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GFL premieres new reality show, 'I Wanna Be a Global Fighter' By Evan Mugford Staff writer AMESBURY — It may not look like much from the outside, but there is a storm brewing within 77 Elm St.'s Old Mill warehouse. The newest venture for Amesbury native Scott Millette's mixed martial arts brainchild, the Global Fight League, is his most novel and exciting idea yet: reality programming. After a pair of meet and greets at the Mad River Tavern in Amesbury and Jillian's Billiards Club in Manchester, N.H., where nearly 100 MMA fans gathered, Millette and his crew handpicked a gang of 10 average joes with aspirations to train and eventually fight within a legitimate MMA contest. The reason for the casting calls is the GFL's latest endeavor, "I Wanna Be a Global Fighter." The format for the show, which is pending considering an assortment of twists Millette is promising, is a six-week MMA training regimen between two teams of five — Team Guy Chase and Team Seacoast. After an assortment of elimination episodes, the teams will be skimmed down to a single remaining fighter from each team, and then be given the chance to fight on the upcoming GFL 4 fight card on Sept. 19. Each team will be training four times a week: once under the lights and camera (three-hour session), the other three times at their home team's gym. The home gyms in question are held by the two supporting MMA camps that were brought in to help get the 10 participants into fighting shape. Team Guy Chase, of the Guy Chase Academy of Martial Arts in Greenland, N.H., is made up of Guy Chase, Aldo Batista and guest trainer Chris Fisette. Team Seacoast, of the Seacoast Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) and MMA, is comprised of Troy Pickering, Adam Rivera, Keith Walsh and guest trainer Trevor Stone. Seacoast trainer and co-owner, Northwood, N.H.'s Pickering, a 32-year-old police officer with an extensive martial arts background in catch wrestling and Pancrase fighting, believes his team of trainers will serve his five fighters well. "Each of the instructors offers something different," said Pickering. "Keith Walsh is probably the best muay thai specialist I have ever trained with; Adam Rivera is a great MMA fighter with strong striking skills, and I am a former Pancrase fighter with a focus on submissions — so each of us brings something different to the table. "Our goal is to figure out what their strengths are and focus on what they need to improve upon," said Pickering, who currently trains four MMA fighters: Cody Lightfoot, Dan Curry, Trevor Stone and Bob Caverly. "We don't have enough time to turn them into well-rounded fighters, but the idea is to accentuate their strengths and minimize their weaknesses, and hopefully, we come out on top." The episodes will eventually be aired on two Web sites: gflmma.com and bostonbrawler.com. The training episodes will last 22 minutes, whereas elimination episodes — where contestants will fight — will be doubled to 44 minutes. The GFL set, alongside its cast of trainers, producers and crew, is highly impressive. The gym is an MMA spectacle of vibrant colors, old and upcoming promos, punching bags, shelved Tokkyo Nutrition supplements (the GFL's official sponsor) and the exact 24-foot GFL caged ring that is featured in their local events. Team Seacoast was on hand last night for their initial training session, and each of the participants, palms sweaty and adrenaline flowing, was eager to begin what they all coined "a once in a lifetime experience." An intern doing design work as a mechanical engineer, 22-year-old Joe Leverone, a Rumney, N.H., native, is a hockey player who has always enjoyed the thrill of contact sports. "I've always seen it, and I thought, "Wow, I could do that,'" said Leverone, who initially heard about the show on the radio, "and when this opportunity came up, I just figured that this could be my chance." Employed for a collection agency, 27-year-old Metheun native Juan Guillermo Maldonado has wrestling experience throughout the Greater Lawrence area, and has always fancied himself an MMA fan. "My friend told me it was a great opportunity, and I've always wanted to try my hand at this," said Maldonado. "I've been to the past two GFLs and I thought they were great. When I heard about this and how they were going to train you, it seemed like I couldn't pass it up." A landscaper under Salisbury's Dan Greene — the head trainer for the Cagestrikers — 25-year-old Hampton, N.H., resident Justin Wear, father to 18-month-old Molly, was struggling to find time to train in MMA. "I've been around the GFL and its fighters for a little bit now, and though I've never had the opportunity to get in shape and actually train because of my young daughter and my girlfriend's work schedule," said Wear, who wrestled at Ithaca College and has served as an assistant coach at Philips-Exeter Academy for the past two years, "the seas have kind of parted and things have aligned. I'm just glad that they liked me enough to give me the opportunity." A full-time student at the University of New Hampshire-Manchester (a health science major) and an active reserve in the United States Marine Corps, 29-year-old Manchester, N.H., resident Aaron Keller believes he has the necessary background to become a successful MMA fighter. "I have a slight background in martial arts thanks to the Marine Corps, but really, I just figured it was an opportunity of a lifetime, so I took it," said Keller, who played hockey at the National Sports Academy and at Plymouth State University. "I always wanted to get into something cool like this. One of my platoon commanders who I was in Iraq with is in the Ultimate Fighting Championship right now, Brian Stann." Haverhill resident, 28-year-old Kevin Teague, is a bridge construction worker who is unsure whether his physically draining job will couple well with his newest endeavor. "It's kind of nerve-racking. I'm killing myself all day with a jackhammer and then coming here to train, but hey, it's a once in a lifetime experience. Gotta live it up," said Teague, who boxed and wrestled when he was young, and did some Marine combat training with the Coast Guard. "I'm here because I want to prove to myself that I can do it. You watch these guys make it look so easy, but you don't see behind the scenes and how hard they actually work at it. So I'd like to put myself in that situation to see if I have what it takes to train, and then go on and fight someone." Millette's debut within the booming world of MMA has already presented a trio of successful shows, but his latest outing, he explained, is something he's always wanted to do. "For me, as far as the GFL is concerned, this is my dream; we're living it now," he said. "We started off doing events, and we're excited about those, and the last event was probably one of the proudest nights of my life. But something that I've always wanted to do was to produce a television show, and MMA and the GFL have given me the perfect platform." Millette hopes that, akin to the UFC's Spike television show, the GFL may uncover a diamond in the rough. "What I hope to get from this is to find new athletes and individuals that are ready to be the next great MMA fighter," said Millette. "We're giving guys that opportunity to be the next Forrest Griffin or Stephan Bonnar, and that's what we're all hoping for."

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Comment by Joseph Anthony Wenckus III on March 3, 2010 at 11:47am
i didnt get picked but ended up fighting on another date for them so it is worth a try next year.
Comment by Willmann R. on February 4, 2010 at 7:15pm
u cant tell me sh!#

Comment by Justin Marcotte on August 23, 2009 at 7:23pm
finding out too late that is...
Comment by Justin Marcotte on August 23, 2009 at 7:23pm
too bad for me, i couldnt get my medicals done in time due to finding out about this awesome venture you all are doing... maybe next year!
Comment by aaron p keller on August 19, 2009 at 4:23pm
I mean article
Comment by aaron p keller on August 19, 2009 at 1:52pm
Great artical !

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