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Sioux Falls man latest area athlete to join MMA scene Maggie Stehr •
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• December 6, 2008 He walks in the footsteps of newly crowned Ultimate Fighting heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, a Webster native, and Shayna Baszler, a Sioux Falls mixed martial arts fighter who made her primetime debut this summer.
But at a lean 125 pounds, Ben Nguyen doesn't exactly fit the mold of his predecessors.
He's not letting that stop him from pursuing his dream, though... "I want to be considered one of the top fighters in the world," said Nguyen, 20, of Sioux Falls. "I have reached a stepping stone in my career, so I feel very accomplished - like I'm going somewhere."
Nguyen recently landed a three-fight mixed martial arts contract with upstart Palace Fighting Championship, or PFC. The Lamore, Calif.,-based company looks to specialize in smaller weight classes and boasts several former UFC competitors. His first contracted fight in the PFC is Jan. 22 in Lamore and will be televised through the Comcast Network and online publications, such as Sherdog.com.
With a 10-2 MMA record, Nguyen has trained in martial arts since age 12. For a year and a half, he has worked out at Next Edge Academy, a premier MMA gym in Sioux Falls.
His manager at Next Edge, Bruce Hoyer, recognized Nguyen's talents early. After refereeing his first matches, Hoyer has helped groom the young fighter for the national and international stages. As his agent, he also has worked behind the scenes to help find the PFC deal for Nguyen. Before the professional contract, Nguyen fought in amateur MMA bouts for local promoter The Cage Inc. and recently defended his bantamweight title.
But Nguyen's weight could prove an early challenge for long-term staying power in the national spotlight, Hoyer admitted. "American audiences like seeing knockouts," he said. "But at 125 pounds, guys don't really have that kind of power.
"If you watch those smaller fights, though, you'll see they are very fast paced and technical. So they are just as exciting as the big heavyweight fights - just in a different way."
Nguyen is optimistic that this contract will help build his career and bring more attention to smaller weight classes. While finding opponents locally had always been difficult, the PFC will allow him to compete against at least 25 other fighters in his division. So while he might not have the brawn and size of heavyweights like Lesnar, Nguyen hopes his future success will carry just as much punch.
"Not all famous fighters come from big cities," he said. "You can come from any gym in any small town and become a world champion." Contact sports copy editor Maggie Stehr at argusleader.com
AREA FIGHTER RECEIVES NATIONAL CONTRACT
SIOUX FALLS, SD – (November 12) - Ben Nguyen, of Sioux Falls, SD, has recently signed a three fight Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) contract to fight in the Palace Fighting Championship or PFC, based out of Lamore, California. The PFC has recently signed over twenty new fighters to its roster, in an attempt to make the organization one of the top MMA organizations in the world. The new fighters include former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters Gabe Ruediger, Alex Schoenauer and Jason Von Flue. Ben has a record of 10-2 and competes in the 125 pound weight class. The PFC is considered the premier event at this weight. "I am very excited to be able to showcase my skills. I want to be considered one of the top fighters in the world. The PFC offers the opportunity to prove that I can compete against the top 125 pound fighters in the world," said Ben. Ben's fights will be broadcast to millions of homes through the Comcast Network and online publications, like Sherdog. Ben has been training at ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags">Next Edge Academy in Sioux Falls for five months and feels that his team has really helped to hone his skills. Ben's first contracted fight with the PFC will take place in January in Lamore, California. PFC President, Christian Printup, had this to say about their TV deal and the new signings: "We are going to bring the PFC brand, our fighters and our Fight-Club-Meets-Night-Club atmosphere and deliver it into over four million living rooms. From a business standpoint it helps us tremendously in terms of sponsors and after-market opportunities. It helps the fighters who are featured on the broadcasts in terms of their sponsorship revenue and it's great because it means more MMA on basic cable for fans of the sport." He added, "I'm very excited to be able to bring in the talent we're announcing today. We have said from the beginning that we're not here to take over the sport, consciously take away from anyone's market share, or anything like that. We just focus on making the PFC the best we can and today's announcement is another step in the process. I am a firm believer that if you spend more time worrying about what other people are doing and not your own product and fan base then you're doomed. I cannot wait to get some of these guys on TV in a hurry!" Ben can be contacted through his gym manager Bruce Hoyer, by email at
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