The world of mixed martial arts fighting was unleashed upon Albert Lea Thursday at the Albert Lea Armory with the spotlight shining on the hometown MMA team, the Albert Lea Golden Fighters.

The quality of the bouts in the Brutaal Fight Night event were mixed to say the least. At their best they showcased the technical skills of fighters. At their worst they looked like a barroom brawl with the winner often being whoever could land a punch flush against his opponents head to knock him out.

MMA fighting is the combination of jiu-jitsu, boxing, wrestling, muay thai and other forms of fighting and an estimated 200 spectators attended. All MMA events in the state of Minnesota are regulated by the Minnesota Combative Sports Commission.

Those taking in the amateur event had contrasting feelings about it,.

“Overall I think we enjoyed it,” said Ryan Wuerflien.

There were only seven bouts on the card and it left some fans wanting more.

“There should have been a lot more fighting,” said Jace Hammer. “We came to see a fight. I was expecting a lot more of a show for $20.”

The Brutaal Fight Night was the showcase event for the Albert Lea Golden Fighters.

The results weren’t good for the Golden Fighters who had five fighters on the card. They won just two fights on the night and team captain Brandon Abrego lost in the main event to Mankato’s Bryan Mortensen when Mortensen put Abrego in a guillotine triangle choke hold in the second round. Abrego was fighting for the No. 1 contender spot for the lightweight amateur belt.

Johnny Talamantes and Brody Avery were the only Albert Lea fighters to win their bouts. Talamantes and Avery both won by knockout in the first round.

To ask anything more of a group that has only trained for four months would be a bit unfair, but Thursday was more like a formal introduction of the Albert Lea Golden Fighters to the MMA world.

Most of the Albert Lea fighters have fewer than three bouts under their belts, but most also own a winning record.

Those in search of well-orchestrated fights would have likely left disappointed, but those looking for a good ‘ole slobber-knocker filled with wild haymakers thrown as fast as a pugilist could recoil would have left satisfied.

Chris Barerra, who runs Devil’s Den, a MMA training facility in New Richmond, Wis., was on hand to take in the amateur fight. Barerra has witnessed many amateur fights in his time and was impressed.

“Heart wins a lot of fights,” he said. “As long as your heart’s in it you can be very successful.”

The Mankato MMA team, which had three fighters on the card, displayed the technical skills on the ground to find a way to fight while also displaying knockout power.

Albert Lea’s Mike Schmidtke was involved with the most savage fight of the evening. Schmidtke was lifted by Mankato’s Dan Moret into the air and dropped on his head, knocking him defenseless,. Before the referee could stop the fight Moret unleashed a vicious right hand blow to Schmidtke’s skull which created a deep gash above his right eye.

It’s not necessarily a question if MMA is the next big thing, it clearly has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world. It caters to a young audience with its immediacy and freshness.

Teams like the Albert Lea Golden Fighters are sprouting up in many communities and promoter Nick Gamst has been there to help get teams rolling with local shows.

Gamst produced the Albert Lea event. Gamst has worked as a promoter for the past six years throughout Minnesota, putting on monthly shows at the Myth nightclub in Maplewood under his company Brutaal. Albert Lea was the third locale in southern Minnesota Gamst has produced shows. Other shows have taken place in Rochester and Mankato.

Gamst said an amateur show like the one in Albert Lea Thursday is a way to help build the quality of the sport.

“Minnesota is sort of lacking a lot of good midlevel guys,” Gamst said. “We have a lot of ways to go in the midlevel. What we’re trying to do is develop these guys through the amateur system.”