By: Sophie Yang

10-year-old Isaiah Triana wakes up in his cold, dark hotel room next to Interstate 15 in California, shivering and hungry. He hadn’t eaten food in several hours in preparation for the greatest moment of his martial arts career: the U.S Fight League national championships that would take place in less than eight hours, and decide the future of many young children living just like him.

With his brown hair perfectly slicked back and his hands wrapped up, the charismatic 4-foot-3 junior champion was ready to claim his next victory in just over a minute, fully living up to his title as “The Natural.” Then, in triumph, he did the Irish fighter Conor McGregor’s famous “Billionaire Strut” once around the ring as the audience cheered and raised their phones to “record the moment.”

“He’s like a unicorn,” said Triana’s trainer, Douglas Vileforte, who had come to California all the way from Florida for this tournament. “We just have to make sure we don’t break him,” he commented as he prepared Isaiah to go against 182 other kids who came to the championship in California–the first state to legalize youth mixed martial arts (MMA) and one of the few places in the world where kids can participate in “legally sanctioned bouts.”

Despite its growing popularity, many people criticize youth MMA tournaments for being violent and dangerous. Out of concern for children’s safety, combat sports are still banned in most states. Jon Frank, the organizer of the event, remarked that it was “the hardest tournament in the world to run.” To regulate the youth MMA, Frank had to go back and forth with the safety protocols, banning head strikes, implementing background checks, and requiring headgears and ambulances at every match. Finally, in 2014, the U.S. Fight League was able to host the first state-sanctioned youth MMA tournament. “Our biggest setback became our biggest accomplishment.” Frank later stated.

Champion Isaiah once said, “I had my pacifier and my blanket. I was just a little baby. Once I got on the mat, I just felt some kind of feeling that I was going to go in there for a long time and that I was going to stay there forever…” Today, he continues to inspire dreams in many 10-year-old boys following in his footsteps, just as his childhood idol McGregor had done for him.

Link: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1655669435675x324946776128587300/Banned%20in%20many%20states%2C%20youth%20MMA%20is%20growing%20in%20popularity%20-%20Washington