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Guy Mezger says his career as a mixed martial artists conflicted with his beliefs as a Christian man.
Fighting put Guy Mezger at odds with not only his opponent, but also himself.
Mezger caught up with Bloody Elbow in conjunction with the upcoming Pancrase Hybrid History documentary. During the chat, Mezger (30-14-2) revealed his career as a fighter often conflicted with his life as a Christian.
“I struggled a lot through my career because as a Christian man, being paid to hurt my fellow man for money was often a little tough for me. I always looked at it as a situation where I never did anything unnecessary,” Mezger explained. “Even when I fought in the UFC with no rules, one of the criticisms I got from [UFC co-creator] Bob Meyrowitz — who never fought a day in his life, except for when his wife kicked his ass — he would always sit there and [criticize me] because I would tell my opponents to give up. I’d punch them four or five times and they weren’t going anywhere, so I would tell them, ‘You need to give up before you get hurt.’ Meyrowitz would get mad at about that, but, you know what, I have to get up and look at myself in the mirror every morning. I need to look at myself in the mirror and not be ashamed of the man I see. I always had kind of a sportsman attitude.”
Mezger now owns his own mixed martial arts school. When asked about a series of drawings pinned to the wall behind him, the Pancrase and UFC legend shared a touching story.
“I own a gym and we have some of these special needs kids that I train personally. For my birthday, they drew me birthday drawings. I display them with a lot of pride and pleasure up on my wall here. They’re good kids,” Mezer shared. “As much as everyone likes to think they have their s—t together, most of us don’t. Martial arts is a great place to focus. Most of these special needs kids are somewhere on the autistic spectrum. Most of them have high-function autism. One of my kids is a little more difficult. It is much more difficult to teach him because he has sensory issues. Really, he has learned a lot slower because it took us a year to get him to be able to be touched without losing his mind.”
“These autistic kids are getting picked on at school. I’m like, ‘Are you freaking kidding me?’ Part of this is they need to defend themselves. Once they can stand on their own two feet,” he expressed. “That’s going to bring a lot of confidence. That’s what they need. A platform on which they can plant their feet on. They do a good job. I’m really proud of them.”
Mezger is currently working on the upcoming Pancrase Hybrid History documentary along with Chris Lytle, Bas Rutten, Josh Barnett and fight promoter Doug Cartelli. The film is expected to premiere at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. All four fighters will appear at a dinner event in Los Angeles on July 17.