By Dustin DeLaTorre
Michael Lynch is CEO and creator of CAGE vs. Cons, with an instant rivalry built in with a police officer being pitted to fight an ex-con he and his company are back for another show and looking to capitalize on their first shows success which drew over 10,000 people in attendance, Cage vs. Cons 2 is back on Saturday November 19, 2011 at the Pico Rivera sports arena. Lynch sat down to talk about much more then just fighting as he looks to grow his Cage vs., Cons brand.
FHTV: Michael Lynch, can you share with us your back story?
ML: I had been incarcerated for a long time. I went from juvenile hall to youth authority to prison and when I was in prison I had an idea about doing an underground fight club. When I was released from prison I really wanted to change my life and ended up doing Felony Fights which became an underground phenomenon which was a best seller at stores such as Best Buy. I wanted Felony Fights to get a point across which was put the guns down and your fists up; I pictured it as the ultimate gladiator. I remember when MMA came out and I thought it was such a cool sport. I had always wanted to get involved in the MMA industry. Cage vs. Cons has been in the making for years, with a police officer fighting an ex-con. In 2006 I was going to do a project where a cop takes on a con in a fight and that is how Cage vs. Cons came about. It does not matter what you think. In the world that I came from, cops are looked on one way and that is not in a positive way; that can be said for how regular society thinks of ex-cons where they think that those cons can not make anything of themselves. I wanted to show the public that it does not matter if you are a cop or a con, that if you are trying to be a professional mixed martial artist you have to train, eat and sleep to have dedicated your life to the sport. Once the bell rings to start the fight your background does not matter, whoever trained harder will show in the cage come fight day.
FHTV: Felony Fights is what got you here, do you still want to be known as Michael Lynch from Felony Fights or Michael Lynch the Cage vs. Cons promoter be suited for you?
ML: With Felony Fights, my point of put down the guns and put up the fist got lost because only started to see the violence and the gangs. A couple years ago I walked away from all of it and decide to take on the simple life. I gave my life to God and let him direct me. I also will not hide from felony fights, there were two ways to come out about it which was hide from it or accept it and say yeah that brought me to Cage vs Cons. From a business stand point it was something that I had to do. Felony Fights still has a big following and those people showed up to the first show and packed the stands. We still need and want those fans.
FHTV: Who has the advantage come fight time the Cop or the Con?
ML: People would like to think it’s the con because they have been fighting all their life but the thing that people tend to think is that the cop, or firefighter have been training to be disciplined all their life. I just say it comes down to who wants to be the best MMA fighter. That is exactly what we are hoping to show with our promotion come Saturday with Ismael Gonzales taking on Nick Christy. When someone sees the billboards they automatically have an opinion on the fights and once they can get past that they can finally understand the mission statement of our company which is redemption. No matter where you come from, we want to make hero’s out of the guys we have fighting. We want to show the young kid who is in a gang that they can make something out of their lives. At the same time, I want people to see someone like Ismael and be he is one cool dude I want to be like him. He is an honest guy who loves to fight and is someone that everyone should look up to.
FHTV: Did you ever see Felony Fights as something that had a Kimbo Slice backyard feel to it?
ML: I have received a lot of criticism and that tells me something I am doing something right and society doesn’t see it as a norm and they don’t see it as a norm so I see it as I am doing something right. A lot of people do not like the urban demo graphic and I want the urban demographic to be at our fights. People like that underground hat underground crazy stuff; they saw our first show and enjoyed it. I think I am doing something great for the sport because I want the urban demographic.
FHTV: With the success of the first show does Cage vs. Cons want to try different states to put on shows and showcase the MMA talent in those states?
ML: Our next show will be here in southernCalifornia down here in thePicoRiver sports arena. Our following show will be in another state I am currently looking at a few other states right now. In 2012 we will be going down to Brazil, my partner owns a social media company down in brazil, we already have all the connections along with the venues ready to go for the show to take place down there in brazil. We will bring some of our fighters fromAmerica down toBrazil and hold a show. So far we have had a great response from a lot of people. People are inviting us to come out to there locations.
FHTV: Can you share your thoughts on Ismael as a fighter and as a person?
ML: He is a great guy, he walked into that crowd on our first show and was just booed, I was sitting there and I was upset I took it personal and I could not believe people were booing one of our own fighters. When I look back now the best thing for our company was for Ismael to win because people would have said I rigged it for the con to win. And when he took the microphone he could have easily mocked the crowded and he didn’t, he immediately thanked the crowd and said this is all for the kids. With someone like Ismael I think he will help our company grow, he has taken a lot of flack from his company because he stands by us. He has told me because he will never fight for anyone but us, and I am thankful for that.
FHTV: What does the word redemption mean to you?
ML: It means that your can transform; a person can change the direction that they are headed in. Redemption is all about transformation and becoming something different and becoming something better. No mater what people have told you all your life you can change and do what you want to do.
