MMA fighters train in Morehead

By Leeann Tanner - Staff Writer

Every night in Morehead, a group of young men and women meet to fight. It isn’t the type of fighting that would draw the attention of the local authorities, but the group is grabbing the attention of many of their competitors.

Steve Armentrout, or “Fat Steve” as everyone calls him, has gathered the group to train in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts fighting. They call themselves the Monster Squad Kombat Fighting team. Fat Steve is a four-stripe blue belt under Michael O’ Donnell of Four Seasons Mixed Martial Arts gym in Lexington. He is also a Carlson Gracie Jr. representative, which entitles him and his team to free training at the Lexington gym.

“O’ Donnell took me under his wing,” Armentrout said. “He said I have a knack for teaching and breaking down the techniques. I owe him a lot of thanks, because he doesn’t do that very often.”

Fat Steve, a Columbus, OH native, has been training since he came to Morehead for a break from big-city living. His team has a winning record and several members are prepping for their first amateur fights. Most train for at least six months with Steve before they have their first match.

“I hook them up with a small organization that has a lot of guys,” Armentrout said. “They can get their feet wet without having to face a guy who has been training for a long time, but hasn’t fought yet.”

Armentrout is soft spoken but intense and obviously passionate about his sport.

“For a trainer it is just fun,” he said. “It is awesome to teach people moves, breaking it down and showing them how to do it correctly. Then I see one of my guys successfully pull off a move I taught them in a fight, and he wins with it. That’s a crazy feeling.”

Fat Steve’s most successful fighter at present is J.P. Felty. The 30-year-old is 6’2” and has the 185 pound Kentucky Fighting Challenge title belt and the First Strike Combat 185 lb title belt out of Columbus. Felty is a state champion wrestler from Ohio and wrestled for a Division 1 college. He currently lives in Olive Hill.

“Felty will fight anybody,” Armentrout said. “No matter what their record is. He fought in Columbus and won on Oct. 17 in a three-round decision, then cut 20 pounds and fought a guy for five rounds the next weekend.”

Billy Poe, a 20-year-old Morehead native holds the Gladiator Fighting Challenge 205 pound title and has a 4-1 record.

Joey Donohew, another 20-year-old Morehead native, is 3-0. His first two fights ended with submission wins within the first two minutes of the first round. His third win came with a submission in the second round.

“When I came out and saw Steve, I thought I would be faster,” Donohew said. “I was wrong. There was nothing I could do and still I can only do what he wants to let me do on the mat. It doesn’t seem like it would be fun to get beat up on every day, but when you lose you learn from your mistakes and get better.”

Derek Bailey, a 26-year-old MSU student has a 4-1 record. Bailey is the former GFC 205 lb champ but vacated the title to drop to 185 lbs.

“I had seen him at CiCi’s, and then I saw him knock a guy out in a fight,” Armentrout said. “I asked him if he wanted to train with me. I went really hard on him and showed him a fat guy could teach him Jiu Jitsu. He’s been with me ever since.”

Josh Murphy has been training for a couple of months. Although he has some fighting experience in Tennessee, he is eager to learn more in Morehead.

Alan Evans is the team’s oldest member.

“At 36, I am too old to fight, but it is a great way to stay in shape,” Evans said. “It is a passionate sport. As the Ultimate Fighting Championship evolves, these guys have the opportunity to learn and combine a lot of different styles. We call it Kinetic Chess.”

Most people might look at MMA and see guys beating each other up, but Evans says it has more mental focus than traditional sports like soccer (which he coaches at Rowan County Senior High School).

“Size doesn’t matter here,” Evans said. “There is nowhere to hide on the mats, and that is the power of Jiu Jitsu, beating bigger guys with better techniques.”

Sam Kitchen, a 17-year-old RCSHS student has been training with Steve for over a year, and eagerly waits for his 18th birthday, when he can start fighting in amateur matches.

Brandon Smith, another 17-year-old RCSHS student, recently joined the group.

“I have learned a lot so far,” Smith said. “It has really helped me with my confidence. I don’t know if I will fight yet, but I have a lot of training to do and a lot to learn first.”

Sarah Barr, a 21-year old Morehead native is the group’s only female and has been training for just over five months.

“I played sports in high school,” Barr said. “I wanted to try this out. Later, when I get better, I hope to do some grappling matches.”

The common thread with every team member is addiction. The rush of the fight is something they all work hard to feel.

“It is the rush of beating someone,” Armentrout explained. “There is no other sport that breaks it down to ‘I am the better man today.’ If I put you on the mat, you have to give up. When that guy submits me, I can see my weakness and fix it. It becomes a quest to keep from repeating your mistakes. My skills and my technique prevails, or I lose.”

Steve and his fighters are hoping to take their program to the next level. Armentrout has already progressed from carrying mats out to picnic shelters at the park to having a garage to train in.

“The next step is a gym,” Armentrout said. “As a team, we have already won against some really tough guys in Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. If we had an MMA gym here, it would give us limitless possibilities. If there were people in the community who wanted to invest in a team, we would only need a couple of sponsors.”

Fat Steve hopes to expand his team to include members of all ages.

“I want to teach anyone who wants to learn,” Armentrout said. “This sport builds confidence. It is more about philosophy than strength or size. It changes your state of mind.”

The team trains six days a week in Morehead and Fat Steve teaches a class on Thursdays at Williams Karate Studio in West Liberty.

For more information on MMA, BJJ, or training information, contact Fat Steve at 614-316-7537 or email fatstevebmx@tmail.com.

Text Only