“The first day I (fought) I got kicked in the head by a 16-year-old kid.”

Hit me

Beau Laughridge, 28, Cedar RapidsCustomer Care Supervisor @ AEGON by day
Mixed Martial Arts fighter by night

Most mixed martial artists get into the sport the same way. They have a background in wrestling, taekwondo or karate.

While Beau Laughridge is no stranger to competition. He played both football and basketball at Vinton-Shellsburg High School. He started out in mixed martial arts without a typical fighter’s history.

It was Keoni Koch, a co-worker at AEGON and a fellow competitor, who changed all of that.

“The first day I came I got kicked in the head by a 16-year-old kid (Keoni’s brother, Erik, the Mainstream MMA champion),” Beau says. “I’ve been hooked ever since.”

That was four years of training, three wins and one loss ago. But there’s no going back.

“Recently, I made a full commitment to seeing how far fighting can take me. Partying and all that stuff is counterproductive,” he says. “It’s like a writer working on a book, doing five chapters over the course of a week and then scribbling out a chapter over the weekend for the fun of it. I guess the only difference is that in fighting the punishment is getting bludgeoned into submission.”

Laughridge has a local inspiration to keep his dream going.

Jesse Lennox, a native of Coggon, was recently signed to a contract with the WEC – a sort of minor league organization for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, the most popular and prominent of all MMA organizations – after knocking out his opponent in 41 seconds in the second round of a fight in San Diego.

Occasionally Jesse drops in to the Valhalla Combat Club, a former boxing gym in Downtown Cedar Rapids, where Beau trains with the rest of the Valhalla team.

Depending on the night, Beau’s workouts consist of 10 to 15 five-minute rounds of grappling and ground and pound – a series of punches, delivered by elbows and knees while both men are on the mat – as well as 8 to 10 three-to-five-minute rounds of striking. He runs and lifts over his lunch hour at the Yellowbook Sweat Shop, connected to the AEGON building. To fuel all this exercise, Beau’s diet is heavy on protein, mostly eggs and chicken.

While fighting is a solitary sport, the idea of team is central.

“I have such a great respect for my team that I blindly follow a lot of the tips and techniques they give me,” he says.

Each team member brings something different.

“Keoni is like a big brother and one of the first people that I go to when I need advice. He’s different than anyone I’ve ever met in my life because he sets his mind on something and does it, no questions asked. Demian (Papagni) and I met less than six months ago and have become fast friends. Devon (Christian) is great at jiu-jitsu and has built himself into a very talented fighter and coach. Dave’s (Sherzer) got an incredible love for the sport and pride for our team.”

“Any of these guys would drop everything to help you out with training or anything else,” Beau says.

– Justin

WHAT HE CAN DO FOR YOU: Beau can change your view on mixed martial arts. Think not? Check him out Saturday, April, 25, at the Five Flags Center in Dubuque
DID YOU KNOW: Beau works out seven days a week, for at least two hours at a time.
QUOTE: “The first day I (fought) I got kicked in the head by a 16-year-old kid.”