Rookie Curtis Looks To Be a Cagey Veteran

Ex-Wrestler Makes Pro Debut Tonight

Johnny Curtis, right: "It's wild to me to think how popular this sport is." (Courtesy Of Johnny Curtis)

Johnny Curtis has wrestled in 13 countries, from Argentina to Uzbekistan. But when the former George Mason wrestler competed on his own campus, it was in an outdated auxiliary gym.

Tonight, Curtis will compete at the 10,000-seat Patriot Center on George Mason's campus for the first time. He will make his professional mixed martial arts debut at Smash, the arena's first mixed martial arts event. As of yesterday, 1,000 tickets have been sold and event organizers said they expect 2,000 more to be sold at the door, which opens at 6 p.m. The first fight of the scheduled 11-bout card is scheduled to begin at 7:30.

Curtis will take on Bill Clifford (5-2) of Fort Wayne, Ind., in one of the undercard bouts. The card is headlined by the third matchup of cage veterans Travis "Diesel" Wiuff (47-11, 13 TKOs, 18 submissions) and Travis "The Ironman" Fulton (182-43-9, 56 TKOs, 120 submissions, 1 no contest). Wiuff won victories by decision over Fulton in 2002 and 2003.

"It's going to be neat," Curtis said. "It's wild to me to think how popular this sport is. It's pretty popular. I've just realized that."

A Fairfax High School graduate, Curtis, 37, is George Mason's only two-time wrestling all-American. After graduating with a government and politics degree in 1993, he joined the U.S. national wrestling team and trained alongside current mixed martial arts stars Randy Couture and Dan Henderson.

During his four years with the national team, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound wrestler participated in shows in countries throughout the world, taking on prisoners in Kazakhstan and wrestling before the president of Macedonia, who had recently survived an assassination attempt.

His dream was to make the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, but when that didn't happen he returned home to work full-time at the tree removal business he owns with his brother in Manassas, Freedom Tree Service.

Curtis shifted his focus to his wife of 11 years, Karen, and their four kids, who range in age from 1 to 7 years old. Because of his parental duties, he trains just one night a week at One Spirit Martial Arts in Herndon, where he spends four hours beating up a bag or other students, then another 45 minutes conducting a Bible study group.

"I'm very thankful. I've won a lot of big things and achieved a lot of things," Curtis said. "My big goal of making the Olympic team, I didn't achieve. I've tasted the sweetness of victory and the sour of defeats. It doesn't plague me. At this stage of my life, with my wife and my four kids, it's a different level of joy."

The only wrestling Curtis did over the past several years was as an assistant volunteer coach at George Mason and while conducting the occasional takedown seminar at One Spirit Martial Arts. But Curtis saw the expanding local opportunities in mixed martial arts as a last chance to compete. So he decided to give the sport a try this past August.

"I tell my wife, it's my early midlife crisis," Curtis quipped.

His conditioning routine consists of splitting wood, during which he chops as hard as possible for seven minutes, takes a one-minute break, and then goes at it again. He had his first amateur fight on Sept. 1, just weeks after strapping on boxing gloves for the first time. He's since won all three of his amateur fights in the first round via submission.

"God gave people different gifts," Curtis said. "I'm a good choker."

While the only acclaim Curtis has had during his mixed martial arts career is a few trophies his children drool over, this bout would pay $2,000 if he wins because of his wrestling reputation and local ties. Yet Curtis is still struggling with how he wants to be introduced to the home crowd.

"How about, Johnny 'Freedom' Curtis?" he says, making a reference to his tree removal business. "Gotta get some free marketing in."