Thursday, April 23, 2009

Congenital Amputee Kyle Maynard Set For Mixed Martial Arts Bout (Video)

This Saturday, Kyle Maynard, a congenital amputee, will make his amateur mixed martial arts debut at the Auburn Covered Arena in Auburn, Ala.

Maynard does not have elbows or hands with which to grapple with. Nor does he have knees or feet to deliver kicks with. Yet, in high school wrestling, he compiled a 35-16 record.




In Alabama, there's no overseeing body to deny Maynard, who was born without elbows or knees or arms or legs below them. He's part of the card for Auburn Fight Night at the Auburn Covered Arena after studying and training for MMA for the better part of four years.

Two years ago he was denied a license to fight in Georgia by the Georgia Athletic & Entertainment Commission, but Maynard will be allowed to fight Saturday since there is no commission to regulate mixed martial arts in Alabama.

As the contentious fight approaches, nearly all in the MMA community are wondering what will happen. What if those against the fight are proven correct and Maynard is seriously hurt because he can't defend himself well enough? On the other hand, what if he wins, and he looks very good doing it?

Maynard Quote:

"You know, without going into too much of my game plan, I am never going to be an Ernesto Hoost-level kickboxer; I assure you of that. But one of the biggest misnomers I have seen is that people think I can't strike. I got arms that end right above my elbow and I have had an over 400-pound butterfly press. I assure you can strike (and) I can defend myself. As far as the grappling goes, I got my blue belt about two years ago and I'm training with a world champion, Paul Creighton, whose fought BJ Penn. So, as far as conditioning goes, I think I've got the upper hand. I'm fighting in a bigger weight class than I have ever competed in before, but I still feel pretty healthy. You know, in high school I wrestled at 103 (pounds) and this fight is going to be at 135. I have been able to put on the weight as efficiently as I could without losing too much speed and mobility. So, I feel confident. The cards are there for me to go out and have a pretty awesome performance ... I think that one of advantage I have is that I have got the ability to prepare for (his opponent) in any different situation and he really doesn't have a clue what I am going to bring to the fight."

No comments:

Post a Comment

Bookmark and Share