This is why I fight

Caleb Luttrell was seven years old when he saw Chuck Liddell fight Tito Ortiz in the UFC. He was hooked. Since then, he has wanted to do nothing but fight competitively. Luttrell, 20, lives in Hamilton with his girlfriend Jade and eight-month-old daughter, Dallas. He works full time as a tiler to help support his family, but is confident that his dream of being a professional mixed martial artist will soon take over.

Mixed martial arts, commonly referred to as MMA, is a combat sport where competitors use skills and techniques from multiple martial art disciplines. One of the fastest growing sports in the world, MMA has been making an impact in the heart of the Waikato.

With Hamilton gyms like CORE MMA and Incorporated Martial Arts (IMA) leading the way, pro fighters have made an impact within the Australasian circuit, as well as internationally. Luttrell, who trains at IMA, plans on joining those before him: “My first step is to get some amateur fights, hopefully win those and move on to the pro ranks,” he says.

Luttrell’s journey began when he was 17. He started training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, also known as BJJ, at IMA, and a year and a half later decided to transition to MMA. As much as he enjoys it, he knows sacrifices have to be made as he takes it more seriously.

“Having a baby definitely makes it harder as it’s not a paid job right now, and it’s just me putting time into it. It’s hard taking time away from the family, but it’s what I love doing so hopefully it pays off in the future.” With the resources around him, he feels he’s in a good spot to take the first step towards a career in MMA. “Hamilton has a lot of talent,” Luttrell says.“There are a lot of great training partners and it’s definitely a good place to start.”

The sport’s immense increase in popularity over the last decade is mostly due to the success of its largest promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). It has produced fighters like Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor, who put on exciting fights and have the personality to add to the mix. Luttrell knows that to become a big name, you need to be able to captivate an audience and put it all on the line. “I want to be an exciting dude,” he says. “I don’t want to be a fighter who leaves it to the judges’ scorecards,  I want to excite people and to finish dudes.”

Also training at IMA is pro fighter Charlene Watt, 31, who is the women’s flyweight champion for Australian promotion XFC. Once she straps on the gloves and takes it to the bag, you quickly find out why she is nicknamed “The Machine”. Though this perfectly describes her as a fighter, it also says a lot about her work ethic outside of the cage.

Along with training six times a week, Watt works full time at the Waikato DHB as well running personal training sessions out of her garage. “It can get really tiring and you miss out on a lot of family time, but you do it for the love of it and you hope it pays off,” she says.

Although she’s a champion, that does not always mean big pay days. In a sport that’s dominated by one promotion (UFC), there isn’t a lot of money going around all the smaller ones. “Income from fighting at the moment doesn’t pay the bills but it’s nice as a bonus,” Watt says.

Having already fought in Australia and Japan, she would love to go to America next. “I’m a goal driven person and that’s always been something I’ve had in my head. It would be nice to do it in a big promotion like the UFC, but it’s a lot about who you know as well as performing well. It’s the dream but it can’t happen for everyone.”

Although she has big dreams for her own career, she embraces her role in helping pave the way for women’s MMA in Hamilton, as well as the rest of New Zealand. “There are so many more girls training now and it’s awesome to see how it’s grown over the years,” she says.

As it continues to grow, there are people who still hold negative perceptions around the sport, especially when it comes to women competing. “There are people who are ignorant about the sport and think it’s something that women should not be doing, but I think the perception is gradually changing,” Watt says. “Once they see what’s involved and how much effort you give, they change their minds.”

Also focused on changing the perception is coach and founder of CORE MMA, Carlo Meister. Meister, 27, started the programme in 2011 as a lunchtime class which was run out of a martial arts gym. They started with three members, and are now just shy of 200.

Due to its growth, CORE relocated to Killarney Road in Frankton four years ago where it now boasts the top MMA facility in the Waikato. “We had a lot of early success with some of our guys winning martial arts tournaments,” Meister says. “That helped inspire us to open up our own gym as we thought we could have a good crack at it.”

There are high level fighters in both the amateur and pro ranks training out of CORE, but most are just there for fun and fitness. “Martial arts can be intimidating but we do a good job of keeping classes inviting and friendly, and most people have a good time.”

Meister agrees with Watt that there is still a negative perception surrounding MMA, but believes it is changing for the better. “I think there’s been a sudden realisation that this isn’t just a bloodsport, that actually this is a safe mainstream sport, rather than a back alley, killing each other type of thing. I think there is still a long way to go in terms of the perception shift, but I think most of that is due to people not having tried it out.”

One achievement that really attests to CORE’s success comes from pro fighter Luke Jumeau. He recently became only the second New Zealand-based fighter to be signed to the UFC, where he won his debut fight over veteran Dominique Steele on June 11 in Auckland. “I questioned for a long time if we would ever have someone make it to the UFC,” Meister says. “There are a lot of gyms, even in the States, that have never had anyone get to that level, so the fact it’s already happened makes us think it will only get better from here.”

For Matt Vaile, seeing Jumeau win in the UFC was all the fuel he needed to make sure the same happens for him. “It’s been an amazing experience to see Luke build from when he first started, and for him to perform like that, it really couldn’t have been better,” Vaile says.

Vaile, 26, training out of IMA, is the current XFC welterweight champion and has been training martial arts with Jumeau for the last 13 years. He had the chance to corner Jumeau for his fight, and be a part of the unreal experience. “The sound of the crowd and the atmosphere really made that moment,” Vaile says. “I was nervous myself and I wasn’t even fighting, it was crazy.”

When Vaile stepped inside the famous octagon cage, it was as close as he has got to seeing his dreams come true. “In the next year, I want to make a push and hopefully fight some top tier guys to work my way in, then ideally be in the UFC working towards that championship belt.”

“I just love the challenge,” he says. “I thrive off every win I get, and the thought of it becoming a full-time job… well, that’s just the dream.”

For Caleb Luttrell, the ultimate goal is much the same, but with a timeframe attached. “The dream would be to win a title in a big promotion and then leave it at that,” he says. “I like fighting but at the end of the day you have think about what it does to your brain.”

Having previously suffered injuries in other sports, Luttrell is smart when it comes to knowing how far to push his body. “I’ve had worse injuries in rugby than MMA, but the damage adds up down the track,” Luttrell says.

But for now there is no mistaking what he aims to achieve in MMA. “My motivation is to be the baddest dude around,” Luttrell says. “I just like fighting… that’s it.”