High school dean Mike Laurita never knew that a kid like him, could take his mic around the world and flash the big S.D. In this scenario the mic represents an MMA fight and the big S.D. stands for the students at Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colorado. A common misconception is that the UFC feature film starring Kevin James “Here Comes the Boom” is about finding a new lead singer for American Christian nu metal band P.O.D.
In the film James character is a teacher who fights on the local MMA scene to raise money for his school’s music program. Out in Denver, Mike Laurita is a 52 year old ex-wrestling coach who took a fight three years ago to save his school’s wrestling program. The writers of the “Here Comes the Boom” should have plagiarized Laurita’s idea because fighting in MMA to save wrestling makes more sense than fighting in MMA to save music.
Let the local P.O.D. cover band worry about saving the high school music program.
Laurita lost his MMA debut via three round decision but picked up a cool consolation prize in the form of the $3,000 fight payout. Who is Laurita’s agent and who upped the Colorado MMA rookie wage scale to four digits? Laurita’s first fight check may have been a typo.
Now three years later Laurita, at the age of 55, trained to take one more fight. NBC 9 news set the scene.
His wife made him a deal: Lose 50 pounds, and you can fight. And that’s just what he did. He trained and dieted for months and was able to rally the whole school behind him. After years of being there for his students, they made it known they were there for him on fight night with more than 100 students and faculty there to support him.
So what happens when a 55 year old high school gets his second shot inside the cage?
Laurita threw some good punches, gained top control and lasted through three, three-minute rounds with a fighter more than 30 years younger than him. He didn’t win, but that didn’t matter to the crowd.
After the announcement was made, they still rallied behind their dean and made it known that no one doubts his heart in the cage.
Laurita is a 0-2 55 year old MMA fighter but it won’t stop him from taking a third swing at MMA glory. “Here Comes the Boom 3: Return of the Dean” hits a local Colorado cage sometime in 2015 and while his fellow 55 year old friends are building model airplanes and hitting the golf course, Laurita will be punching a 20 something MMA rookie in the face in his spare time.
