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<\/p>\nCurtis Muldrow is about to fight in his first mixed martial arts match. He shifts back and forth, tightening his gloves.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to do boxing, just to work on my hands,\u201d Muldrow said, \u201cbut I can do MMA, too. It\u2019s cool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Muldrow\u2019s a heavyweight, one of the biggest guys here, but he hasn\u2019t been in a fight for years. The 40-year-old works at a concrete company in Tacoma.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of my coworkers thinking I\u2019m getting knocked out, but I\u2019m gonna prove them wrong,\u201d he said as he hit his fists together.<\/p>\n
Muldrow slid a mouth guard between his teeth and walked into the ring.<\/p>\n
Dried blood and spit streak the plywood walls of the cage. About 30 people stood around the edge of the ring, cheering the fighters on.<\/p>\n
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Curtis Muldrow (right) and John McLellan beef in the Scrapyard on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025.<\/p>\n
Casey Martin \/ KUOW<\/p>\n
Located near Gig Harbor, Washington, The Scrapyard isn\u2019t your typical fighting ring or boxing gym.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are a backyard, legal fight organization,\u201d Steve \u201cFire Chicken\u201d Hagara said in his signature American flag Pit Viper sunglasses.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should say community, rather,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Since 2020, The Scrapyard has hosted kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and traditional boxing.<\/p>\n
Before this, Hagara used to be an amateur fighter and remembers the attitudes at gyms.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou show up to fight and everyone\u2019s kind of against everybody,\u201d Hagara said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of more strictly business.\u201d<\/p>\n
He wanted The Scrapyard to be different. More laid back, fun, and supportive. Hagara got the idea to start the fight club after visiting Streetbeefs Fight Club in Virginia, a similar outdoor fighting group.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s meant to be more community relationships,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Steve](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/D26IVZVMWRGYPGI4CSI4FBPRLE.jpg\")
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Steve “Firechicken” Hagara (right) hosts and films all of the fights at the Scrapyard on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025.<\/p>\n
Casey Martin \/ KUOW<\/p>\n
RELATED: First rule of Feminist Fight Club: You must talk about it<\/a><\/p>\n These \u201cstreet beef\u201d matches happen once a month in the wooded lot, rain or shine. People from all over sign up on The Scrapyard Facebook page. While one match is going on, other fighters spar in the trees surrounding the cage. Some take jabs at a punching bag or watch videos from last month\u2019s fights.<\/p>\n Hagara plays both the ringleader and cameraman during the scraps. With a GoPro camera always in hand, he dives around the cage to film for their YouTube and social media channels.<\/p>\n It may look scrappy but Hagara said they take safety seriously. One of his many duties is to match fighters up based on their weight and experience.<\/p>\n There are volunteer referees, judges, and medics at every event. One volunteer is Justine White, who drives up every month from Oregon.<\/p>\n White has an important job.<\/p>\n \u201cI clean the gloves,\u201d she said, \u201cbecause those gloves can get pretty sweaty and pretty bloody.\u201d<\/p>\n She dirties the gloves, too. White started fighting at the yard over a year ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI did not expect to get into this, but I absolutely love it,\u201d she said. \u201cI feel a little bit more confident that I can handle myself in unexpected situations.\u201d<\/p>\n Some fighters leave their mouth guard at the Scrapyard after their first match or win.<\/p>\n Casey Martin \/ KUOW<\/p>\n There are rules at The Scrapyard. Like a typical gym it follows state martial arts regulations. Fighters have to check in with the medical tent before and after their match, and you have to be between 18 and 60 years old to step into the cage.<\/p>\n Other than that, anyone can sign up.<\/p>\n One first-timer was John McLellan from Shoreline, who fought against heavyweight Curtis Muldrow. McLellan strode into the cage wearing custom stretchy pants covered with images of his face. A boost of confidence, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought, \u2018Why am I doing this?\u2019 after I took the second or third good shot to the left side of my face,\u201d he said, \u201cbut you don\u2019t want to quit.\u201d<\/p>\n McLellan got a little banged up by Muldrow in the ring but the two were chatting afterward in the med tent together.<\/p>\n \u201cI was talking to him before the match. I talked to him after. What a great guy. We\u2019re having good laughs,\u201d McLellan said, \u201cand boy does he hit hard.\u201d<\/p>\n RELATED: You can sword-fight at this club. But no politics allowed<\/a><\/p>\n Like a lot of people at The Scrapyard, McLellan said he wanted to prove to himself that he could still hold his own in a scrap. And he wanted to do it before he turns 40 next year.<\/p>\n \u201cGonna have to explain it to my wife, though. I held off on letting her know I was coming, because I know she wouldn\u2019t have let me but it\u2019s something I had to do,\u201d he said holding an ice pack over his left eye. \u201cShe\u2019s gonna love my face when she sees it. I am in so much trouble, brother.\u201d<\/p>\n McLellan lost his match to Muldrow, who said he couldn\u2019t wait to show the fight videos to his friends at work who doubted him. Most importantly, the first-time MMA fighter said he impressed himself that he can still land a punch and even a kick or two.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s all that matters. I prove it to myself, and I prove to everybody else who wants to talk down,\u201d he said, still trying to catch his breath from the fight. \u201cHaters are always motivators.\u201d<\/p>\n Curtis Muldrow (left) celebrates a win in The Scrapyard near Gig Harbor on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025.<\/p>\n Casey Martin \/ KUOW<\/p>\n In the past five years The Scrapyard has grown a lot. During the summer, organizer Steve Hagara says they\u2019ll have up to 50 fights a day.<\/p>\n He went from uploading shaky cellphone videos to a full live stream with commentators, slow-motion, and replay. The Scrapyard\u2019s Instagram <\/a>alone has more than 1.5 million followers.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy to think that we\u2019ve been at this for five years,\u201d he said, \u201cand that we\u2019ve really touched a lot of different people\u2019s lives, and that they depend on this monthly.\u201d<\/p>\n Hagara said the next challenge for him is to not get caught in the middle of a fight while he\u2019s filming.<\/p>\n Casey Martin is a reporter with KUOW<\/a>. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.<\/p>\n It is part of OPB\u2019s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Some](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/HLDD2LCO6RC45G6E2S6VP2AWGA.jpg\")
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