The sport of mixed martial arts, otherwise known as ultimate fighting, has won a lot of respect since its inception. What started as a renegade event relegated to warehouses has gained legitimacy. Televised events are huge hits on pay per view and a reality show about aspiring fighters is among the top rated shows on cable television. This acceptance hasn’t been easy. In fact it has been a battle, especially for fighters and promoters working on a more local level. Nobody knows this better than Palmetto resident Cory Nestlehutt, the promoter behind tomorrow night’s Southside Slugfest at the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheater and a professional fighter on the card.

Since the event was announced, people in the community have raised concerns and Nestlehutt, 31, has looked forward to addressing those concerns and inviting people to see for themselves what the sport he loves is all about. What irked him though were the rampant rumors, untruths that cast mixed martial arts and events he was a part of in a bad light, in an attempt to get the event cancelled.

“People were saying things like 50 people were arrested at the last event we promoted and that is untrue,” Nestlehutt said, praising the efforts of Lauren Yawn, the executive director of the Peachtree City Tourism Association, and her staff. “We presented the Cobb County police report at a recent meeting and there were no arrests at the event. People say things about people dying in the ring and that has never happened or that the sport is banned in many states, which isn’t true either. A lot of people don’t have concrete facts and Lauren stood behind me the whole time, backed me up and never backed down.”

Nestlehutt has been involved with mixed martial arts as a fighter since he graduated from Creekside High School in 1993 and has been active on the promoting side for the last two years. He credits Brett Moses, the owner of Fight Party Productions, for teaching him what he knows and being the originator of local events. These events are not fly by night operations. The have been held at venues ranging from Wild Bill’s and Cowboys to Earthlink Live and The Tabernacle. There are EMTs at the events, doctors, nurses and ambulances and security. People who have images of a mixed martial arts event looking like something out of “Fight Club” will be sorely disappointed. While the majority of fans are men, Nestlehutt thinks people will be surprised by just who will be in attendance on Saturday night.

“We were at Shamrock Kitchen in Tyrone and an elderly couple was talking with their family about the fights and how excited they were to go,” said Nestlehutt, who added that he has seen controversy surrounding a lot of events he has been involved in and he enjoys proving people wrong.

The Southside Slugfest will run a little differently than a typical event at “The Fred.” People will not be able to bring in food or beverages, alcoholic or otherwise, and they won’t be able to tailgate in the parking lot either. The concession stands inside will operate as usual, selling both liquor and beer, as well as food and nonalcoholic beverages. A normal concert at the venue has seven police officers working security and this event will feature 14.

“I think the reasoning is that it’s better to have too much than not enough,” Nestlehutt said.

Inside “The Fred,” the cage will be set up flush with the stage with tables set up on the stage and around the cage. The tables, of which there are 52 are sold out, as are the lawn seats and the first five rows. As of Wednesday morning, there were 210 tickets still available but Nestlehutt warned that past events have had walk up crowds of 500 people or more. There will be 15 fights on the card and Matt Hughes, nine time UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes will be on hand signing autographs starting at 6 p.m. and will referee the pro fights.

Nestlehutt started mixed martial arts training at the Obake Fight School, co-owned by Bill Goldberg, in Atlanta. In high school, Nestlehutt played football, basketball and baseball, while also competing on the wrestling team. He still uses a lot of wrestling in his style of fighting today. His first fight isn’t a part of his official record. he was an amateur and his opponent couldn’t make the fight due to injury. He didn’t want to waste his training so he took on a 403 pound fighter from Mississippi in an exhibition and won by a TKO in the second round. Nestlehutt stated that he is a “ground and pound” style fighter. He likes to use his elbows and that most of his fights are won by using submission holds. He added that he expects to end his fight on Saturday night with a choke submission.

As for injuries, Nestlehutt has avoided anything serious. He has had to have stitches on several occasions but added that stitches and broken noses are common in the sport.

“The pain and the bruises don’t really hurt until the day after a fight anyway,” said Nestlehutt, chalking it up to the adrenaline masking the pain on the night of a fight. “The best thing is hearing that cage close and knowing that whatever happens next is all on you.”

Fight night is what fighters like Nestlehutt have been working toward for close to three months prior. Twelve weeks out, Nestlehutt starts a diet to get to what he feels is a good fighting weight. As a super-heavyweight, he doesn’t need to make a certain weight, but he doesn’t feel he has his wind until he is below 240. He started his training at 264 pounds and was down to 238 at the time of the interview. Training includes one minute sprints, followed by 30 seconds of rest, and also includes bag punches, box squats, crunches that end with him being hit by pads when he sits up, push-ups and elbowing heavy bags on the ground. Training also requires a lot of sparring and Nestlehutt and several other fighters, each with their own style, face off against each other a few nights a week.

“Training is the hard part. You pull into the parking lot each night and think about how you’re going to get hit for the next couple of hours. There’s no crowd watching you on a Tuesday night.”

Nestlehutt’s goal is to continue fighting for several more years, ending with one big fight. He also plans to continue promoting events and training fighters for the rest of his life.

“I’ll never be far away from this sport.” Nestlehutt said.

Nestlehutt is a fairly soft-spoken man, considering his large frame, but he is passionate about the sport and this event. He stressed during the interview that events like the Southside Slugfest defy people’s expectations all the time.

“Mixed martial arts, especially at a local or regional level, is a lot like college football. These athletes are still trying to get somewhere. They are trying to get noticed and move to the next step.”

The next Ultimate Fighting Champion could be at the Southside Slugfest tomorrow night. Nestlehutt just hopes that people give the sport and its fans a chance to prove themselves.

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