Brothers Jeremy and Jamie Ridgeway started holding mixed martial arts fights in 2008 to give the guys who train at their Wards Road martial arts academy a chance to get into the ring.
“MMA (mixed martial arts) is still catching on here in Lynchburg, but it’s one of the fastest-growing sports in the world,” says Jamie, who started Renaissance Martial Arts Academy 10 years ago.
Mixed martial arts is a full-contact combat sport that mixes elements of martial arts with other sports.
“It used to be looked at as a spectacle — putting two guys in a cage and seeing who wins. Now, the rules have made it safer,” Jamie Ridgeway says. “Kick boxing is a great sport. Boxing is a great sport, and wrestling. It’s just a combination of all those.”
The Ridgeways are gearing up for their fifth Elite Fighting Challenge (EFC) event this weekend.
The show, the fourth to be held in Lynchburg, is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday at the Armory (see box for more details). It will feature 15 fights, with seven fighters from Lynchburg and six who train at Renaissance, as well as one of the area’s first female MMA bouts.
Several fighters are using the event to raise money for local charities, including the Liberty Godparent Home and Freedom 4/24, an organization that’s trying to raise awareness about and money for sexually exploited women in Thailand.
“I think the great thing about what we’re doing is they’re fighting for something bigger than their egos,” Jamie says, mentioning the sport’s sometimes negative reputation.
“We really do push the discipline, the respect, the integrity — all those things that go along with martial arts,” he says. “We don’t allow a lot of trash talking. We want two warriors to go in, with respect, and come out shaking hands.”
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