Bert Lightle -
Owner
Instructor

2001 was the year my interest was sparked by the world of Mixed Martial Arts. Learning Jiu Jitsu by way of Army Combatives. Two hours, a bloody nose, and several bruises later, I was hooked. While deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, I had to opportunity to hone my Jiu Jitsu skills, as well as learn disciplines in Boxing, Kick Boxing, Muay Thai, and Krav Maga. I continued my studies and training, moving on to become a combatives instructor for my National Guard unit. In March of 2007, I was appraoched by a friend of mine that had decided to take an amateur fight. After finding out that we had well under 24 hours to prepare, we spent about 4 and a half hours in my garage, with little more than two tumbling mats, I taught him the basics of survival in Jiu Jitsu, and some basic Kick Boxing skills. He went on to win not only his first fight in the second round by TKO, but also his next six fights were victories, leading him to take the Elite Fight League's Welterweight Title. Since that night, HammerFist MMA has become one of the top MMA training centers and fight teams in the Midwest.