Will Barnhart trained for two years before he made his mixed martial arts debut. He wanted to be ready, to be good. Even if it was his first fight, he didn’t want to look like a beginner.
After cruising to a victory, Barnhart’s patience appears to be paying dividends. Now he’ll get to show his skills off to a hometown Kalispell crowd. Barnhart is one of four fighters from Kalispell’s Straight Blast Gym of Montana scheduled to participate in Fight Force’s Kalispell Kombat at the Majestic Valley Arena on Nov. 20. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the event begins at 7:30 p.m.
Travis Davison, owner of Straight Blast and the four fighters’ instructor, said the hometown gig is significant for each of his fighters, but especially for the 20-year-old Barnhart, who is the youngest of the group.
“For him, it’s going to be a big deal,” Davison said. “First time ever fighting in front of his high school buddies, ex-employers, his family.”
He added: “He’s a phenom, a beast.”
Barnhart will be fighting in the 155-pound division. His colleagues at Straight Blast Gym will be the two main events of the night, with Zach Dickson defending his featherweight crown and Jake Oyler capping off the evening with the only professional fight of the night. Cory Roska rounds out the Straight Blast crew.
Oyler turned pro in May. Dickson, who is 5-1 with five straight victories, will most likely be fighting his final amateur bout in Montana, Davison said.
“He’ll have his eighth amateur fight in Portland,” Davison said. “Assuming that goes well, he’ll start fighting professionally.”
Along with the Kalispell fighters, the Nov. 20 fight card boasts MMA fighters from around the Northwest and Canada, though most are from Montana. Kalispell Kombat is one of 10 annual fights organized by Fight Force, a company co-owned by Bryan Deats and Kalispell’s Kevin Moore.
Fight Force also holds events in Missoula, Billings, Great Falls, Hamilton, Butte, Bozeman and Helena. The fights draw between 700 and 2,000 spectators, depending on the venue and time of year. The biggest crowd, Deats said, was 2,500 at the civic center in Butte. Deats expects a similar crowd to April’s Kalispell Kombat, which drew 1,100 people.
“Hopefully people get out and support their local teams and local fighters,” Deats said.
The championship belts are accumulating on the walls of Straight Blast Gym, which has grown rapidly in the past year. Last December it opened in a small space on First Avenue West and then moved across the street to the old Coco and Boo location, which is substantially larger. In January, the gym will be moved next door to the even bigger Fullerton Architects, Davison said.
Three of the belts at Straight Blast belong to 29-year-old Dickson. Roska has also been moving up the ranks in his division. Oyler, only 24, is the only professional in the group, though Davison is excited about Barnhart’s future too. Both Oyler and Barnhart could have long careers ahead of them, Davison said.
“Those guys could actually make a living at it if they want to,” he said.
Tickets for Kalispell Kombat cost $25 per person, or $500 for a 10-person ringside table. A second-row table costs $400. Tickets are available at Majestic Valley Arena, Army Navy and Casey’s Bar in Whitefish, where the after-fight party is scheduled. For more information call 1-888-TVFORCE or log on to www.fightforce.tv.