North Georgia Hayastan MMA Academy hasn’t been around very long, but owners Scott White and Leonardo Lechuga already have a few points of pride for the Dalton gym. One of the biggest highlights so far was delivered Saturday night by Dustin Dyer when he won the heavyweight title at X Series Fighting Championship’s “Crossroads” event in Knoxville, Tenn. Dyer’s technical knockout of hometown fighter Isaac Fine in the third round secured a belt he’ll defend in October, giving both him and the Dalton gym’s members something to look forward to in the coming months. “Right now, it’s actually just a dream come true,” said the 24-year-old Dyer, who is now 3-0 in mixed martial arts bouts. “I didn’t see in my third fight actually winning a belt. I saw myself winning a belt, but not this early into it. Honestly, it kind of hasn’t hit home yet.” The gym, located at 805 South Hamilton St. (across from Bry-Man’s Plaza South), opened only a couple months ago when White, the facility’s head instructor, and Lechuga, who had been studying under White at other locations for a year, found a place to settle down. “For the fact that our gym has not been open that long, (Dyer) did very well,” Lechuga said. “He’s a fast learner and a really hard worker. He’s got drive that’s out of this world. He stays focused and he stays in the gym, training hard.” But Dyer was joined Saturday night in Knoxville by two other fighters who work out at North Georgia Hayastan as they made their MMA debuts while fighting in X Series’ Rising Fight League competition. David Miles, 20, who like Dyer is from Chatsworth and a former Murray County High wrestler, won by technical knockout in the first round of a 135-pound bout against Dustin Wilson of Maryville, Tenn.; 19-year-old Jake Hall lost to Knoxville’s Andrew Herrington in the 185-pound class. “It’s great,” White said of the fighters’ opportunity to compete. “I’ve had them for a little while now, since we’ve been in a couple other locations, and now we’ve got a spot where we can grow and we’re very visible in the community. … I’m glad that they’re doing as well as they are. They put in the hard work and everything, so I’m glad to see them benefiting.” Dyer, who playfully toted around his belt Monday evening at the gym — he was simply hanging out during a mandatory rest day required by White — said he had worn it into work that morning at Signs Graphics Printing, eager to prove wrong any “doubters” from when his interest in MMA emerged. After his high school football and wrestling days ended, Dyer said he gained weight, at one point getting up to 320 pounds, but eventually missed the competition wrestling had provided. A year ago Monday, he stepped into the ring for the first time by competing in a Tough Man competition, which he won. He made his MMA debut in January, winning at the Battle of Rome, then won his second fight a few weeks later in Chattanooga. He later made contact with promoters who helped put together Saturday’s fight, a highlight for the personal journey he’s undergone over the past few months. “That’s the satisfaction of it, too. I’m actually in better shape than I was in wrestling or football,” said Dyer, who now weighs in at 255. “It’s awesome.” Miles said he started studying kickboxing when he didn’t wrestle his junior year at Murray County High. He was getting into trouble for fighting at school, and believes combat sports helped him find an acceptable outlet for that aggression. A year and a half ago, he started training and competing in grappling, while also learning other fighting forms. Now a student at the University of West Georgia, Miles trains most of the year at Defkon 1 in Villa Rica. But having trained under White in the past, he’s been thankful for the opportunity to work out at North Georgia Hayastan during his break from school. Saturday’s fight gave him a chance to help add weight to the gym’s representation in Knoxville, and he was also happy plenty of his friends and family got to see him win his MMA debut. And because it was a No. 1 contender fight, Miles is now in position to fight for a title himself. “We had 50 to 60 people there watching,” Miles said of the support for the North Georgia Hayastan trio. “Leading up to the fight, I was worried about doing good and winning for them and putting a show on for them. It finally hit me that they were there to watch me fight, and it didn’t matter to them whether I won or lost. So then I was just really excited to get in there.” While Hall lost against his 34-year-old opponent after taking a square punch to the head early, White said he fought well overall and should be able to apply the lessons learned from the bout. That’s something Hall, who has had success in grappling tournaments, is eager to do. “Just some things I need to work on,” said Hall, who works as a trainer under White. “Not letting the buildup of the fight get to me. My head movement — I’m going to get with a boxing coach. I’ve got a buddy of mine that’s a world champion in boxing, so I’m going to work with him some.” Dyer, Hall and Miles all plan to compete at Chattanooga Extreme Fight Night VII on July 16 in East Ridge, Tenn., and Dyer is also looking forward to his Oct. 22 title defense in Knoxville. “They say you’re not a champion until you make your first defense,” Dyer said. “And that’s how I look at it. I’ve still got a lot to improve.” While the Dalton facility they now train at hasn’t been open long, several of the fighters — including the three who competed Saturday night — from North Georgia Hayastan have been working out together for a while at other gyms. White, a former Catoosa County deputy, has a wide variety of martial arts experience as a student and instructor dating back to the late 1990s, although his focus for MMA students at this gym is on the Hayastan hybrid fighting style developed by Gokor Chivichyan and Gene LeBell. White is a certified instructor for the system, having studied under Chivichyan, a native of Armenia who now operates a school in Los Angeles. “Since I got hooked up with him around 2002 or 2003, that’s really been my main focus since then,” White said. “We do a little bit of everything, though.” Although White and Lechuga are aiming to start daytime classes in the future, the gym is currently open Monday through Thursday nights. They offer instruction in jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai kickboxing, Sambo, Judo, wrestling, as well as self-defense, and group and personal instruction is available. Lechuga said that while some gym members are training to compete in combat sports, others are simply looking to feel more secure or find a different way to keep active and in shape. And instruction is available for a wide range of ages — before older students took the mat on Monday, a kids class was finishing up. The gym offers discounts for students, families, public service members (law enforcement, fire department and EMS) and military, and currently offers a one-time one-week free pass. For information on the gym, contact White at (706) 271-8278 or Lechuga at (630) 301-1743.
