7/MMA
LIFESTYLE CHANGE
MMA/BOXING
• In his early 20s, Stephen Bass was a yelling, screaming
jerk of a construction worker, in his own words. He was
making good money to support his family, but he was far
from happy.
Then he started taking his medicine – and it wasn’t
Prozac or Xanax. The only treatment that helped Bass
find contentment was a daily training session – sometimes
mixed martial arts, sometimes boxing but always intense.
“This is a way for me to clear my head,” Bass says. “A
lot of people take medication. I just exercise.”
These days Bass is playing the role of pharmacist, in a
way, helping others get their medication in the ring or on
the mat at Savannah Combat Club. He’s convinced that a
combination of ample sleep, regular exercise and healthy
eating will allow any body to produce the necessary
chemicals to cure whatever ails you.
Beyond that, though, Bass believes getting in the ring
might help save your life. After years of chasing a career
as a professional boxer and MMA fighter and training
other aspiring young fighters to do the same, Bass has
shifted his focus toward training ordinary people – not
only for fitness, but also for self-defense.
“I’ve found that if I make my community better and
enrich other people’s lives it does so much for me than
just being a fight guy,” Bass says. “I like training regular
people more. I don’t connect as well with meathead
fighters as I should, I guess.”
Unlike traditional martial arts-based self-defense
courses, Bass keeps things simple and based on western
boxing principals – keep your assailant at a distance,
protect your head, and keep your feet planted firmly on
the ground.
“When there’s imminent danger, short of the other
person having a pistol, if you can keep somebody out of
arm’s reach, you’re not in danger,” Bass says. “Right there
you take care of 95 percent of these cases.”
Bass says he has trained several police officers in the
program, and one of them told him the training likely
prevented him from unnecessarily shooting a suspect who
came charging at him on the street. Rather than pulling his
weapon, the officer got into a boxing stance and held the
suspect at bay until he could verify he was unarmed, then
called for backup.
He also teaches a basic women’s self-defense class
based on the principal that in nine out of 10 cases, if
a woman simply poses a problem to her assailant by
fighting back in some way or making a commotion, she
can fend off the attack.
Bringing that sort of knowledge to community
members is just the beginning of Bass’ efforts to make
Savannah a safer place. He’s also working with local
politicians and activists to get more involved with trying
to stem the violent crime that plagues the city.
He plans to keep on fighting the good fight.
“I just want a bronze statue in Savannah,” Bass jokes.
“I’ve seen a few squares that don’t have anything, so I’ve
already got a couple spots picked out.”•
48
S OUT H M AGA ZI NE.C OM
STEPHEN BASS
DOESN’T WANT TO BE JUST
ANOTHER MEATHEAD MMA
FIGHTER. THE MAN WHO COINED
THE #SAVANNAHSTRONG
MOVEMENT IS DETERMINED TO
STRENGTHEN THE COMMUNITY
THROUGH MARTIAL ARTS.
STEPHEN BASS, UFC
SAVANNAH COMBAT CLUB
HHHH
SAVANNAH RESIDENT STEPHEN BASS
COMPILED A 10-3 RECORD AS A PROFESSIONAL
MMA FIGHTER AND WAS FEATURED ON
SEASON 14 OF SPIKE TV’S “THE ULTIMATE
FIGHTER” REALITY SHOW IN 2011.
HHHH
715 E 37th St, Savannah, GA
912.308.2044
born8again.wixsite.com/savcc