In a few seconds the fight will be over. The sweaty and scarred athletes fall to the ground under the eyes of 2,200 spectators. The two men compete in an octagonal cage in the Small Olympic Hall. It’s the last moments in the third round of battle for Sebastian Stallinger from Munich. The muscles and tattoos of the 1.80 meter tall and almost 79 kilogram man shine. The 34-year-old’s dark, short hair is disheveled. Everything is being demanded of his well-trained body in the fight against the Iranian Iman Samarghandi. Stallinger’s coach and supervisor can no longer stay in their seats at the edge of the cage. “You have to work!” they shout to their “Stalli”. And then it happens: Takedown! The two mixed martial arts (MMA) pro athletes go down. But only one remains on top.
Since 2010, “We Love MMA” fights at amateur and pro levels have been big in German cities. According to the organizers, it is the “toughest league” in Germany. First stop of the 2024 season: the sold-out Small Olympic Hall on March 9th. But what is MMA actually and who takes part in such a fight in the cage?
Mixed Martial Arts combines techniques from numerous full-contact combat sports such as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or kickboxing with various punching and kicking techniques as well as knee and elbow strikes. Little is forbidden. Even if a fighter is on the ground, attacks can and should continue.
“It can seem brutal to laypeople,” says Stallinger two days before the fight in the Small Olympic Hall. In a hoodie and sweatpants, he sits on a couch in the gym of his team, the “Munich Top Team MMA & Fitness” in Karlsfeld. He needs to relax now, the training is over. He has been preparing for seven weeks, with even more training sessions than usual. There were up to eleven per week. And that’s in addition to 37 to 40 hours of work per week at the desk as a business analyst. Even though it’s warm in the gym, the 34-year-old keeps his hat on during the conversation. Almost as if he wanted to protect his head for as long as he could.
Martial arts are also becoming more popular in Germany
In the USA, MMA has become very popular in recent years thanks to the “Ultimate Fighting Championship” fight series. In Germany they are mainly known among younger people; the media attention is far less than in this country. Stallinger cannot fully understand that the competitions are demonized as brutal fights. He says he was injured more often playing football than in the cage. The frequency of injuries is actually also high in team sports, but MMA tends to be considered more brutal than, for example, the very regulated classic boxing. Most of the time, similar traumas occur, that’s what they say Scientists from Australia.
There are bandages, mouth and genital protection to protect the fighters. The smaller, fingerless gloves lead to quicker knockdowns compared to boxing, but this should lead to less serious injuries overall, according to one Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic study. Like that? Because of the greater force, the MMA fighters would also achieve knockdowns on other parts of the body and would therefore attempt to do so more often. In boxing, however, hits to the head are particularly interesting.
Still, if you want to make absolutely sure you don’t get hit in the head, you probably won’t venture into the cage.
Sebastian Stallinger training in his gym in Karlsfeld.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
Stallinger’s coach, Alexander Poppeck, is very pleased that recognition for the sport is increasing. 15 years ago, when he started MMA, things were different. Today the sport is recognized as such, explains the coach. Also from his employer, says Stallinger. He spoke openly about his struggles there. When he’s not stepping into the octagon, he works at a reinsurance company in the business technology sector.
During the interview, his employer wanted to know whether MMA could have a positive effect on work. Stallinger has a clear opinion on this: Sport gives him discipline. Analogous to project management for his employer, a fight involves a well-planned preparation period; he knows that he has to deliver on “Day X”. There wouldn’t be much difference between martial arts and a job, or previously his business studies.
In the training center in Karlsfeld
Stallinger doesn’t like the week before a fight at all, he says on the Karlsfeld sofa. In these last days he has to reduce his weight and that means sacrifice. A popular method among fighters before a competition is to drink significant amounts of water while simultaneously greatly reducing energy intake. If that’s not enough, he then has to sweat in the sauna, says Stallinger.
For the Munich native, who grew up in Planegg, a fight in the spotlight is no longer “an exceptional situation,” as he says. Although the upcoming evening is only his third MMA fight at the pro level, one of the highest fighting classes in the sport. Because Sallinger is battle-tested. He started kickboxing almost 20 years ago. He was even a European professional kickboxing champion in his early 20s. A few years later he came to MMA via a detour: the versatility of different martial arts disciplines was what appealed to him. For Stallinger, MMA is the ultimate in fighting. You have to be a “complete all-rounder” in order to survive in both ground fighting and stand-up fighting. Money doesn’t play a role as a motive. Very few German fighters can live on salaries alone, says Stallinger.
A family-friendly Saturday evening program?
Even though Stallinger has experience in a wide variety of disciplines, the fight in Munich is still special for him. He expects his family and friends to be among the spectators. “It’s his decision and he enjoys it, that’s the main thing,” says his 26-year-old girlfriend Sophia. For them, unsurprisingly, the focus is on him staying injury-free, not the ranking. She met him eleven years ago in a martial arts studio. “That’s why his sport is completely normal for me and we’re on this path together.”
The audience is young and diverse, says Daniel Stock, one of the moderators of the “We Love MMA” event series. The proportion of women is very high and the days are long gone when only heavy boys and their girlfriends sit in the front rows at martial arts events. Finally, many women also trained in MMA, but they do not take part in competitions as often as in the USA. There are now very popular and highly decorated female fighters there. However, marketing in Germany was not so easy. For a long time the sport was not allowed to be shown on German television. The ban has now been lifted and MMA can be broadcast after 10 p.m. Stallinger’s fight in the sold-out Kleiner Olympiahalle starts at 10:10 p.m.: German prime time for MMA.
The Corona time
There was just a time when there was nothing on primetime: Stallinger officially couldn’t fight during Corona. Without further ado, he took part in a street fight in Sweden in 2021, with the Swedish organizer “King of the Streets” (KOTS). There is a video of this. The Munich native admits that the fight was certainly not his wisest decision. Why?
A monitoring report on right-wing actors and martial arts states that KOTS is the greatest fighting opportunity for “European martial arts hooliganism.” Robert Claus, who repeatedly publishes reports like this one on right-wing radicalism in the martial arts and hooligan scene, confirmed when asked what can also be read in the report about KOTS: “The proximity to criminal, violent and sometimes terrorist circles is great .”
His trainer describes Stallinger as an aggressive and offensive fighter. And 25-year-old Jordi from his team says that the “boy can really hit himself”. When asked about his aggressive fighting style, the athlete says with a smile that he is not always averse to an exchange of blows.
For him, fighting is just sport. “Afterwards we shake hands and go home,” explains Stallinger. When the muscular man isn’t exactly heavy, he seems very friendly and nice. This is how many people around him describe him. Respectful cooperation, especially after the fight, is very important to him.
The fight day
Critical thoughts about MMA are not appropriate shortly before a competition. Stallinger only found out the news that he was scheduled for the last and therefore most important fight of the evening on the day itself at the weigh-in. One of the fighters was injured, which meant that the Munich native, as a local hero, and his opponent were allowed to contest the final. Until then, fights in different weight classes will already take place in the octagon. Sometimes there is a tense silence in the rows of spectators, sometimes cheers erupt from there.
The courage and martial art would impress them, even if the fights get a little tougher at times, says visitor Jennifer from Munich. “You have a certain distance. You know that they are professionals.” The 28-year-old Daniel is fascinated by the courage of the athletes and the “proximity to the action”. You feel every punch, every punch, every kick. “Just goosebumps,” says the Munich native.
The showdown
Samarghandi and Stallinger’s entry into the cage is accompanied by loud music. The Iranian appears without any big gestures to the classic “If I Can’t” by 50 centsStallinger chooses “Welcome to the Jungle” by Guns N’ Roses. He saves the show for the fight. Three rounds of five minutes each: After a lightning start from Samarghandi with fists and a Superman kick, Stallinger gets better and better. The Iranian also started the second round with a lot of punches and kicks and scored a lot of effective hits. But Stallinger holds his ground and hits back. How sang Guns N’ Roses just so fitting: “If you want it, you’re gonna bleed, but that’s the price you pay.”
But then: points deducted for Stallinger. The jury claims to have seen a so-called egg strike, i.e. in the Iranian’s genital area. Stallinger and his team protest. In vain, points deducted for Stallinger and thus a tie after two rounds. Now the last five minutes have to decide the fight. Stallinger is the more active fighter, among other things, with hits from his flagship discipline, striking, i.e. punches.
Stallinger later said that he was actually convinced that he had scored enough points in the third round. But to be sure, he just has to try it shortly before the end. There are only a few seconds left. Stallinger starts. He throws the Iranian off balance, there is a crash and both are on the ground. Stallinger on top, Samarghandi below: the hall is raging. After three rounds, the jury decides Stallinger wins.
In the end, Stallinger buries his opponent and wins on points.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
However, the man, who is a bit bruised from the fight, isn’t quite finished in the cage afterward. First he has to answer the questions from the moderator. The audience turns their attention once again to him or to the large screens placed in the hall. Those who expected a self-confident declaration of war about how well he fought will be disappointed. As offensive as Stallinger’s fighting style is, his answers are also reserved and modest. The moderator wants to know what else can be expected from him after such a spectacular fight in MMA: “I’ll go back to training on Monday and then we’ll work on the cover first.”
There are also two projects in his job that he has to manage. Stallinger only has Sunday to relax.