National Guardsmen to compete in Mixed Martial Arts League event

Spc. Miles McDonald of the Missouri National Guard's 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment, competes in the 2011 Army National Guard Combatives Tournament at Fort Benning, Ga. The Missouri team placed third in the tournament despite having only seven members instead of the standard 14. (Submitted photo)

By Bill Phelan
ngmo.pao@us.army.mil

ST. CHARLES, Mo. - It's probably a safe bet that this Veterans Day won't be quickly forgotten by Spc. Miles McDonald, Sgt. Jeremy Koerper and Staff Sgt. Jay Powell, of the Missouri Army National Guard.

Each soldier is slated to compete as an amateur in the Fight Me Mixed Martial Arts event, Nov. 11 at the St. Charles Family Arena, a production of the Mixed Martial Arts Sports League, headquartered in Lake St. Louis, Mo. The National Guard is an official sponsor of the event which will feature 11 bouts, eight of them between professionals.

Powell, 33, of De Soto, is a combatives instructor for the Missouri National Guard. An 11-year regular Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he stands 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 165 pounds.

"I started doing a little boxing while I was in Afghanistan," Powell said. "After that I started training at a mixed martial arts academy in Lebanon, Mo. and it just took off from there. Now I'm a level three instructor."

Powell has competed in several Army combatives tournaments and has a record of 13-5 as a fighter on the amateur circuit.

"I love the training and the mental aspect of it," Powell said. "It's the whole never accept defeat thing and always trying to push yourself."

McDonald, 20, of Ozark, is a two-year Guard veteran who serves with D Company of the 1st Battalion, 138th Infantry Regiment, headquartered in Monet, Mo. He too got involved in the National Guard Combatives Program and has never looked back.

"The combatives program got me started," McDonald said. "I jumped into it during basic training and really enjoyed it. It teaches you how to defend yourself and it teaches confidence."

McDonald is 5 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 130 pounds and has a an amateur record of 2-1.

"I compete in the 125-pound Fly Weight Division," he said. "I'm a little guy, but I'm tough."

Koerper, 26, of St. Louis, serves with the 1138th Military Police Company, headquartered in West Plains. A five-year Guard veteran, he stands just over 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighs 185 pounds. The Nov. 11 event will be only his second Mixed Martial Arts League contest.

"I'm hoping the event will draw more attention to the National Guard Combatives Program," said Koerper. "It's very interesting and it's applicable to being in the military police."
As a testament to that program, McDonald points to the fact that Missouri Guardsmen took third place at the 2011 Army National Guard Combatives Tournament at Fort Benning, Ga.

"The Missouri National Guard has one of the best combative programs in the United States," said McDonald. "It's top notch. Most of the teams at the tournament had 14 Soldiers. We only had seven and we took third place as a team."

"Maybe the event will attract more soldiers to the program and next year we can have a full team of 14 instead of seven," added Koerper.

As the event draws near, none of the National Guard competitors have yet been told who their opponent will be.

"The league goes by your experience and your fighting abilities and matches you up with an opponent based on that," McDonald explained.

For mixed martial arts enthusiasts the Nov. 11 main event features Tex Trismegistus versus Ryan Sutton.

Free tickets are available for all active and retired military personnel by contacting Capt. Brian Hatcher, 573-638-9500, ext. 7501 or via e-mail, brian.hatcher@us.army.mil.

For more information about the Mixed Martial Arts Sports League, visit fightmemma.com.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites:
www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard; www.moguard.com/blog