Army News, news from Iraq, - Army Times

Knox soldiers to brawl in combatives tourney

More than 80 soldiers are expected to take a shot at the cage this weekend at the Fort Knox, Ky., combatives tournament.

The tournament begins Friday and culminates Sunday afternoon when the four best fighters in each of the five weight classes duke it out in a cage, just like in the highly popular Ultimate Fighting Championship events. This will be the first time the cage will be used in an official Army mixed martial arts tournament.

“People get the wrong idea when they see the cage,” said Staff Sgt. Aaron Martinez, a combatives instructor at Fort Knox. “For me as a fighter it keeps you safer because you’re not going to fall out of the ring, which is a 4-foot drop from the canvas to the floor.”

The cage can be intimidating, but it also has attracted a lot of interest among soldiers, Martinez said.

“The more people are seeing it, the more guys are showing up to train,” he said. “Right now I’m training guys over their lunch hour and every day I’m getting more and more guys coming in.”

Fort Knox soldiers can still sign up for this weekend’s tournament, Martinez said.

“We’ll take them right up until they come in for the weigh-in [on Friday] as long as they meet the criteria,” he said.

The criteria include, at a minimum, Level I combatives certification or prior mixed martial arts experience.

Weigh-in begins at 9 a.m. Friday, and preliminary matches start at 9 a.m. Saturday. The finals will be at 1 p.m. Sunday. All events will be at Sadowski Field House at Fort Knox.

Those who do well this weekend will get a shot at representing Fort Knox at the all-Army combatives tournament in November at Fort Benning, Ga.