SHEFFIELD — The casual sports fan might take a look at a mixed martial arts fight and think the sport is violent and breeds violent behavior.
But for Superior Cage Fighting general manager Nate White, the sport softened him and proved to be his salvation.
“I was headed toward one of two things — prison or death,” White said. “This sport helped me stay out of trouble. It helped turn me from a punk kid out on the corner into a caring man.”
White, 21, admitted that he hung around some of the worst parts of Elyria between the ages of 10-18, dropped out of Elyria High and didn’t have much to live for before he fell in love with MMA fighting.
“Now, I have a life that I can be proud of,” White said. “I went out and got my GED, I don’t take any drugs or drink alcohol anymore … I even have a 4-month-old daughter that I love to death.
“If someone would have told me just a couple years ago that I’d have the life I have today, I wouldn’t have believed it could be possible.”
White is a cage fighter himself, but running SCF and serving as the matchmaker for its events, he has found little time to train. He fights only once or twice a year.
“I’d love to fight here in front of my hometown people but I don’t really consider it a sacrifice (to be a promoter),” White said. “I’m able to help a lot of these new-breed fighters and that feels good. I can provide others the same help that many people in this county gave to me.”
White will provide Lorain County fight fans some enjoyment tonight at 7 o’clock with Round 2 of the Quaker Steak Fight Series at Quaker Steak and Lube. The first event was held in late May and, other than some fights in the crowd after the final bout, the affair was a big success.
“We’ve made even more improvements since the first fight,” White said. “There is more room, better lighting and a better sound system. It will be an overall better production this time around.
“We’ll also have triple the security that we had during the first fight. There will be a no-tolerance policy in effect, and the slightest bit of misbehavior will result in ejection from the event.”
The lineup will feature 14 undercard fights and three main events — a lightweight title fight between Carl Kettle (4-2) and Tony Groys (4-1), and fights involving Team Powerhouse members Marcus Washington (1-0) and Josh Gregorek (1-0).
Washington will face Adam Sadney (1-2) of GriffonRawl Fight Academy in a 170-pound match, and Gregorek will take on Tom Davis (1-0) of ABC MMA out of Edinboro, Pa., in a 185-pound fight.
“I don’t know much about (Davis) other than his last fight ended in the first round and he’s mainly a standup fighter,” said Gregorek, who was a wrestling star at Southview High and Mount Union College. “I’ll have to try and take him into my game, but I’d also like to try and open up a little more during this fight. Last time, I just stuck with what I know.”
Five other members of Team Powerhouse, which is based in downtown Elyria, will be on the fight card. Dominic Jones of Lorain will face Rocco DeTillio — who is also from Lorain but fights with Team Alliance — Zack Dziak of Lorain will debut against Elyria’s Chris Stephens of World Gym, Jose Martinez of Lorain will make his MMA debut against Ron Cline of Canton, Mike Hazzard of Lorain will debut against Elyria independent Mike Lovejoy and Kevin “Don Lou” Bolf will take on Adrian Agosto of Cleveland.
Other local fighters on the card include Elyria independent Aaron Allen, who will face Cliff Newman of Canton, and Oberlin independent Elijah Wallace, who will face Canton’s Jason Schumucker.
“When I put a main event together, I pick athletes that are ready to blow up,” White said, referring to Washington and Gregorek. “They are two of the most explosive up-and-comers and they are local guys as well.
“They should put on a great show in front of their hometown crowd.”
Contact Shaun Bennett at 329-7137 or sbennett@chroniclet.com. 

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