When Mataeo “Top Ape” Garner, 26, of Greensburg, competed in his first jiu-jitsu tournament at 21, he knew his future would be in combat sports.
“My favorite part of the process was just learning, I guess I would say, like learning about my game,” Garner said. “Knowing that I have the potential to do this.”
He’s continuing that process as a professional fighter and just competed in his first professional fight, a boxing match at The Grand Hall at The Priory on March 17.
Garner competed in amateur boxing and mixed martial arts for four years, winning two MMA titles and a boxing championship.
Living with his mother, a paramedic, she worked long hours. To keep him busy, she got him a mentor who would take Garner to The Power Center gym when he was younger. He sparred there until the gym closed permanently.
“All I can remember is wanting to spar and fight kids,” Garner said. “I didn’t take it too seriously.”
Garner had dreams of making the NFL. He played football and was part of the wrestling team at Southmoreland High School and, after graduating, played football at Valley Forge Military Academy and College before transferring to Alabama A&M.
After college, he pivoted to combat sports, and after competing in the jiu-jitsu tournament, he scheduled his first amateur MMA fight. What he loved the most about the career change was the spectacle.
“They promote it like a pro show,” Garner said. “They make you feel like you’re there, but you’re not (a professional yet).”
As an amateur, Garner went 5-3, with first-round victories and fight of the night awards, and his losses came by decision.
“He was pretty hard-nosed right away,” said Gary Young, owner and head trainer at Demolition Fight Team in Findlay, Ohio, where Garner trains. “He took a boxing match against the more experienced and bigger guy and got a draw.”
He planned on going pro in November, and after his final amateur fight this past January, Garner and his team quickly found his first opportunity: a boxing match.
It’s no secret Garner plans on a career in mixed martial arts, but they took the opportunity for the boxing match before focusing entirely on the former.
“Every MMA fighter should have some boxing experience because every fight starts on the feet,” Garner said. “If you can’t take your opponent down, you must learn to fight on the feet.”
The plans were finalized in February for him to take a cruiserweight fight against fellow debuting fighter Devon Siegfried of Ellwood City.
He trained at the 3rd Avenue Boxing Gym in Downtown Pittsburgh and Boyce Boxing Gym in Monroeville, working with striking coach Hiawatha “Boo” Hudson, who has trained up-and-coming talents in the area such as Johnny Spell, who is 8-0.
Hudson had known Garner since he was a baby, but he lost contact after moving away from Greensburg. Garner’s dad knew he was a boxing coach and reintroduced him.
“Boo really knows his stuff,” Young said. “We knew he was in good hands.”
Listed at 5-foot-9, Garner gave up 5 inches to the 6-2 Siegfried. It was a turbulent first round for Garner, as he withstood several flurries from Siegfried and hung in there against a more experienced fighter.
Garner’s second round showed more promise as he flashed his potential.
It all crashed in the next round against the former Golden Gloves champion. Siegfried caught him with a right cross, and Garner could not answer the 10-count, ending the fight at 1 minute, 5 seconds in the third.
“A couple of my boxers fought Devon,” Hudson said. “He had the game plan, but when you get hurt, you revert to what you truly know.”
Despite the loss, Garner is optimistic about his career and future. He plans to make his professional MMA debut between late April and June.
“Now I know what it feels like to finish,” Garner sad. “Now I can just go out there and be a free spirit and fight my (butt) off.”