MMA: Brains, not simply brawn http://www.theprovince.com/sports/mma/Brains+simply+brawn/2472077/story.html
Lawyer and an investment professional will definitely be dropping gloves
By Steve Ewen, The ProvinceJanuary 22, 2010
Fighter/financial guy Brendan Kornberger (left) and fighter/lawyer Hugh Rogers, buddies on the first-ever MMA card Saturday at River Rock.
Photograph by: Nick Procaylo, PNG, The Province
The first rule of fight club now apparently involves talking about it a lot so you can get on cards early and your buddies have a chance to buy tickets.
“I just found out about this last Thursday and it’s almost sold out, so I don’t know how many of my friends are going to be there,” said Brendan Kornberger, 25, an investment company employee by day who will be fighting on the MMA at the Rock card Saturday at the River Rock Casino.
That the event, featuring amateur combatants, is on the cusp of a capacity crowd says something.
So does the inclusion of a guy such as Kornberger, who goes to work for BMO Nesbitt Burns in shirt and tie, talks about the market all day and then journeys to the gym to perfect his striking and submission skills five nights a week.
He’s been training seriously since July — and Saturday sees his debut. His opponent in the light-heavyweight (190-pound) bout, Nathan Swayze of Comox, has one previous matchup, Kornberger says.
“I feel pretty good, or as good as you can considering that you’re going to get in a cage with a guy who wants to tear your head off,” he explained.
He does have people close by who know exactly how he feels. Kornberger trains at Dynamic MMA in Vancouver, alongside Hugh Rogers, 30, who will also be making his debut on the Rock card.
He, too, is decidedly white-collar: a lawyer in an appeals department.
“My co-workers laugh at me when I come to work with black eyes and a banged-up face,” said Rogers, who will be across the cage from Chilliwack’s Byron Toutant at heavyweight (190 pounds-plus).
Rogers and Kornberger come from traditional athletic backgrounds.
Rogers’ dad, Doug, won a silver medal in judo at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and went on to be inducted into the Canadian sports hall of fame. Doug schooled his son in martial arts as well. Hugh got into hockey as kid in Vancouver and eventually played UBC rugby.
“My dad likes it,” Rogers said of the MMA. “He doesn’t like the messy fights, but he likes watching the UFC because of the technical stuff, the ground fighting. For me it’s fun, a challenge. I’m not playing rugby any more and I needed something to stay in shape. Even if I wasn’t fighting I’d still be training.”
Kornberger, originally from Port Alberni, also competed for UBC, but in baseball — largely as catcher.
He has trouble deciding whether Saturday will outdo the first time he stepped on the field for Terry McKaig’s Thunderbirds.
“The T-Bird debut was big because it had been a dream of mine,” said Kornberger. “It was very fulfilling to when I finally accomplished that. With this, I don’t think it’s going to hit me until I get in there. I’ve never done this before.
“I mean, I train and we punch full out when we’re doing it, but when I get in there for the first time Saturday and get punched, with the emotions and the anxiety, I don’t know how I’m going to feel.”
© Copyright (c) Canwest News Service
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