Smoke Signals
4 JULY 1,2006
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By Toby McClary
After two years of boxing and
wrestling throughout his life, Trib
al member Jake McKnight has
decided to take his skills to the
next level. McKnight now trains
for what is arguably the most gru
eling, punishing and intense style
of fighting known as mixed martial
arts (MMA). You may already be
familiar with MMA as it is the style
of fighting used in the Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC).
According to the UFC website,
MMA is an intense and evolving com
bat sport in which competitors use
interdisciplinary forms of fighting
that include jiu-jitsu, judo, karate,
boxing, kickboxing, wrestling and
others to their strategic and tactical
advantage in a supervised match.
"I just got into it and now I love it,"
said McKnight. "It's a great sport."
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McKnight has been training in
MMA for about five months and
has already had four fights. He has
a 3-1 record as of July 1, 2006. In
his first fight, McKnight knocked
his opponent out in one minute fif
teen seconds and forced his second
opponent to submit in one minute,
seventeen seconds via an arm bar.
"I wanted the guy to tap out
before things got ugly," said McK
night. "But he wouldn't tap so I
extended my hips and that's when
I heard his arm pop."
McKnight said he is more known for
his "ground and pound" style of fight
ing rather than his technical moves.
"So beating a guy with an arm bar
and showing off my technical side
is a pretty big accomplishment," he
said. "No one expected that."
On Saturday, June 3, McKnight
knocked his opponent out in the
Tribal member Jako McKnight
begins his mixed-martial-arts
fighting career in a cage.
a
second round and won the title
in the 155 pound weight class.
McKnight currently holds the
Lightweight Championship belt
for the Pacific Coast Cage Fighting
organization.
McKnight explained his thought
process before going into a fight.
"I think about what I'm going to
do," said McKnight. "I learn about
my opponent and find out what
his specialty is. While I train, I
concentrate on that specialty and
work on ways to defend it. Right
before the fight I listen to music and
pump myself up. I get a mindset of
my strategy," he said.
His second opponent was a kick
boxer so McKnight knew that he
had to defend himself against kicks.
He practiced with a teammate that
was also a kick boxer and found
that the "superman punch" worked
Tribal member Jake McKnight currently
holds the Lightweight Championship
belt in the Pacific Coast Cage Fighting
organization. McKnight has been
studying the fight technique known as
mixed martial arts (MMA) for about five
months. McKnight has an extensive
history in boxing and wrestling and
has now combined the two while on
his way to a prosperous MMA career.
He fights for Team Chaos out of Keizer
and trains four nights a week. He has
a record of 3-1 and plans to pursue
a professional fighting career and
hopefully one day obtain an Ultimate
Fighting Championship (UFC) title.
McKnight also works for the Tribe's
Natural Resources Department and
currently resides in Salem.
really well. The superman punch
is when one leaves their feet and
throws a punch while in mid-air.
This time the superman punch as
sisted McKnight in his victory on
Saturday, May 20 at the Rumble at
the Roseland XXII in Portland.
McKnight suffered his first loss
at Rumble at the Roseland XXIII
on Saturday, June 17. He was
forced to tap out due to a choke
hold in the first round.
McKnight trains four nights a
week and is currently fighting
for Team Chaos out of Salem. He
explained that it took about one
month for him to prove himself to
the trainers and team members for
an opportunity to fight with them.
McKnight also works in the
Natural Resources Department for
the Tribe and currently resides in
Salem with his son Lucas. H
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