Culture & Entertainment Notebook: 'It's tap or snap' for MMA fighter Max McNeely

Up-and-coming professional mixed martial arts fighter Max McNeely has been training and competing for eight years, with the goal of eventually breaking into the realm of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Born in Cape Girardeau and raised in Jackson, McNeely attended Jackson High School and played football, wrestled and ran track.

"Once high school was over, I was ready to keep doing sports," McNeely said. "I had been watching MMA for a while, UFC for the most part, and was getting really into that."

He has conquered his amateur career, he said, earning three belts: one in Branson, one in St. Louis and one in Southeast Missouri.

McNeely said he enjoys the competition of MMA and will carry that attitude into Saturday's battle at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau.

The fights include mainly amateurs, except for the last two of the evening, including McNeely's and the main event. Both are pro fights, which means longer rounds and fewer rules on certain strikes, McNeely said.

He described his opponent, James Evans, as a bar brawler-type, expected to come throwing heavy hands.

"But, I expect to pick him apart; either finish him with some long punches, or I'm going to take him down and snap his arm, which is what I did the first time we fought, he said.

McNeely said, "I broke his arm. He didn't tap, so that's on him," he said. "It's tap or snap, or tap or nap, if it's a choke."

For McNeely, fighting is the ultimate competition.

"Whether I'm choking you out or I'm knocking you out, it's in a real-life situation, you're dead or alive," McNeely said. "It's like a simulation of a life-or-death fight, in a way."

And even though each fighter has a team of guys for coaching and support, he said, at the end of the day, "it's just you and one other guy in that cage."

McNeely said, "You can't put your blame or success on anyone else. It's you and you alone."

He said if you want to be at least a halfway decent MMA fighter, you've got to put the time in. It's harder at the beginner level, he said, because you've got to work and find time for training, while balancing life at the same time.

"When you get up to the UFC level, then you can afford to just train as your job," he said. "Most of the guys at this level obviously have to balance."

To stay fit and prepared for upcoming fights, McNeely said he focuses on cardio, eating healthy and training at least five days a week at Peak Performance Taekwondo -- which becomes Gladiator MMA at night -- in Cape Girardeau.

But Sundays are must-have off days, he said, "for resting and football."

"You've got to have at least one day off, to let the body recuperate a little," he said.

A fighter can't classify fighting as a job, McNeely said, until he or she has reached UFC-level. It's also an expensive hobby, he added.

"You've got to put a lot of time into you if you want to turn it into anything more," McNeely said.

Competitors receive a payout, McNeely said, but if they win, they get "win money."

"Like $20,000 to make weight and show, another $20,000 if you win," he said.

But for McNeely, respect for one's opponent also is a big part of MMA.

He said even if he and a challenger don't necessarily like each other, they both are still brave enough to risk their lives to put on a show.

"At the end of the fight, I'm still going to shake your hand, because I respect you," McNeely said.

Most of McNeely's wins are from submission, he said, and it's natural for him to pin an opponent against the cage and then take him down.

For Saturday's fight, McNeely said Evans is not going to show him anything he hasn't seen before.

"He's going to come at me, try and take my head off," McNeely said. "I'm going to pick him apart, throw some leg kicks on him, slow him down and maybe take him down. We'll see how it goes."

Cage of Honor begins at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Arena Building in Cape Girardeau. Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at fightforhonor.com.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3632