Courtesy of CBS Affiliate WGCL Atlanta:
The number of online amateur fight clubs in metro Atlanta is growing.
The clubs stage fights that are patterned after professional mixed martial arts, but parents and students are concerned the fights are getting too dangerous.
A 17-year-old Cobb County high school student who fights agreed to speak with CBS 46 if he remained unidentified. He said he’s nervous about getting in trouble. He’s unsure if the fights are illegal and either unaware or unafraid of the potential danger.
“We don’t really hurt each other that bad. We have a bruised lip or a swollen eye, but we haven’t broken any bones yet,” the teen said.
As portrayed in the Brad Pitt movie “Fight Club,” the teen said there’s an understanding that the fighters won’t do anything to hurt the club.
“We basically make sure that no one is going to be a punk butt,” the boy said.
Off-camera, the teenager’s mother said she’d prefer her son not fight, but she also wants him to be honest with her. Family members would like him to train professionally.
Clay Harvison, a professional MMA fighter and instructor at an Atlanta fitness club, said he has seen the online video of the junior fight club and sees imminent disaster.
“Somebody is going to get hurt at some point in time, that’s a given,” Harvison said.
Harvison said when he trains fighters, he makes sure they have heavy-duty gloves, mouth guards, and in some cases, shin guards.
CBS 46 News contacted Cobb County police about the fight club the 17-year-old takes part in, but a spokesperson said police know nothing about it.
Somebody could get hurt, guys!