Steve Watkins says police officers just want to get home safely. That’s one of the reasons he and a fellow officer, Brian Misner, became interested in learning mixed martial arts.
At Pride in the Cage II, held Saturday night at The Civic in Neosho, Watkins and Misner both had their moments in the cage. The cage fight saw a couple dozen mixed martial arts combatants square off in a night of blood, bruises and broken bones.
Watkins has been working with the police since he was in high school. About three years ago, Watkins, currently with the Granby Police Department, began learning boxing, Muay Thai and Jujitsu.
“I watched two of my trainers, a couple years ago, beat the crap out of each other…I came home and told my wife, ‘I gotta do that,’” Watkins said.
Watkins also has three children. He considers his fighting club, Team Pain, his family as well.
“We barbeque together, we cry together, we’ve hurt together, we beat each other up,” Watkins said of his team, who he has been with about eight months.
As an officer, his fighting experience has come in handy a few times.
“The big thing it helps me with is, if I do have to scuffle with somebody on the streets…at night, when I go home, I go home safely,” Watkins said. “I know I can defend myself as need be.”
He mentioned that he isn’t paid to fight in the matches, he just does it because he loves it.
Saturday night marked Watkins’ fourth cage fight. It was Misner’s 10th. Misner said he also enjoys fighting, for the competitive aspect of it.
“It’s a sport, just like football or basketball or wrestling,” Misner said.
Misner is the former police chief for the Diamond Police Department. He currently lives in Neosho and is part of the Barry County Fight Club. Like Watkins, he became interested in mixed martial arts a few years ago while seeing other people do it.
“I was just a fan of it on TV,” Misner said. “I thought about giving it a try…fell in love with it.”
He focuses on Jujitsu. He said that if other people would like to give mixed martial arts a try, the first place to go is a gym, such as Barry County Fight Club or a club in Neosho.
A common stereotype about cage fighters is that they act like hoodlums or “thugs,” and Watkins wants people to know that’s not a realistic depiction.
“Ninety percent of us guys are family men,” Watkins said.
Added Misner, “A lot of us are college graduates, more than what people know.”
