Alabama Underground >> Sorting out MMA in AL

gorillagrappling - I am trying to wrap my head around the grand dispute among Alabama's B rate MMA scene. From where I stand, Ray Echols, replacing Skipp Hall as the newest scam artist in the state, has created quite a name for himself. Not a good name. But a name nonetheless. When he's not promoting bum fights between two grown men, he can be seen ringside as his barely teenage son gets battered about the face and head area by a similarly too young opponent. <br><br>As for the Triad team of "fighters" nobody really knows where they get off taking stabs at Echols due to the fact that they don't really actually fight. They seem to simply "play" BJJ. Guys, if you are going to belittle a man for his redneck fighting style, at least be willing to step into a ring/cage yourselves. Because, while Echols may be a severe retard and overly-red redneck, he will at least fight your ass. Which is more than I can say for the lot of you.<br><br>I don't even know where to start with this "Wolf Pack." All of the cool people have left this terrible forum. Spartan and Childersburg are the only legit gyms in the state. The rest of the MMA scene is an embarrassment to the state and the sport. Keep up the good work guys. As soon as you run the commission out of the state, everything will be back to normal. <img src="/images/phone/apple.png" alt="Phone Post" border="0" style="vertical-align:middle;"/>

gorillagrappling - I am trying to wrap my head around the grand dispute among Alabama's B rate MMA scene. From where I stand, Ray Echols, replacing Skipp Hall as the newest scam artist in the state, has created quite a name for himself. Not a good name. But a name nonetheless. When he's not promoting bum fights between two grown men, he can be seen ringside as his barely teenage son gets battered about the face and head area by a similarly too young opponent.

As for the Triad team of "fighters" nobody really knows where they get off taking stabs at Echols due to the fact that they don't really actually fight. They seem to simply "play" BJJ. Guys, if you are going to belittle a man for his redneck fighting style, at least be willing to step into a ring/cage yourselves. Because, while Echols may be a severe retard and overly-red redneck, he will at least fight your ass. Which is more than I can say for the lot of you.

I don't even know where to start with this "Wolf Pack." All of the cool people have left this terrible forum. Spartan and Childersburg are the only legit gyms in the state. The rest of the MMA scene is an embarrassment to the state and the sport. Keep up the good work guys. As soon as you run the commission out of the state, everything will be back to normal.

Russell Schenck -  Only 2 legit gyms in the state of Alabama??? That is a funny troll job and it seems to be working. Dont forget about gyms like Port City MMA or Champions Freestyle and the list goes on. Auburn MMA has some tight guys with Keith Johnson fighting in July. He is 8-3 pro 170 who has wins over TUF vets Charlie Rader, Jeremiah Riggs and Nick Rossoborough.

Good to see a thread gaining interest in the Alabama UG, and it has nothing to do with Skip Hall lol...

I think you misunderstand the quandry. There hasn't been any local mma here in years. What was here previously was disturbing. You won't start to see many names in the area for some time, which is the point. If you did, you would be right in questioning the training. None of the trainers here, I honestly believe, would let an unprepared kid compete in mma, the hallmark of the programs that yall are complaining about.

Fortunately, we will finally see a local show in July, in a good, clean venue. We'll see how it evolves from there. Last I heard, and I'm not much in the loop lately, there won't be many local guys for the first show. If there were a bunch, I would question whether it was legit, too. If not, I think it's far too early to lump what happens here into the Ray Echols/Skip Hall legacy. Which was my point.

Josh J - What's sad is Ray actually talks like he IS MMA in Alabama.  He commonly refers to his organization as "The UFC of Alabama".  He talks about how his shows are the best in the state and all of his "haters" are just jealous of his success.  He brags about "making history" as if he's made history in a good way.  He honestly believes these things.   Unfortunately, there are people who believe him and kiss his butt and stroke his ego in hopes of being able to leech off of his imagined success.

In reality, promoters like Echols/Clairday,etc.  are why we needed a commission in the first place.  They brag about what they are doing for MMA in this state, when they actually set it back years.  Alabama MMA is the butt of many jokes, and they are the reason why.