BUTLER TWP — Mixed martial arts fighters come from — well, just about anywhere.

Boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, judo, jiu jitsu, taekwondo, karate, muay thai — it doesn’t matter.

“That’s because MMA fights can go in so many different directions with so many different styles,” Slippery Rock University junior Mitch Killeen said. “You can pick up on this sport pretty quickly.”

Killeen, 24, already serves as a MMA instructor at the Evolution gym in Butler and was 5-1 in six amateur MMA bouts out of the country. He is only 1-3 in Pennsylvania, however.

All three of his losses have been by submission.

“This isn’t a vicious sport where two guys hate each other,” Killeen said. “My last fight (June 29 in York), I lost when my opponent got me in a choke ... I started going dark and had to tap. He knew my wrestling background and that I was trying a double-leg takedown and he went right to the counter for that.

“I like to get my opponent grounded so I can work wrestling moves from there. Other guys like to stay on their feet and strike. Like I said, there are plenty of methods.”

Amateur MMA fights consist of three two-minute rounds and can end via knockout, technical knockout, submission or decision.

Killeen learned jiu jitsu — a sport of grappling and striking technique — while serving in South Korea for the U.S. Army. He was a 100-win wrestler at Littlestown High School near Gettysburg, but received no college scholarship offers.

“I wound up doing a little jiu jitsu instructing in South Korea and sort of migrated toward MMA,” he said.

His students in Butler range in age from 14 to 30.

“I’ve got 10 to 15 students here who are very dedicated to this,” he said.

They include Butler High School senior and Center Township resident Zach Shultz and Butler city resident Brad Regis, 22, a student at SRU.

Shultz has been in the Golden Tornado wrestling program since ninth grade. He won his first MMA fight by unanimous decision June 29 in York.

“I always wanted to be a fighter,” Shultz said. “I’ve been interested in MMA for quite some time. I love the different aspects of the game.

“I’d like to go pro at some point and become a full-time fighter, make a living at it.”

Amateur MMA fighters are not permitted to strike, elbow, kick or knee to the face. Pro fighters “can do whatever they want,” Killeen said.

Many MMA fighters turn pro after two or three amateur fights.

“You have to fight at least a couple of amateur bouts so the state commission gets to know you,” Killeen said. “You have to be a qualified fighter in their eyes before you can get a pro card.”

Regis played football and basketball at Butler. He had also done boxing and kickboxing off and on during his lifetime. He coaches junior varsity midget football at East Butler.

“Since high school, I didn’t have any means to compete,” Regis said. “Now I do. I know how to stand up and strike. I’ve been practicing submission moves. Mitch knows a lot of maneuvers on the ground and I’m working with him in that area.”

Regis has been practicing MMA for six months. He will make his amateur debut Sept,. 29 in a 7:30 p.m. amateur/pro MMA show at the Butler Days Inn. Killeen and Shultz will be on the card as well.

The fight card will feature three professional and 11 amateur bouts.

Regis said MMA fighters “are not a bunch of meatheads. You don’t break into this sport without getting beaten up a lot at first and that sort of thing humbles a person.

“This is a highly technical and versatile fighting sport.”

Killeen agreed.

“The sport is 90 percent mental,” he said. “It’s about calculating and executing moves to get your opponent in a compromised position.

“I’ve met a lot of great people in MMA. Fighters work with each other to make each other better.”