Kyle Maynard, Congenital Amputee, Applies for MMA License

by: DarthMolen August 02 2007

Yes you heard it right. Fight Network debuted a story about Kyle Maynard, a person afflicted with congenital amputation, is applying for an amateur MMA license, Eying an amateur debut as part of the Wild Bill’s “Fight Night 11” card Sept. 14 in Duluth, Ga.

Kyle Maynard was born with congenital amputation, a condition that left him with no hands, two round stumps for elbows, and two deformed feet attached to his knees.

Even without these appendages, he managed to win 100 wrestling matches in his high school career, 35 his senior season.

He won an Espy in 2004 for Best Athlete with a Disability and now he is setting his eyes on MMA.

There are plenty of doubters out there and that is something he has had to deal with since infancy. "In just about everything I’ve done – weightlifting, football, wrestling – people said my goals were impossible," Maynard says. "Every step of the way, people were saying I couldn’t do it."

Maynard trains in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under UFC veteran Diego Saraiva and has made a smooth transition from amateur wrestling to submission grappling. He placed third in a recent North American Grappling Association competition in Atlanta and claims to have medaled in every grappling tournament he has entered. MMA is a natural progression for him despite concern over his safety.

In Georgia, you cannot strike to the head of a downed opponent and some say this is a clear advantage for Maynard. However Maynard seems to think the rule is more prohibitive towards his GNP potential. “It’s going to make it a lot tougher for me, because I can’t ground-and-pound,” Maynard says. “All I can tell you is that I’ll have a gameplan in place.”

Read the full story here.