Want to Train With Matt Hughes? Wait Until Feb. 9

by Luke Thomas on Jan 8, 2008 10:45 AM EST in MMA News

That's when the new "HIT Squad Gym" opens in Granite City. To wit:

Nine-time Ultimate Fighting Champion Matt Hughes and three partners with lifelong experiences in wrestling, the martial arts and boxing have teamed up to form the Hughes Intensive Training, or HIT, Squad in the former Exchange Building at the former Melvin Price Support Center, now known as the River's Edge business park in Granite City.

The 13,500-square-foot open-space gym is slated to open Feb. 9.

It will have a weight-lifting area with Hammer brand free-weight equipment, a boxing ring and an adjacent area equipped with several punching bags, a cardio-vascular training area and a 5,000-square-foot, floor-to-wall matted area for wrestling. The mats and decor throughout the gym are in brown and tan camouflage and netting in keeping with the "militaristic" training atmosphere and to pay homage to its home, the former army base.

I don't have much to say except that I'm sure Lawler, Hughes and Fiore are going to be inundated with fatties and fighters alike who want to train at the facility. What I find more interesting is that the facility itself is the product of some of the base closings engineered by Democratic Senator Sam Nunn (GA) in the 1990s. Notable quote:

HIT Squad is the latest of several enterprises to occupy the former army depot. The U.S. Army declared the base "in excess" in 1995 and the federal government closed it four years later. The Tri-City Port District purchased the property and completed the transfer of ownership in 2002. The business park was created and has attracted businesses, and the only small business incubator in Southwestern Illinois was established there to help fledgling businesses get off the ground.

It's good to see our sport providing tax revenue and economic revitalization to local communities across America, particularly given the economic downturn we're experiencing at the moment. Even if you believe MMA is an awful sport, it's hard to argue that a few extra dollars in City Hall's pockets isn't a good thing.

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