Even with COVID restrictions surrounding club meetings, many organizations are still finding ways to resume back to normally scheduled events. Along with that, many clubs at Creighton have also seen a big spike in memberships due to the sheer size of the freshman class, and the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Club is no stranger to that.

Last year the club was not as active due to Creighton’s COVID guidelines, but this year they’re back and ready to spar. The MMA Club has seen a new rise of popularity this semester, with around 120 new members and an average of 50 members showing up to meetings. The club touches on many styles of fighting from jiu jitsu to boxing. Griffin Barnum, the president of the club, said that their intended focus is on self-defense.

“The primary focus is to prepare people for different fighting styles and to expose people to different fighting styles,” Barnum said.

Starting next week, the club will be switching from meeting once a week to twice a week, on Sundays and Thursdays, due to its sudden increase in size. During meetings, members learn and practice a new technique with instructors, go over common mistakes and take other questions, which then leads to them sparring with each other. Each meeting focuses on a different aspect of fighting, such as striking and kicking, and even touches on groundwork in the style of jiu jitsu.

Not interested in learning different fighting techniques? The club also holds more informal meetings to watch UFC fights, which is a great way for potential new members to meet current members and bond over mixed martial arts.

“It’s actually one of the reasons I chose to come to Creighton,” sophomore John McCance said about the club.

During his college search, an MMA club was one of the bigger parts of his criteria.

“Creighton was one of the only colleges that had an MMA club,” McCance said.

So, if you’re looking for something to do on Sundays and Thursdays and have an interest in learning how to defend yourself, or you just generally love talking about MMA, then email Griffin Barnum ([email protected]) to get added to their GroupMe and email list!