also working part time for the Indianapolis Fire Department with Chris Lytle. During this time, he has earned notable victories over John Kolosci and Waachiim Spiritwolf.
In 2011, Bailey had signed with the UFC to compete in The Ultimate Fighter: Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos.
Bailey was picked first on Team dos Santos and second overall. In the first preliminary bout of the season, Bailey was selected to fight Nordin Asrih. Bailey used his wrestling to control Asrih on the ground and win a clear-cut decision.
In the quarter-finals, he fought Chris Cope but had lost via unanimous decision after two rounds. After the fight Shamar was visibly upset with the decision, saying numerous times, “he fought well, but not that good”.
Even though he lost in the quarterfinals, Bailey remained signed after the show. He made his official UFC debut June 4, 2011 on The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale card, fighting against fellow quarter finalist and teammate, Ryan McGillivray. He won the fight via unanimous decision.”
Shamar’s Professional MMA record is 12 wins and 3 losses.
The night before the weigh-ins for the TUF Finale and Shamar’s fight with McGillivray, I caught up with him for a quick interview at the Palms. The place was loud and buzzing with fight weekend energy!
After a quick greeting, we found a place right off the casino floor to chat. I didn’t waste any time and about Shamar’s “Christian upbringing”. He told me that he was always encouraged to go into ministry and believes that being an athlete is his platform to reach younger generations. He also said that any success in sports doesn’t matter if you don’t share it and use it for something. I was impressed and happy with these answers!
So, I decided to just go for it, play the Devil’s advocate a bit and ask Shamar how he can justify fighting and his Faith. Obviously, being involved in this ministry and a fan of MMA, I have had to answer this same question a time or ten over the last 10+ years. I’m guessing he has been asked this question a lot as well because his answer was perfect. He simply said there is no problem. MMA is two professional athletes competing. Then he added the fact that it is because he competes he has the opportunity to share his faith with others!
During the filming of the Ultimate Fighter show, housemate Chris Cope, was said to have approached Shamar more than once with questions about the Bible. I was curious what all went down and Shamar said that, it was true and a few of the other guys in the house asked questions too. That’s cool!
I asked Shamar a few other questions and he was very kind and gracious. As we wrapped things up, I couldn’t help but smile… this was a great guy and I was glad to have met him. I told him that we would be praying for him and that we should keep in touch. I hope we do! Please check out Shamar on Facebook and TWITTER.
Oh, yeah, Shamar made weight on Friday and on Saturday night… he won his UFC debut against Ryan McGillivray by unanimous decision!