Cage Rage

When he came home, he entered an open tournament in Hialeah. The entrance fee was $50 and the winner got $100. He made it to the finals, then lost. But over the next two years he would become a regular at the event.

"My mom thought I was just being a kid," he jokes. "She thought it was a phase."

In 1998 he moved to Orlando with childhood friend and fellow mixed martial arts fighter Paul Rodriguez. He continued training and took fights wherever he could get them. "Back then, you couldn't give tickets to these things away," he laughs, recalling an event in Jacksonville held in a makeshift boxing ring erected on a club dance floor that drew about 100 people.

In the years that followed Thomas fought all over the United States and Japan, where the sport had already garnered a huge fan base. In June 2001 he made his UFC debut in the organization's first sanctioned event, which was held in New Jersey. "There was no point where I decided this is what I want to do. I just loved to train and it just kind of happened," he says. "Every man wants to show he's the toughest. It's inherent. But if you really want to find out how tough you are on a level playing field, step into a cage and let them lock them doors."

Thomas joined the Coconut Creek-based American Top Team four years ago. Since then he wed his longtime girlfriend, Monica, opened up his own fighting school in Port St. Lucie, and celebrated the arrival of son, Ethon Alexander.

But in December 2003 he lost a fight in Japan by first-round knockout. His career then all but ground to a halt. He didn't compete for more than a year and was thinking about throwing in the towel when UFC matchmaker Joe Silva invited him to try out for the fourth edition of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show. Thomas flew to Vegas, where he was among 60 contestants. He was one of sixteen who made the cut.

"Six weeks, no phone, no computer, no TV, no books, no nothing, and a camera in your face the entire time," he laughs. "It was surreal." He won several matches but lost in the semifinals. Next came a six-fight contract — if he played his cards right, that could mean a shot at the belt.

"There are probably four or five great teams that are capable of putting out world champions," declares thirty-five-year-old UFC president White, "and American Top Team is one of them."

Just a quick glance over the decorated roster of thirty-odd professional fighters who train at ATT's 20,000-square-foot headquarters on Johnson Road in Coconut Creek reveals that talent is to the academy like spit to a mouth guard.

Housing two full-size boxing rings, a 24-foot Octagon cage, a state-of-the-art weightlifting area, and multiple heavy bags, the facility is also home to 1976 Olympic gold medalist boxer, Howard Davis, Jr.; and Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion, co-owner Ricardo Liborio. "We are successful because we are really like a big family here," lilts the warm-natured Liborio in heavily accented English. "No matter what these guys do in the ring, they know how to behave outside. Take Denis [Kang], he's one of the best fighters out there today and he's also one of the nicest guys you will ever meet."

Kang, 29 years old, is to mixed martial arts what David Beckham is to soccer. Nicknamed the "Super Korean," he is considered one of the industry's best middleweight fighters, and his playful personality has also made him a favorite among fans worldwide.

Born on the tiny island chain of Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, just off the coast of Newfoundland, to a French-Canadian mother and a Korean father, at age eleven he moved to Vancouver, where he later was to begin his career. In spring 2004, with 21 fights under his belt, he signed a contract with an upstart organization in South Korea. He went 5-0 and was crowned the Sprint MC heavyweight champion. "It gets crazy over there," Kang says, grinning, his hazel eyes flashing mischievously. "I can't go anywhere without someone asking for a photo or something."

In January 2005 Kang relocated to South Florida to train with ATT. Four months later made his debut at the überpopular Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. Over the next eighteen months he won four more fights for that organization.

Then tragedy struck. On September 24 his fiancée, who also fought professionally for ATT, 31-year-old Shelby Walker, committed suicide.

"The first thing you feel is guilt," Kang told the Canadian Press. "You always think you could have done something, and you start to blame yourself." To keep his sanity, he literally trained through the tears. "There was a few times where I was on the verge of tears right in the middle of sparring because things would just pop in your head," Kang said. "It's the hardest thing I've gone through, I can honestly tell you that."

But this past November he fought in another title tournament, Pride Bushido 13. After advancing through the semifinal round, where he tore his bicep, he was defeated in the final in a split decision. It was his first loss in almost four years. Now, three months later, he's back in training and ready to get back into the ring.