Fighters from across the country will be in the Quad Cities as the MMA event Caged Aggression takes over the RiverCenter in Davenport. Some hometown favorites will try to take their extreme sport to the next level by building on a foundation that started here in the Quad Cities.
For Zack Micklewright, the youngest of four kids, growing up he was always the one to be picked on, but now he is fighting his own battles.
"I kind of just signed up one night and fought and I ended up fighting a guy that's now my teammate," said Micklewright
The Davenport native has been a mixed martial artist for eight years. He started off as an MMA amateur with a record 10-3, then went pro. Eight weeks of training, five days a week, twice a day, all to prepare him for his next fight in his hometown.
"It's going to be a big test, but I don't plan on not getting my hand raised," said Micklewright.
Micklewright is just one in a long of MMA and UFC fighters to come from the Quad Cities. The biggest name Pat Miletich, once the UFC Welterweight Champion. Miletich grew up in Bettendorf and was the driving force behind the sports growth in the Quad Cities.
"Pat Miletich is a big staple in the MMA community and the quad cities," said Micklewright.
Now Miletich helps teach future champion, hope they can follow in Miletich's footsteps.
"I think we have a group now that's gonna take over the MMA world and do big things in MMA," said Micklewright.