Fighting for growth: Utah is becoming hot spot for popular new sport

Fight! Fight! Fight! When called out at school, a party or in a crowd, it immediately draws interest. But what if it is organized?

That is the premise behind Mixed Martial Arts fighting, and just like a spontaneous outbreak, it is drawing plenty of notice.

"It is one of the fastest-growing sports in history," said professional fighter, trainer and event organizer Jeremy Horn. "It is amazing to see how far it has come in such a short amount of time."

Once called too brutal for the mainstream public, MMA fighting adopted some rules and has since taken off in popularity. And Utah has become one of the hot spots during the growing phenomenon.

"I see Salt Lake turning into one of the cities to host the biggest fights," said local fighter Demarques Johnson, who has the reputation, and ability to back it up, as being one of the next fighters expected to make it big in the sport. "We already have a lot of good gyms and a lot of good fighters around here. There is a great following, and it won't be long until we have the best of the best around."

In MMA, the best means Ultimate Fighting Championship. The UFC has the biggest draws, best fighters and largest purses, but even without any UFC fights, Utah has had plenty of fights with a very devoted following. From weekly fights in various bars and night clubs, to bigger events hosted at arenas and convention centers, fighters and followers have been meeting in growing numbers around the Beehive State.

"I love fighting here," said William Brewer, a fighter based in St. George who travels to Salt Lake to fight. "The crowds here are great, and the events there are starting to grow. I see Utah being one of the great locations for fighters to come and train and fight. The competition here is tough, but there are great opportunities."

As one of the ambassadors for the sport, and particularly here in Utah, Horn is one of the most popular and famous fighters not only around the state but around the country as well. He made a name for himself in UFC as a battler, a brawler who had a never-say-die attitude with his specialty listed as Jiu-Jitsu. He has over 130 professional fights to his credit, and made a name in defeating Chuck Liddell, one of the sport's most popular champions for several years.

Horn started training in Omaha, Neb., where he was raised and said his main reason for getting into fighting originally was, "to stop getting beat up by my older brothers."