Behind the scenes at KP Arena’s Legacy Fighting Alliance MMA night

Last Friday, I make my way past long lines of people waiting to enter Kaiser Permanente Arena in downtown Santa Cruz. There is a hum of excitement in the streets. It’s the second time that Santa Cruz has hosted a Legacy Fighting Alliance (LFA) mixed martial arts fight. I’m not so much focused on the fights, but rather what it’s like behind the scenes. As a visual journalist, I want to capture the sights, sounds and emotions of the fighters before they enter the ring.

Checking in with security and entering through the back of the arena, I walk up a ramp that leads to a glass door. Peering through the door, I see a fighter sparring with what appears to be his trainer. I peek my head in and they pause to allow me to slide past them through the narrow hallway. As soon as I pass, violent punches and kicks continue to pound the pads of the trainer. I imagine that If I had been hit by any of these explosive blows, I might be breathing out of a tube for the rest of my life. 

Stepping back, I quietly take it all in, quietly watching them continue to train.

There are 22 combatants fighting tonight, and each has their own trainers and coaches on site with them.  

And in those backrooms, you see the prep that leads to the octagon. 

They don’t have much space to prep.

The KP Arena backrooms feel a bit like catacombs, narrow hallways that lead to a variety of rooms, each accommodating at most half a dozen people. 

Space is at a premium and fighters get ready. Some seek hallways, others narrow entranceways, while a few even choose to work their kicks and punches in the tightly crammed locker rooms. The energy is mixed. In one room, I’ll photograph a fighter kicking a pad with wild intensity. In the next room, there are four to five fighters nervously sitting with their heads down, meditating or going over their plan of attack. 

With so many fighters in such a small space, there isn’t a whole lot of chatter. I find a moment to speak to Scotts Valley MMA fighter Jacob Horton, who is making his pro debut Friday night. The wait is the hardest thing, he tells me.  

“I wish there is something that can break the uneasy silence,” he says; his heart is pounding, and his nervous energy is almost unbearable. These modern-day gladiators each maintain a kind of silent intensity. It feels very much like a racehorse about to explode into full gallop.  

The next step: getting their hands meticulously wrapped with gauze and surgical tape, after which officials inspect each hand carefully. Each fighter must follow a variety of rules that include the gauze length and width, how the surgeon’s adhesive tape is placed on the hand, and who is present when the hands are wrapped. Only once the hands are thoroughly inspected may the fighter put on their gloves. When the combatants slide their hands into their LFA-branded semi-fingerless gloves, their mood changes. Their fists clench and their stare hardens. It’s time for battle.

They walk into a dimly lit tunnel. There is an intense bright light at the end of the tunnel. This is the entrance of the concourse. Each fighter has their own routine while waiting to enter the concourse. Some shadow-box while others pace silently back and forth. 

Time seems to stand still while the fighters wait for their signal to enter the arena. When it’s finally their turn, they walk on stage with their name brightly displayed on an LED screen behind them, smoke and colored lights flashing. Each fighter has their own style of walking across the stage: some raise their arms up, yelling and flexing to the frenzied crowd, others strut with silent confidence, certain of their victory.  They make their way through the crowd and enter the caged ring. The door closes, the fighters go to their own side of the octagon, and their eyes meet. In an instant, the battle begins.

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