Rita Hutchinson
July 31, 2008
Helen Ann Hebert Martin
August 4, 2008
Tri-parish sports fans, do you need a dose of bone-crushing action before the Saints’ season starts?
Here is your fix. Renaissance MMA is bringing its first show to Houma – RMMA 7: Cajun Combat – on Friday Aug. 8, at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center at 8 p.m.
With three professional and 10 amateur mixed martial arts fights scheduled, attendees are in for a night full of blood and sweat but no tears.
“I know there’s a large fan base in Houma and some of my fighters are from out that way,” said Dr. Ricco Impasto, promoter of Renaissance MMA . “With the Civic Center becoming available, I thought it would be a great venue to hold a fight.”
Local amateur MMA fighter Jodie Cazenave will be competing in his third contest. The 1999 E.D. White graduate has watched the sport grow in popularity, especially among teenagers and young adults.
“People realize it’s not just two guys going in there trying to tear each other’s heads off,” he said. “It’s very technical. It’s just a great competition.”
In the main event will be 2005 World Shidokan Champion Brad Baker fighting Marcus “Money” Sursa.
The other pro MMA bouts feature James Orso versus Joe Christopher and Tony “The Tractor” Roberts versus Scott Barry.
Impasto is flying in fighters from across the country for the show. Florida-based American Top Team, the largest MMA team in the country, is sending some of its best talent.
“They’re probably the most respected team in MMA,” said Impasto.
A chiropractor by training, Dr. Impasto began treating MMA fighters as his patients. After watching several events and assisting the main fight doctor at a show, he decided to get into promoting fights.
“I thought it was very entertaining and fun, and I thought I could do a pretty good job of putting a show on,” he said.
The previous six Renaissance MMA events have been held in St. Tammany Parish. He anticipates the first Houma show to be just as big as his promotions.
“I expect about 2,000 people to attend,” he said. “Our last event was very big. It’s been growing every time.”
Cazenave, a 28-year old Vacherie native, got into MMA as a fan watching fights on TV. He soon started training in Jiu-Jitsu to get into better shape.
“I was training with Christian Rophaermel, but after Katrina, our Jiu-Jitsu school kind of broke up,” Cazenave explained. “I started training with Warren Donnelly at New Level Gym, and I started adapting to mixed martial arts.”
He entered his first amateur match in June 2007, which he lost. However, he won his last fight against David Polk with a triangle choke (encircling the opponent’s neck and one arm with the legs).
Amateur fighters can’t strike with the elbows. They can strike with the knees but not when an opponent is on the ground. Also, they compete in three four-minute rounds. Pros fight in three five-minute rounds.
Cazenave’s opponents are usually not confirmed until the day of the event, which is a disadvantage to both fighters.
“In amateurs, we don’t get the chance to know a lot about our opponent,” he said. “So I just keep my same way of training no matter who I’m fighting unless I know of them and know their style. Then I’ll adapt.”
Cazenave considers himself a defensive fighter who is only aggressive when he needs to be. Training two hours a day, six days a week, the 170-pounder incorporates something different into his routine everyday.
“I do boxing one day, jiu-jitsu one day, wrestle one day and just strength and conditioning one day,” he said. “I mix it up.”
Out of the cage, the husband and soon-to-be father works in his family’s Vacherie car dealership, Cazenave Motor Company.
He and his wife of two years, Jeana, are expecting their first child in October.
Even with a successful family business and a child due soon, Cazenave can envision himself becoming a professional mixed martial arts fighter.
“One day I’d like to become a pro at it,” he said. “I don’t think it will be, like, my main job, but that’s one of my goals: To become a pro one day.”
General admission tickets are available through ticketmaster.com. Prices range from $25 to $65 (tax and service charges not included).
Ringside VIP tables seat eight and cost $1,000. The second row of tables, which also seat eight people, cost $800. For VIP tables, call Dr. Ricco Impasto at (985) 788-0566.
