ARLINGTON Landon Showalter returned from his Nov. 17 televised mixed martial arts fight in Atlantic City, N.J., with a victory under his belt and bandages on his hand.
Showalter, a mixed martial arts and Muay Thai champion, is competing as one of eight fighters in the middleweight division of the ongoing Ring of Combat Tournament of Champions contest series, with each fighter vying for a grand prize of up to $100,000.
Showalter broke his right hand during the second round of his bout against Don Wagner, which made it difficult to employ his preferred method of knockout punches to win the fight, but he attributed his eventual victory to his ability to change my game and suck it up, by trading punches for jabs and kicks, as well as refusing to go to the ground.
Showalter admitted that having a lot of money and his reputation on the line helped motivate him to keep going and succeed, even though his hand now requires surgery, wiring and plating for broken bones and torn ligaments, which he shrugged off as pretty common for this sport. As it stands, in less than two months, hes set to go back to Atlantic City, to compete in the second fight of the three-contest series, which is currently in negotiations to be broadcast on either Spike, Fox Sports Network or pay-per-view.
Showalter takes pride in his performance against Wagner, who has approximately 20 years of martial arts experience, but whom Showalter nonetheless asserted that he schooled and outclassed during their bout. He likewise looks forward to taking on Marc Stevens in his semi-final fight, since Stevens skills as a wrestler are a counterpoint to Showalters own specialties, since I can definitely take it to the mat, but Im more of a striker.
In the meantime, Showalter wished to remind local residents that, with the holiday season well underway, they can always lose that jolly fat by getting in shape at the Arlington Kickboxing Academy, which still provides provide kids fitness, boxing, kickboxing, pankration and yoga and self-defense classes, at their 1,500-square-foot facility on 21108 67th Ave. in Arlington. To learn more, you may contact Showalter at 360-435-8814.