Story and photos
By David Clark
A local Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) success story, Chucky Mady brings a significant amount of fighting experience to the table when it comes to performing at MMA competitions he participates in all over the world. His approach to the sport is highly entertaining; he is known for his highlight reel activities in the ring as well. “The Energiza Bunny” is a fan favourite almost everywhere he goes.
Mady is a 3rd degree black belt in Isshinryu Karate with a background in Kickboxing, Judo and Wrestling. He hails from Mady’s Martial Arts gym in Windsor, Ontario where he is instructed by his father, Grandmaster Albert Mady who is also a highly-regarded person in the discipline. According to Mady, “He’s been training me all my life; he taught me about getting mentally ready and to visualize myself winning.” The tale of the tape, Mady is a youthful 22 years of age at 5’7” and weighs in at 135 pounds. He is presently employed at a local beer store and a licensed establishment in Windsor, Ontario.
Mady got “The Energiza Bunny” nickname because he can go the distance in the ring due to his extraordinary level of cardio fitness. He is also extremely quick with a spin hook kick and a flurry of fists as his competitors will tell you.In November 2008 at Shidokan, Philip Sehenuk of the United States was on the receiving end of one of those kicks, getting knocked out quickly in the third round by a very determined Mady. Like Canadian champion George St. Pierre of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Mady enjoys having strong Karate skills through his training in Isshinryu and St. Pierre’s discipline Kyokushin.
With a full contact sport like MMA, where cage-fighting happens, Mady doesn’t seem to be too concerned about his safety in the cage. “I go into the ring well-prepared. I’ve been doing it for a long time. We are trained to avoid injury and take safety precautions. I don’t think that MMA is dangerous because we are trained athletes who are conditioned for it,” says Mady. The referees are also prepared to stop a fight if someone is in trouble. Today, in MMA, health and safety is paramount as the fighters are closely observed through EKG’s, blood work and other medical testing.
Back at age 16, Mady started to fight in MMA amateur contests. He has a highly respectable 8-3 record as a junior fighter. As an amateur, Mady fought 3, three minute rounds in every contest but the title fights were 5, three minute rounds in duration.
Mady was very young when he entered the MMA ring but well-prepared because of his previous training. At the time, he brought a lot of experience into the ring including Karate from three years of age and Kickboxing around seven. He also had the wrestling background he needed in order to be an exceptional submission artist in the ring. Mady surprised everyone because he was performing so well as a grappler when his strength was in striking. In most of his amateur bouts, Mady submitted his opponents through utilizing wrestling techniques.
When it was time to sign up, Mady’s father fast-tracked him into MMA by signing a waiver that he was fully prepared to fight at this level even though he was only 16. The minimum age was 18 at the time. The promoter knew he was well trained and capable.
In his first fight, Mady fought a 24 year old man from Detroit. “My first fight was the hardest because I didn’t know what to expect,” remarked Mady. He had just climbed into the ring with a guy who had eight years on him and defeated him by applying a guillotine hold that led to submission. His ring smarts were very apparent at the time even with no previous MMA experience.
As a pro, starting at 19 years of age, Mady has a respectable 3-2 record at this time, all of which were sanctioned fights. He also has a stunning 5-0 record in other professional bouts he participated in. His pro debut was at the “King of the Cage” tournament in Michigan where the promoter requested his attendance. “In the pro ranks, competitors get a “show-up” fee and a win bonus to start while your flight, hotel and meals are paid for too. “In amateur, there’s a lot of politics going on, nothing is paid for and the promoters are hard to deal with,” exclaimed Mady. With different pro organizations and different titles to win, as a professional, Mady will move towards the UFC by winning some of the pro tournaments like the “King of the Cage” competitions.
A fight worth remembering in December of 2009, Mady was honoured to fight in the first ever MMA event to be held in the Middle East. He went up against an excellent fighter, Kiko Lopez (3-1) out of California having previously studied his fight videos, looking for weaknesses. “It was supposed to be my toughest fight,” said Mady. He managed to knock out Kiko just seconds into the first round with a punishing knee to the face that left him confused and bewildered. Mady has a history of delivering first round knockouts like the match where he sent a kick to his opponent’s face just 3 seconds into the fight, knocking him out instantly. Regarding MMA, the sport is actually a wide variety of fighting disciplines including karate, boxing, judo, kickboxing and wrestling. striking (stand-up) and grappling (ground) are the activities that take place in an MMA ring. Mady is better at striking but has won several contests through (ground) submission as well.
More people are accepting this as a legitimate sport at this time because safety measures have been implemented, steadily improving the reputation of the sport. Fights are called off if a competitor can’t defend himself, is knocked out or submitted on the ground. Mady comments, “I’m not sure why some people would enter the cage if they’re not ready. The coaches need to be certain that a fighter is prepared.” MMA is set to be regulated in Ontario starting in 2011.
MMA draws a huge crowd when it comes to regular TV and pay-per-view programming. MMA also fills up a lot of seats in casinos and arenas throughout North America. The popularity of the sport is soaring in Canada and the U.S. where many race to their televisions to watch MMA contests including the popular UFC programming.
Mady is open to the possibility of fighting in the UFC but he would need to push his weight to 155 lbs. (from 135) in order to qualify for the UFC’s starting weight class. Also, “Negotiating a contract with the UFC is a little tricky because you may sign on for so much money but you don’t know when those fights will take place,” says Mady. According to him, it would be somewhat difficult to deal with your commitments or plan ahead when things are like that. For now, Mady was just informed that he can fight with another professional MMA organization called “Strikeforce” which happens to be one of the top three outfits under the wing of MMA, just below the UFC in the hierarchy.
The UFC spectacle has helped the sport became more recognized and accepted in the last few years but fighters like Mady also bring the goods home with an incredible 196 bouts under his belt involving Kickboxing, Karate and MMA efforts. If you were to watch his fights on U Tube (Search: Chuck “The Energiza Bunny” Mady) or pay-per-view/TV, you will understand why he is so highly-regarded in MMA circles and with his legion of fans. That kind of experience commands the respect of all of the competitors he faces. Mady would be very interested in pursuing an opportunity with the UFC if it presents itself.
In Ontario, it is now legal for MMA events to happen at facilities in places like Windsor including the WFCU and of course, the casino. According to Mady, ”The market for MMA in this area is better than Toronto or Ottawa with Detroit being across the river.” Without a doubt, Mady would be a good ambassador for the sport here. He is the most successful MMA fighter to come out of this Windsor.
It takes a significant amount of experience in Karate, Kickboxing and MMA style fighting to pull this off. Mady is fluent in all of these disciplines starting with a whopping 15+ years of experience in Isshinryu Karate. He has been trained by his father who possesses a 9th degree black belt and runs his own gym in Windsor, Ontario. Mady himself has achieved a 3rd degree black belt in the discipline.
The MMA component of this fight is Round 3 where the fight becomes wide open. The 5 oz. finger gloves go on and shots to the head are OK. Knees or kicks to the head or groin are strictly prohibited but kicking everywhere else is alright. Additionally, Round 3 is a “submission” round if the fight goes to the ground. Mady has defeated several opponents in the past through using wrestling techniques as well as karate and kickboxing.
The entertainment value of such a venue is worth the trip to Chicago alone. To see such a widespread example of fighting disciplines in one tournament is extremely exciting, especially when a winning local fighter participates. “The Energiza Bunny” will be found in the Windy City at “Shidokan” on November 27, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency Chicago in the Crystal Ballroom.
Look for it on television and/or pay-per-view including ESPN, HDnet or possibly Fox Sportsnet.
