The Art of Warrior
Mixed Martial Arts merges fighting styles

By Jack Borgo

Nick Lauer faced an unpromising future five years ago. His zeal for food and bars bordered on gluttony and fueled the growth of his 315-pound frame. This fervor for an unhealthy lifestyle earned Lauer the nickname Lunchbox. “I spent six days a week in a bar,” Lauer says. “I’d drink a 30-pack a night without question. I didn’t give a shit about much.”

But while working for Grieber Masonry in Dane, Wis., he met Ron Faircloth, a kindred spirit with a clean-shaven head, sturdy build and twin sense of humor. The two became fast friends.

“Then he started kicking me in the shins,” Lauer recalls. When Lauer questioned Faircloth’s apparent madness, he informed Lauer that he was a mixed martial arts fighter and invited him to come watch a match.

“I thought it was pretty neat, and I told him that I thought I could do this, and he laughed at me,” Lauer says. Faircloth’s jest was not derogatory, rather a vocalization of cynicism acquired from years of watching would-be fighters fall by the wayside. Lauer’s drive, however, was unrelenting, and five years later, the 27-year-old continues to train with Faircloth. It is this devotion to each other, and to MMA training, that Faircloth brings to his gym.

Founded last May by Faircloth and Pat O’Malley, the Chosen Few Gym has become a sanctuary for MMA enthusiasts. Their upstart facility laces sophisticated combat techniques with a family-like mentality in an effort to create a new breed of fighters. They believe that a soft-spoken, successful athlete could usher in a new, prominent era for MMA.

One of the biggest misconceptions about MMA is that all fighters are thugs, says Wisconsin Combat Sports Founder Gabe Wahhab. “People think that they can go in and just because they are a street brawler or whatever, they can do it,” Wahhab says. “A lot of people see all the people who are doing the sport and think that these guys are just a bunch of big, dumb animals going in there and hitting each other.”

O’Malley and Faircloth’s desire to change this mentality has become a life pursuit. Their personas reflect this yearning, each embodying a crucial, yet distinct, MMA expertise. O’Malley, who began fighting in 1999, is the gym’s voice. Beyond his ink-inscribed forearms and red facial hair is a true MMA muse. His voice exudes his passion for the finer points of his sport, matched only by the disdain it articulates for those who defile it.

Faircloth represents the technical end of the gym. Although he speaks less than O’Malley, his words are magnified by the quiet, almost nervous, contemplation that produces them. His hardened features and cauliflower ears hint at the countless fights that have molded his combat proficiency. His students’ reverence for him is immediately apparent as they listen attentively to each word he speaks.

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