Body Elite owners expand into boxing, MMA

The owners of the Body Elite gyms were not looking to open a boxing and mixed martial arts gym.

But when the opportunity presented itself, they jumped at it.

After buying out Extreme Fitness in East Houma in October 2008 and performing a $250,000 renovation, Larry Blanchard opened the new 6,000-square-foot Body Elite Boxing & MMA gym in January.

“We have close to 3,000 members at our gyms and about 100 are interested in mixed martial arts fighting. So, this was a given,” said Blanchard, who owns Body Elite with wife Nicole. “This gives them a central location to train.”

The facility, located at 1221 Grand Caillou Road, features a full-size, 20-square-foot boxing ring, a small-scake 16-square-foot ultimate fighting cage, a padded room to practice grappling and take down maneuvers, speed bag platforms, grappling dummies and a dozen Thai heavy and kick bags.

There are plasma televisions continuously showing instructional mixed martial arts videos from such masters of the sport as Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz.

There is also a viewing deck where one can watch fighters spar and train in the cage.

“You won’t see any gyms like this in the state probably,” Blanchard said. “The one that comes closest is the Gladiator Academy in Baton Rouge. But I don’t think they even have quite as much equipment to beat and just do stuff with. I went first class, spared no expense.”

The Boxing & MMA gym hours are Monday through Friday, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Any member of Body Elite’s other two locations can use the Boxing & MMA gym at no extra cost.

Although the new facility has four instructors who can teach the basics of various fighting styles, it is not a class-intensive gym. Rather, it is designed as an equipment-intensive facility for fighters.

One of the Blanchards’ main reasons for opening the Boxing & MMA gym is to return to fight promotions. They hope the gym will provide a reservoir of fighters for future events.

Nicole Blanchard is Louisiana’s only licensed female boxing and mixed martial arts promoter.

Larry Blanchard helped bring MMA bouts to Houma a decade ago with a regional MMA organization called Reality Boys. Back then, the sport was not as popular with the public, especially local officials.

“Ten years ago, they hated ultimate fighting and mixed martial arts. They didn’t want it in this town,” Larry Blanchard said. “We tried putting on the fights, but everywhere we went Sheriff (Jerry) Larpenter or the police chief at the time thought it was street fighting, so they didn’t want it anywhere. We had to put (fighters) in smoky nightclubs like the Abyss because that’s the only place that would have us.”

Eventually, the Blanchards began promoting cards in larger venues: the Cajun Center, Town Hall and the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, where in February 2008, they promoted the “Civil War” between Ricky Folse and Justin Verdin.

“Nobody figured how fast MMA would grow,” Blanchard said. “Kids these days are raised on this. I have a feeling someday this is going to be as big as football. I’m an old-school boxing fan, but it’s fading out, and I want to do something to keep that going.”

Despite the growing popularity of MMA, the Blanchards are still battling the perception that the sports’ combatants are unskilled tough guys competing in a human version of cockfighting.

“I went to the state promoters’ meeting on Jan. 8 and they want fighters to have a minimum of 30 days training, which we as gym owners don’t agree with,” Nicole Blanchard said. “We say they should train all the time. You don’t throw two people off the street in the cage, or one person who’s lost two or three fights with a person who has never fought before.”

The Blanchards hope to see more fighters like Larry’s nephew, Matt Blanchard, Boxing & MMA gym manager and resident trainer.

The 25-year-old former Army sergeant is fluent in Muay-Thai, boxing and judo. Before serving two tours in Iraq from 2003-08, Blanchard was 4-2 as an amateur, and wants to use the gym as a springboard to propel his career.

“The sport has grown so much, I have to catch up to speed with what stuff is out there. Fighters are so versatile today,” he said. “Now, I have this opportunity with this gym that I can train in and train others. I look forward to just getting back in the cage. Hopefully, one day, I can make it to the UFC or something like that.”

Although the new facility is open, the Blanchards still have more equipment they want to add, including a makiwara (a padded striking post) and a 32-foot fighting cage.

Once that is done, they will pursue plans they had before the Boxing & MMA gym opportunity presented itself, which is opening a new Body Elite in downtown Houma.

“We talked about that before this just dropped in our lap,” Nicole Blanchard said. “We almost closed the deal on a building, but that fell through because of parking issues. But our next move is definitely going to be putting a nice huge facility downtown.”

Local mixed martial arts fighters Adam Peeples, (left) and John Thibodaux spar in Body Elite’s new Boxing and MMA gym in East Houma. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF