Fight Club

Law of the Octagon

Mixed Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in the world today. Because of its growing popularity, more and more athletes are trying their hand at MMA and even crossing over from other sports to give mixed martial arts a try. Here in Memphis, we have a fighter who has not only crossed over, but is making huge strides in this sport, and his name is Brian “The Law” Hall.

Brian is 12-2 as an amateur fighter who fights out of Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu. Brian began his combative sports career at Millington High School where he was a state champion wrestler.

But to succeed in MMA, Brian went to Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu to add depth and dimension to his fighting. According to Memphis Judo and Jiu-Jitsu gym owner Dave Ferguson, “Brian has improved in every facet of the sport. His Muy Thai has improved greatly, as well as his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He is a completely different fighter than he was just one year ago.”

On June 10, 2010, V3 fight fans submitted more than 40,000 votes for who they wanted to see fight for the first-ever V3 Bantamweight title. Brian Hall and Cody Lane received the honor. Brian defeated Lane and this fight went on to win “Fight of the Year,” in another fan vote.

Brian successfully defended his V3 title by beating number one contender Jesse Parker at the Delta Fair on V3’s one year anniversary show. According to V3 Fights’ president Nick Harmeir, “It’s exciting for me to see how much he has grown as a fighter. He is very well-rounded, and his confidence level is up. He comes into the cage ready to go to war and we’re lucky to have him as our champion. He’s one of the top amateurs in the state and is definitely one of those guys who can go on to that next level.”

Amateur fighters don’t yet earn a paycheck, so until he turns pro, Brian will continue working in the Memphis Police Department. Brian started with the MPD by teaching combative skills to recruits. Brian has since recently been named the Memphis Police Department boxing coach where he runs a gym designed to keep kids off of the streets and do something positive with their lives.

Brian’s says his biggest accomplishment though, is not his fight career or his job with the MPD, but being a full time husband to his wife, Sarah, and father to his two children Alyssa (6) and Jalen (10). “What makes it such an amazing thing is that he juggles quite a bit in his life: full time job, family man and fighter. He is phenomenal with his time management, goal setting and work ethic. I think this shows his maturity, not just as a fighter, but as a man.” states Ferguson.

Brian’s next fight is on November 19 in Jackson, MS for the very prestigious MMA promotion, Strikeforce. He is fighting Thomas Vazquez who is the last person to defeat him and he is hoping to avenge that loss.

Written by Rodrigo Galvan, Photo by Jay Johnson

Just a Fan

Nick Harmeier is a 29-year-old man with some big goals in mind and if his track record is any indication, he seems to be well on his way to making himself a household name around the Mid-South, if not further. Harmeier is the founder of V3 Fights, a mixed martial arts (MMA) brand that is based in Memphis and puts on events around the Mid-South.

While many people around the Mid-South may not know Harmeier by name, a few might know his writing, as he was the marketing director of Quentin “Rampage” Jackson before he became a member of the UFC brand of MMA. He wrote press releases for Rampage, as well as booking him to fight.

Harmeier and Rampage actually go way back. They met in their high school days when both were involved with their school wrestling teams: Harmeier, at Craigmont, and Rampage, at Raliegh-Egypt. Both also participated in an amateur wrestling squad for the Jr. Olympics. Their friendship continued on throughout Harmeier’s college years.

Harmeier has very strong roots with MMA in the Mid-South. From the beginning, he was involved with the process of legalizing MMA in Tennessee. This eventually led to the Forum hosting a nationally recognized pay-per-view UFC fight in December of last year.

Last year, Harmeier was working promotions and marketing for another local MMA brand. He eventually got fed up with the direction the company was going. It was then he decided to start V3.

V3’s first event was last fall at the Delta Fair in DeSoto County. Soon after, three other events were held at Newby’s on Highland. And this June, V3 will be holding its highest profile event yet in the FedExForum Grand Lobby. This event will be making history for V3, as it will boast three title matches. Later in the year, V3 will be putting on shows at the Delta Fair and the Mid-South Fair, as well as hoping to put on a few more fights in the Grand Lobby of the Forum before basketball season tips off.

Harmeier knows that there is potential to become big time and eventually hold an event inside the bowl of the Forum, as MMA is definitely an up and coming sport that is gaining more and more popularity.

There are many amateur MMA brands popping up around the country, but Harmeier feels he knows how to keep his brand above the rest. When asked what sets V3 apart from the other MMA brands, Harmeier responded, “Staying true to the brand, being true to MMA.” In his words, he is “just a fan” of MMA. He says that helps because he knows what the people want and he will do what it takes to deliver a product that creates buzz and gets people to come back time after time. This includes not cutting corners and spending a little extra money on production. He is always looking at the little things and what he can do to make his overall product better.

Obviously Harmeier hopes to eventually sell out the FedExForum main arena, but more important to him, would be to become a “Triple-A” to the UFC, becoming sort of a feeder brand to the big time.

But, for now Harmeier is focused on the immediate future and next month’s fight in the FedExForum Grand Lobby.

By Ben Hogan, Photo by Michael Cardwell.