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!
Video blog take one! I hope to start posting a weekly video blog… stay tuned!
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.”