A group of men who train in Kearney picked up first round wins in mixed martial arts fights in Grain Valley recently.

On Feb. 5, four who train at Bill Brown Karate in Kearney went to the competition, coming back satisfied with wins.

Those who train with Bill Brown come from varying backgrounds and skill levels.

“They’re guys who just have a passion for what they do,” Brown said.

The trip to Grain Valley was Travis Spence’s first fight — and first win. Spence of Lawson fought in the lightweight category and won by submission in 57 seconds in the first round.

“It really wasn’t a whole lot to the fight,” Spence said.

He has trained for about six months. Spence takes his son to class at Bill Brown Karate, and that’s how he got talking to Brown about mixed martial arts training. He didn’t know if he would compete or just train for fitness when he started.

“I ended up liking it and made it my only hobby now,” Spence said.

Rodney Borden of Kearney also won in the first round by submission in 2 minutes, 15 seconds. He fought at welterweight of 170 pounds.

Jason Wit of Kansas City also fought at welterweight, winning by submission in 2 minutes, 28 seconds.

“I like to win, getting the ‘W,’ but it wasn’t as exciting as knocking someone out,” Wit said.

He’s been training for about two years. It started with kickboxing and evolved to Brazilian jiujitsu in his training.

“It’s not like football where you have a team to depend on,” Wit said, noting he likes that it is an individual sport.

Josh Littleton of Kansas City fought at lightweight, winning by submission in 2:56 in the first round.

Brown said to practice mixed martial arts, people don’t have to be fighters.

“It’s the drills and the stuff the fighters do to get in shape,” Brown said, noting it’s a complete workout.

Kearney Editor

Kevin M. Smith can be reached at 628-6010 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .