When the Cage Door Closes: Mixed-martial artist Nick Newell on fighting, retirement and his new gym

On a late October night last year, a man stood solemn in victory in the center of a cage in Mashantucket, Conn. His face was marked with a few small bruises and cuts, minor damages for a man who had just fought for fifteen minutes. With a microphone held up to his reddened lips, Nick Newell unexpectedly announced his retirement.

His voice carried the weight of a man closing a door he had been fighting so hard to keep open. The crowd stood and applauded in genuine appreciation as the hometown fighter left the cage with bittersweet tears clouding his eyes. He was 29 years old.

Any mixed-martial artist with the dreams of going professional faces a myriad of obstacles and adversities: decades spent learning a brutal craft, endless rounds of hard sparring and physical labor in the gym, a steel-like discipline that compromises every element of their lives.

But Newell faced an obstacle that most fighters and fans alike would consider insurmountable. He was born with a congenital amputation of his left arm and spent much of his amateur and professional career — and his wrestling days beforehand — being counted out or considered an underdog. But after 14 professional fights and a record of 13 wins and one loss, Newell is defined by his success in the cage, not by his lack of a full arm.

Newell grew up in Milford, Conn. and enjoyed a successful wrestling career in high school, and later at Western New England College in Springfield, Mass. He made his professional MMA debut in 2009, and for six years he proved doubters wrong with every fight.

His decision to retire in 2015 neither resulted from a decline in skill nor a softening of his competitive edge. Though he had won his final two fights, his body hurt from the numerous injuries and the difficult training camps; he was so injured in the lead-up to his World Series of Fighting bout against Tom Marcellino that he had to cut 20 pounds in a day to meet the lightweight requirement of 155 pounds, as his body had not been able to go through the rigorous training necessary for a healthy weight cut.

“I kept getting hurt and as soon as I worked on healing one thing, another would happen,” Newell said. “It was like Murphy’s Law. I felt the world was against me.”

While his career in the cage may be over, Newell is only getting started on his life-long commitment to the sport of mixed-martial arts. In the aftermath of his final victory and his sudden retirement, Newell spoke about his plans to one day open up his own gym.

Last Saturday, that dream came to fruition.

Fighting Arts Academy in West Haven, Conn. had its grand opening on April 2. The gym bears the same name as the one in Springfield where Newell spent much of his time training during his professional fighting career.

“It was a success,” Newell said. “I must have had well over 100 people there and signed up a bunch of new members.”

Fighting Arts Academy (FAA) offers classes in mixed-martial arts as well as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai, fitness kickboxing and wrestling. The gym also offers classes for kids from ages seven to 13. All newcomers are welcome, from aspiring fighters to people looking to get in shape through martial arts training.

For Newell, FAA presents the opportunity to keep his passion for martial arts ignited while making an impact on his community. His painful decision to retire last year does not sting as it once did — but his competitive urge still lingers.

“There’s things I miss and I still have that itch,” Newell said. “But it’s very low on my priority list.”

His itch to lace up the gloves again is an understandable one, after all he accomplished in his six-year professional career. He won 10 of his first 11 fights by first-round finish (eight submissions and two knockouts). As for his left arm, Newell lets the media write feel-good stories of perseverance and defeating the odds, but to him, there was no disability to speak of. He did not stand apart from his competitors by his lack of a left hand, but rather by his work ethic.

“I don’t think there’s anything special about me,” he said. “Except for the fact that I work really hard, I train really hard,” he said.

The greatest payoff for his hard work came on Dec. 7, 2012 when he faced Eric Reynolds for the XFC Lightweight Championship. Newell was confident, if reserved, heading into the bout, knowing he had it in him to win, but that it would be a tough fight. Reynolds, at the time of the XFC champion, had a strong record against stiff competition, including future Ultimate Fighting Championship fighters. Newell entered the contest as a heavy underdog.

Within 90 seconds the fight was over. Newell took Reynolds to the ground and used slick, effortless jiu-jitsu to mount his back and sink in a tight rear-naked choke. Newell did not loosen his grip as Reynolds stood, and then crashed back to the mat in a desperate escape attempt. Reynolds tapped and Newell stood up only for a brief moment, soon collapsing to the floor as the elation of victory washed over him.

In that moment, he was not a fairytale story as the commentators jubilantly shouted, not an amputee who should be proud to just be competing. He was a champion.

That night, as Newell paced around the cage howling triumphantly, the television camera panned to a young boy in the crowd who cheered with a similar elation. The boy’s arms were raised over his head, the left one ending above his elbow, like the left arm of the victorious fighter in the cage. When the cage door opened, the boy rushed up the steps and was met with a hug from Newell.

While Newell said becoming a champion was the best moment of his MMA career, that night displayed his potential to have a greater impact from outside of the cage than inside of it.

With his new gym open and already thriving, Newell has only just started making his mark on the world of martial arts. Whether or not his everlasting itch to compete leads him back to professional prizefighting, his name will not soon be forgotten in this sport.

You can find information about Fighting Arts Academy in Connecticut at fightingartsct.com.

Sam can be reached at [email protected].