Lookin’ for a fight in central GA? Try RushMMA in Macon. 
A GeorgiaMMA.com Featured Gym
Take two gutsy, young MMA fighters, mix in an 8,000 square foot former trolley maintenance facility, $10,000 in startup capital and hundreds of hours of sweat equity and you’ve got RushMMA, the long time dream gym of partners Ben Pierce and David “Bubby” Mitchell.
We were greeted by the Rush founders on a recent visit to Macon for an RFL event and they graciously spent considerable time with us. Ben had his game face on – he was fighting that night at the Macon Coliseum and doubtless had other things on his mind, but the irrepressible Bubby held forth with the Rush story and even let Ben get in a few words in from time to time.
The guys told us that they started the gym in July of 2007 after years of talking about it. Both were about 23 at the time, young for entrepreneurs, even by California standards. The two met in Macon while in high school and had always trained together. They were interested in all things martial arts even then, enjoying informal boxing “nights” with buddies like current UFC’er Cole Miller, one of the most successful RushMMA alums. In 2003, Ben moved to Athens for four years spent at UGA and trained at the Hardcore Gym while going to school.
When Ben moved back to Macon, he found Bubby – still wrestling – and the two began training together again. Needing a place to train in central Georgia, the two began hatching plans for the gym that became RushMMA. They wanted a place where fighters could come and train, receive excellent training, join a team and get the support necessary to succeed in the hyper competitive world of combat sports.
Both agreed that starting the gym was a huge step – but that it has been well worth it. Bubby cashed out of a carwash venture that provided seed capital and living expenses since starting the gym. Ben works a day job and is at the facility until 11:30 every night. Bubby told us that the gym has exceeded expectations and grown to the point where both founders hope to be able to enjoy a return on their investment this year.
The business plan was to keep the overhead low and get word of the gym out to area fighters primarily through word of mouth. The two men did most of the rework of the facilities, which had previously been used as a power lifting facility, by themselves. Starting with a tight knit circle of about 20 friends, including six fighters, they have grown to a membership of over 80, fifteen of whom are active fighters.
We inquired about the unusual choice of names for the gym and earned a chuckle from Bubby. Seems the two fighters had been considering a wide range of names for quite some time. At one point, Bubby got a text message from a buddy while sitting in a bar – and RushMMA it was – although the specific details remain understandably fuzzy. Bubby says he once shaved his head for a fight and was told he resembled the “Rush” of St. Pierre fame – but says that they like the name because, after all – a “rush” can be whatever you want it to be.
RushMMA provides training in wrestling, jiu jitsu and boxing. Most instruction is handled by the founders, who receive assistance from David Mathews, who heads up their wrestling instruction and Fletcher Stephens, aka “Flex,” who handles boxing and is in the process of forming the RushMMA boxing team. If Rush has an overall fight philosophy, it’s that today’s MMA combatant must be balanced, multi-dimensional and extremely well conditioned. The conditioning part of the equation has also carried over into cardio kick boxing classes for women and children’s jiu jitsu instruction.
Located on busy, but convenient, Riverside Drive, Rush is hard to miss in Macon. The spacious 8,000 square foot facility includes a changing area, ring, speed and heavy bag stations and a huge mat training area (checkout our photo gallery for additional pics). Hours are from 11 AM until 1:00 PM and from 4:30 until 9:30PM– or by arrangement. Monthly training contracts run from $70 to $80 per month, depending on length. Special “active fighter” training programs, including management, are available. RushMMA sponsors include Cutting Edge Landscaping, Beyond Taboo Tattoos, Official FightGear.com, Friction Fight Wear and Iceman Rx.
We enjoyed our visit with Ben and Bubby and watched a number of RushMMA fighters in action that night in the RFL’s “Relentless” promotion in Macon. Their well conditioned, athletic battlers spoke volumes about the quality of training at RushMMA. It’s the place to learn to fight in central Georgia.
Ben and Bubby
We talked with the owners about their professional fighting careers. Bubby, who walks around in the low 130’s, has difficulty finding quality opponents. Through the efforts of many of his friends, he was signed to a 3 fight deal with the Palace Fighting Championships and won his first battle. He has two fights remaining and would love to do a tour in Japan with Shooto before his career is over, fighting as he says, against fellow 123 pound “munchkins.” His next fight is probably going to be a catch weight event in Anderson, IN during July. He will test his ailing shoulder in another PFC event against Ed Tomaselli in September after which he make a decision on possible shoulder surgery before stepping back into the cage.
Ben would like to go to 145 since he is a relatively small lightweight. With a full time day job, he battles to keep his training on track. He is interested in fighting in the PFC, RFL and WEC and takes good fights wherever he can find them. He has a fight scheduled against Ramonte Chapman in Dalton on June 6th and another possibility in the Dominican Republic later in the year at 145. A hard worker, he shared his 6 week fight training program with us – and we now fully understand why fighting is a young man’s game.
Jim Terwoord
GeorgiaMMA.com
JT@georgiamma.com
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