Maynard Loses MMA Debut

Kyle Maynard, an inspirational former high school wrestler born with no arms past the elbows and no legs past the knees, dropped a unanimous decision in his amateur MMA debut on April 25 in Auburn, Ala. The fight, which headlined an Auburn Fight Night show before some 1,200 spectators at a dirt-floor outdoor arena, saw Maynard mostly scramble for takedowns as his opponent, Bryan Fry, of Wisconsin, circled and peppered him with punches. Fry, whose identity was kept under wraps until the weigh-ins, won with 30-27 scores across the board.

Maynard, cornered by trainer and UFC veteran Paul Creighton, shot in on his four limbs and at times flopped to his back, but he struggled to catch up to Fry. Sherdog.com reported that Fry was concerned about a backlash from the live crowd in the event that he defeated Maynard and requested a car be made available after his fight so he could, if need be, make a getaway.

A friend piggybacked Maynard -- a Georgia native who went 35-16 as a wrestler his senior year of high school and won an ESPY Award for his achievements as a disabled athlete -- to the cage. He received several standing ovations for the performance, which received a mention on ESPN News. The show was broadcast as an Internet pay-per-view at KyleMaynardFight.com for $14.95. Promoter David Oblas told Sherdog.com that roughly 100 people ordered the offering; the promotion expected 1,000 buys or more, Oblas said. The fight had to be moved from Georgia, where, in 2007, state athletic commission officials refused to license Maynard. No commission oversees MMA in Alabama. Oblas indicated he would welcome the opportunity to promote Maynard’s second fight, if the congenital amputee elects to go that route.

Maynard, 23, told the Sherdog Radio Network’s “Beatdown” show that he flopped to his back at points in an attempt to lure in Fry so he could utilize his four and a half years of jiu-jitsu training, which include chokes and joint locks modified to his abilities. “The cat’s out of the bag,” Maynard said in reference to Fry’s successful strategy, which he had difficulty countering. Maynard pointed out that in Georgia, Fry’s gameplan would not have worked because amateur rules in that state do not allow punches to the head of a grounded opponent; because of his disability, Maynard is always considered grounded.