GLORY 19 will be taking place in Hampton, Virginia, a heavily-populated region for U.S. Military bases. So, the kickboxing promotion has put together a special 195 catchweight bout between a local amateur MMA champion from the Air Force, Cedric, and James, from the U.S. Navy.
Hampton, Virginia is a stone's throw from several U.S. military bases that are located inside "Old Dominion." And GLORY kickboxing is taking the "when in Rome" approach for its next event and has put together an amateur fight between fighters from two of the four main branches of the U.S. armed forces.
For GLORY 19, which will be headlined by a heavyweight title fight between Rico Verhoeven and Errol Zimmerman on Feb. 6, 2015, a U.S. Air Force fighter, Cedric (last names cannot be revealed due to operation security reasoning) will be taking on James, a fighter from the U.S. Navy in a 195-pound catchweight battle.
"We've got a serviceman from the Navy and one from the Air Force and they are both experienced fighters," said GLORY CEO, Jon J. Franklin. "They should be good and we are going to have it on Spike. It is a benefit for VOW (Veterans Operation Wellness), which is a Spike charity. It's an operation wellness charity. Part of the reason we are going to Hampton, Virginia, is we will be right in the center of the military industrial complex there with aircraft carriers, Navy bases in Norfolk and Air Force bases and a Marine base.
"So, on the under card, we are going to have at least one fighter from every branch of service. So we have a military charity, we are in the heart of a military region, we have heavyweights, we have Joe Schilling, and we have a welterweight tournament. So we are going to blow it out of the water with excitement that night."
Cedric, 26, is currently on active duty with the Air Force reserve in Texas, but while he was on duty in Virginia, he became the 205-pound champion in the Spartyka Fight League, one of the bigger amateur MMA promotions inside the state.
"I worked over there in Virginia and I got pretty well known for Spartyka MMA for winning their light heavyweight championship," said the Air Force reservist, who has served over five years and traveled to Thailand, Japan, Malaysia and Australia.
Cedric was going to face Mitch, the Spartyka middleweight champion, from the U.S. Navy, but he was unable to fight, so another Navy serviceman, James, has stepped in to take his place.
The amateur MMA champion was asked about not having to grapple and focusing solely on striking for his GLORY debut.
"It will be interesting. I'm a good striker. I've always been comfortable with going to the ground and now this will force me to stand up and be more confident in my hands. The world is my oyster after this because I will know just what I can do."
Cedric learned how to defend himself within the usual training during the early years of his service in the Air Force, but he wanted to take it further. He jumped on any opportunity to train in different programs and took advantage of any local gyms offering the military discounts. While in Virginia, he trains at Olympus Martial Arts in Virginia Beach and has worked with GLORY light heavyweight Brian Collette, among others.
"That is where I've been the last year training my ass off," he said. "I have to cut a little more weight than I usually do, but an opportunity is an opportunity.
Currently 3-0 in his amateur MMA career, Cedric explained how some of the training works while he is on duty and said "a lot of times the talents of the military outside of the uniform are overlooked."
"Every base has different things," he said. "When we are training, we always have programs on base, doing some jiu-jitsu here or some striking there. Sometimes we have amateur boxing. Sometimes we have different combative training.
"Like here, we have local fighters in the area, so I get to spar with them. When I was in California, they have local fighters there too, so I would get to spar with them too. Every military base has athletes in them. They might not be as well known because they put the military first. Everybody has that passion."
The military contingent on hand at the Hampton Coliseum on fight night will, no doubt, be a raucous bunch. All the branches have a friendly rivalry with one another and this fight between Cedric and James will likely bring the crowd to its feet once they get after it inside the GLORY ring, with the Air Force members cheering for one punch and the Navy for another.
"Oh yeah. We are all ready for it," said Cedric, who lists Mirko "Cro-Cop" Filipovic, Rashad Evans, Donald Cerrone, and Mike Tyson as some of his favorite fighters and influences.
"There is always an inter-military rivalry. We have everybody from this base fired up about it. I have friends in the Marine Corp. I have Navy friends, and of, course I have a lot of Air Force people supporting me. One thing is the Special Forces and other services always call the Air Force, Share Force. We always get that, so I'm really looking forward to showing them that Air Force is tougher than they really think."
Cedric is happy about being part of the card to benefit Veterans Operation Wellness and to give back to those that have served before him. And he spoke highly of Jim Partyka, the promoter of Spartyka Fight League and GLORY's co-promoter for GLORY 19, who also serves in the Navy.
"Jim has always been about supporting the Veterans," he said. "When I get out, I'm going to be a veteran too, so it is a really good opportunity for me to support my fellow members while I'm in the service by creating awareness."
This fight at GLORY will really shine the spotlight on him, as he fully intends to pursue fighting full-time after his duty to the United States concludes. He said he is not married, currently has no girlfriend and is able to "give fighting his full attention" when he isn't serving.
"I plan on making it a career," said Cedric, who will also have family at the fight in addition to his brothers in arms. "I love serving in the military, I'm not leaving anytime soon. I'm on active-duty orders, but I'm in the Air Force reserve. By having this, I"m able to serve my country and do what I love at the same time.
"We are already starting to talk about a couple more fights before I turn pro. I plan on putting my heart on the line because it's a good time to show what I'm about. I hope you are ready for a show, because you will not be disappointed."
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