Local fighter wins debut

Joe Mengali TKOs first opponent in Las Vegas bout
Healdsburg’s Joe Mengali began his MMA career with a bang on May
28, battering opponent Tim Martyn for just a minute and 10 seconds
before the referee called the fight.
MMA, short for Mixed Martial Arts, is a full contact sport that
allows fighters to use a variety of fighting techniques to subdue
his or her opponent. While some matches may feature two fighters on
their feet striking one another with punches and kicks, others
include two fighters who prefer to fight on the ground. The match
ends when one fighter is knocked out, taps out (surrenders) or the
fight is halted by the referee when one fighter is no longer
capable of defending him or herself.
The sport has surged in popularity in the past decade with the
success of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a promotion company
that hosts fights around the world and broadcasts them in Pay Per
View events watched all over the globe.
Fighters like Mengali, 32, must compete for smaller promoters to
attract the attention of larger promoters—like Ultimate Fighting
Championship—to launch their careers. On May 28 Mengali made the
trip to Las Vegas to compete in the TUFF-N-UFF Fights UFC Expo,
making quick work of his rival to improve to 1-0 in his career.
“The guy wasn’t intelligently defending himself, and the ref
stopped it,” said Mengali. “He wasn’t as prepared as I was.”
The fight was years in the making for the former Healdsburg High
School football player who grew up in the Dry Creek Valley. He
remembers himself as a small kid who was interested in boxing and
fighting but never had an opportunity. Instead he played football
for the Hounds and coach Tom Kirkpatrick, and later at Santa Rosa
Junior College.
As for all Healdsburg kids, childhood led to adult
responsibilities for Mengali. He got married to his wife Renee,
started his own construction business and settled into his adult
life. His wife had no idea she was marrying a man who years later
would decide to become a professional fighter.
“Never in a million years did I think I would be married to a
cage fighter,” she said. “From day one it was an obvious fit for
everything that makes up Joe Mengali. You could just tell he loved
it. He would come back from practice with the biggest smile on his
face and tell me everything he had learned.”
Mengali began fighting as an outlet to his busy work week. “I
grew up working and I’m used to working all day,” he said. “It got
to the point where I was working all the time and I needed an
outlet.”
And so he began training under Hector Solis at TKS Martial Arts
in Healdsburg, a gym and school that teaches defensive tactics
employed by the United States military and law enforcement.
Sparring and tournaments led Mengali to a simple conclusion: “When
you punch me it doesn’t make me want to curl up into a ball,” he
said. “I have good responses. I thought, I want to do this, I want
to give it a shot.”
He also hopes to incorporate professional fighting with a career
in fitness and nutrition, and wants to help others achieve their
goals. “I want to help people who are serious, but not getting the
results they’re looking for,” he said. “I’d like to help people
with their diets. I love weight training and fitness, and I think
I’m going to get my chance to do this.”
As for fighting, he’s hoping for a better prepared opponent for
his second match and a better personal approach. “I let myself get
too into the moment,” he said. “I get too excited when I start
throwing punches. I should have remained calmer and danced around
more.”
Whoever he fights, he’ll likely hear his wife from the stands.
“Another side of my personality started coming out,” said Renee of
the first fight. “I’m screaming some serious profanities, which is
not my normal way of acting. It definitely transformed me into an
avid fan of MMA.”