MMA returns to Monroeville with 'Brawl in the Burgh 11'
It’s been a while since Andrew Evans needed to worry about being picked on at school.
“I was an out-of-shape kid, and in ninth grade, I got really tired of it and decided to go down to an MMA gym and start training,” said Evans, 19.
On April 16, the North Huntingdon native will take part in his first mixed martial arts fight as part of the card for “Brawl in the Burgh 11” at the Monroeville Convention Center.
“At first, I didn’t even really want to fight,” said Evans, who trains at Absolute Martial Arts in White Oak. “But as I got into it, I really fell in love with the sport. About a year ago, I did my first jiu-jitsu tournament and had a blast. So I wanted to get in the cage and see what it was all about.”
Fighter Jake Rodgers (0-1), 27, of Saxonburg, also is gearing up for his first MMA bout, after a Muay Thai kickboxing fight in October.
“I started out doing Muay Thai because I wanted to focus more on striking,” Rodgers said. “I switched to MMA to mix some other styles in and do something different.”
Rodgers, who trains at the Renzo Gracie/Stout Academy in the Strip District and in Zelienople, said he’s looking forward to going up against Ty’Shon Law of Franklin, who will also be in his first MMA fight.
“There’s pros and cons to going up against someone their first time,” he said. “If you have video on someone, you can see how they approach a fight. But at the same time, if you’re going in there expecting them to fight exactly the way you saw on the tape, they can surprise you.”
Fighter Tim Bailey, 28, of Crafton has been in and out of MMA training for the past six years but said he began taking it more seriously about three years ago.
“I wrestled in high school, after I moved here from Texas,” Bailey said. “Afterward, I started doing more things with MMA.”
Bailey will go up against south-central Pennsylvania fighter Aaron Harper (0-2).
Evans said he’s looking forward to getting in the ring.
“I’ve just been working like a dog in the gym and preparing myself for whatever might happen in there,” he said.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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