Fight Gone CrossFit Jack Goodson examines the link between mixed martial arts and CrossFit. By Jack Goodson April 2011 Staff/CrossFit Journal Staff/CrossFit Fight Gone Bad—famed mixed martial artist B.J. Penn named it. CrossFitters both love and fear it. 1 of 7 Copyright © 2011 CrossFit, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Subscription info at journal.crossfit.com CrossFit is a registered trademark ® of CrossFit, Inc. Feedback to
[email protected] Visit CrossFit.com Fight ... (continued) The workout, a benchmark in the CrossFit community, A Shared Philosophy was designed to match the metabolic demands of an The similarities—they start with a common axiom. organized MMA fight. Five minutes on, 1 minute off for 3-5 rounds. Sounds simple enough. John Hackleman literally needs no introduction. The long-time trainer of Ultimate Fighting Championship Sure. Words such as “brutal” or “savage”—and assorted (UFC) Hall of Fame fighter Chuck Liddell, Hackleman has others—come to mind when describing just how taxing been reshaping the MMA landscape for more than two this workout is. Penn, when quizzed on how it compared decades at The Pit, his very own slice of MMA and condi- to an actual bout in the cage, commented that it was akin tioning heaven now located in Arroyo Grande, Calif. to a fight gone bad. The rest, as they say, is history. Hackleman stresses physical conditioning, power and CrossFit has grown exponentially since CrossFit founder discipline. Very CrossFit. and CEO Greg Glassman teamed with Penn to name this monster at the turn of the millennium. As of 2011, the In fact, Hackleman—The Pit Master, as he is known around number of affiliate gyms has increased from 18 in 2005 town—began living a CrossFit-esque lifestyle long before to over 2,400.