Rumble in the ring

Photo essay and story by John Wagner

Jimmy Strickland had his 15 minutes of fame last Saturday evening, but he probably couldn't remember it Sunday morning.

He came to Arctic Thunder, a mixed martial arts fighting competition, to watch a few good bouts. He had no intention of leaving the Carlson Center as a participant. With booze swimming in his system, Strickland challenged Raheem "Rawhide" Williams to a match.

"You know you always have guys that want to beat the champ," said Williams who had previously made short work of his opponent in the scheduled fight. To make the unscheduled fight worth Williams's while, fans quickly raised $1,000 as incentive.

There was some deliberation whether or not Strickland could fight in his impaired state, but thunderous applause went up when it was decided he could. Strickland deposited his box of cigarettes in the corner of the ring and practiced some kicks and jabs.

"I just wanted to beat the crap out of him," said Williams, "I'm a fighter. It's what I do. So when guys like this think they can just hop in the ring, I gotta teach them a lesson."

With a flurry of action, the bout was ended in no time with Williams twisting Strickland's arm behind his back.

"I didn't want to stop, but they thought I'd get hurt," said Strickland after the fight, "I'm about 12 beers into the night here."

Raheem "Rawhide" Williams deals out the finishing arm twist in his victory over challenger Jimmy Strickland

UAF Student Jeff Nielson grapples with opponent Jordan Kontra

UAF student Jeff Nielsen squares off with opponent Jordan Kontra. Nielsen was victorious