Ste. Gen man takes to 'Fight Night' ring

Booker DeRousse woke up at 5 a.m. Friday like he does every other weekday morning.

And before eating or showering, the 25-year-old Ste. Genevieve, Mo., man walked over to the scales to weigh himself. The scales read 210 pounds.

For most people this would be of passing interest. But for DeRousse, a chiseled 6-foot-2 union carpenter, the extra weight set off alarm bells.

That's because DeRousse moonlights as a mixed martial arts fighter in "Devastation Fight Night" a touring, amateur cage match group that puts on exhibitions around the Midwest.

DeRousse was going to be officially weighed Friday night and found himself five pounds over the 205 limit of his weight class.

"I struggle with it, I'm always right on the edge," DeRousse said. "But with a realistic perspective I knew I could lose it. A lot of that is water weight that you can lose through sweat."

Sure enough, after a full day's labor with only light snacks and after his usual two-hour workout, DeRousse tipped the scales at 205 pounds.

Saturday at the Arena Building, the 34 competitors ranged in age from 19 to 46. They wear flexible padded gloves and fight with moves derived from muay thai, jiu-jitsu and judo as well as boxing and kickboxing.

A match ends when a fighter taps out or is judged to be in danger by the referee. If the fight lasts the entire nine minutes of the match, judges decide the winner.

DeRousse was a two-time wrestling state champion in high school. He won the first title in Colorado and the second his senior year in Ste. Genevieve.

Last year a friend saw a flier for Devastation and passed it on to DeRousse. After a scant two weeks of training, DeRousse got into the 20-by-20-foot octagonal cage at an outdoor venue in Farmington, Mo., the first week of October.

"It was about 30 degrees outside, really cold." he said. "I pretty much just knew how to attack then. Not much strategy," he said.

And though he said he dominated much of the fight, he got stuck in a choke hold in the third and final round and the referee stopped the fight in favor of his opponent.

"I think it was ridiculous. I never even got hit once," DeRousse said.

His wife, Crystal, didn't know what to think at first. "I was so mad and proud at the same time," she said of the first fight.

Paul Farwig, promoter and owner of the Devastation Fight Night, calls DeRousse one of the best fighters in Missouri.

"He's real good. You can see he has a very strong wrestling background," Farwig said.

Farwig pays for travel, food and hotels for his fighters but by Missouri law isn't allowed to offer a purse for the fights. He said that as hard as it is for some to believe, the fighters enjoy the competition of the cage fight.

"They love it. It's their passion," he said.

Late Saturday night DeRousse tangled with Kris "the Undertaker" Coffin, who fights mostly upright. Hahn encouraged him to use wrestling attacks to take Coffin's legs out. However, DeRousse lost by decision.

tgreaney@semissourian.com

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