There were plenty of grumblings and both muddled and vocalized concerns ahead of the inaugural King of the Beach mixed martial arts event at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach on Saturday. The event was the first of its kind in the town ”“ and in the local area ”“ and mixed martial arts (or MMA) is still a bit of an unknown to the mainstream public.
The concerns were born from lack of knowledge of the sport, as well as some misinformation sprinkled in. When event co-founder and promoter Allen Berube attended an OOB town council meeting to get permission to use the town square for his weigh-ins, he sat and listened as the sport he loves, and formerly participated in, got compared to bar fights and street brawling.
Berube said there were people that hoped his event fell flat on its face.
Well, it didn’t.
The first of hopefully many King of the Beach events for Berube and fellow co-founder Marty Adams was a hit. From the professional manner in which the fighters competed, to the well-behaved crowd, the event was anything but a back-alley street fight.
Berube said that he thinks he won over a lot of his doubters. He said members of the Ballpark Commission were pleased with how the event went and were excited for the potential of future events.
At the core of the event, the MMA fights themselves were exactly what Berube needed to draw in casual fans. There were six fights, and all of them brought something different to the table. Each fight showed off the wide range of fighting styles and tactics as well as the various forms of martial arts needed to be a successful fighter.
Only one fight ”“ a win for Waterboro native Andrew Tripp just 28 seconds after the opening bell ”“ failed to get past the first round. No fights went to a judges’ decision, meaning the fighters went all-out.
Even a fight that was called a no contest ”“ meaning, just as it sounds, that there is no winner ”“ was fun to watch, before an inadvertent finger in the eye brought the fight to an end.
Saturday wasn’t solely an MMA event, and that was Berube’s goal from the get-go. He wanted to do things differently, and he did. The day-long event also included tournaments in arm wrestling and jiu-jitsu ”“ a grappling-based martial art. The finals of those two events served as an intermission to split up the six fights.
Those two events, as well as a bikini fitness contest before the fights, gave fans something more ”“ and more bang for their buck.
Berube said he was thrilled with how the event turned out. Judging by the noise of the crowd, the majority of fans left The Ballpark feeling the same way.
Both Berube and Adams live in York County. This wasn’t just a place that seemed like a good one to hold such an event. This is home to them. It would have been senseless for them to jeopardize their reputations ”“ and possibly careers ”“ by putting on a risky and unsafe event.
Berube ”“ a former MMA fighter ”“ and Adams ”“ a local business owner ”“ put their collective minds and talents together and put on an event of this sort the right way.
The first (of possible many) King of the Beach events is something Berube and Adams can be proud of. It should also be something that The Ballpark and Old Orchard Beach should be proud of as well.
Ӣ Ӣ Ӣ
Today’s editorial was written by Sports Writer Wil Kramlich on behalf of the Journal Tribune Editorial Board. Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, ext. 322, or via email at kristenm@journaltribune.com.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
