Clark Kent
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01-10-2010 10:30 AM:
He's nicknamed the "Joker" because of an ever present smile, but behind Mike Guymon's constant grin was a lot of stress, pain and worst of all, depression. With marital problems and a struggling business, Guymon, a veteran mixed martial artist, decided that he'd had enough. He decided to commit suicide on August 11, 2009. Guymon had a 45-caliber gun and was going to do the deed in his bedroom. After fighting with his wife, he left his California home and decided he was going to try suicide by cop. That's when his good friend, Jim Amormino, stepped in during a standoff to save Guymon. Amazingly less than six months later, Guymon is set to make his UFC debut tomorrow night in Fairfax, Va. at Ultimate Fight Night 20. "I went from trying to commit suicide and just being at the darkest spot in life to getting to the brightest spot in my life, getting to my dream. I took the longest road because I'm a tough, stubborn SOB."
Guymon's day of change began at his home after fighting with his wife, Nicole. She forced her way into the bedroom and Guymon fled in his truck, eventually pulling into a gas station where he was surrounded by police with tasers and one sniper.
"Jim, I didn't know, called all of them. He didn't pull in. I sat in the truck for awhile, they surrounded me. I just wanted someone to shoot me. Little old Jim Amormino (spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff's Department) walks through the police line. They're yelling at him, 'Jim stop!' He goes 'nope, nope. That's my buddy in there. He loves all of you guys. He would never hurt anybody. He just needs help."
Guymon, 35, got out of his SUV and walked over to Amormino, ending the standoff. Many of the police officers on hand knew of Guymon and said he was a hero to their kids and that everybody has a bad day.
"I didn't realize I had the support of people like that."
Guymon went into a 72-hour hold and then sought out treatment. He is now taking medication for depression and insomnia.
"I had too much stress going on between work and family, Trying torun a gym, clean the gym, sign members up, Then on top of that, trainmyself for a fight. Figuring out how to train other fighters," said Guymon.
Life going to deal with you on life's terms. Nothing is going to be easy nothing is going to be simple. You just have to learn how to deal with the good and the bad."
Guymon's story isn't all the uncommon in the fight world. Several fighters committed suicide in 2008 and 2009 while several others had episodes with police that revolved around mental breakdowns. Guymon explained that he's been told part of the problem could be head trauma and another issue is the constant weight-cutting fighters put their mind and body through.
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
He's nicknamed the "Joker" because of an ever present smile, but behind Mike Guymon's constant grin was a lot of stress, pain and worst of all, depression. With marital problems and a struggling business, Guymon, a veteran mixed martial artist, decided that he'd had enough. He decided to commit suicide on August 11, 2009. Guymon had a 45-caliber gun and was going to do the deed in his bedroom. After fighting with his wife, he left his California home and decided he was going to try suicide by cop. That's when his good friend, Jim Amormino, stepped in during a standoff to save Guymon. Amazingly less than six months later, Guymon is set to make his UFC debut tomorrow night in Fairfax, Va. at Ultimate Fight Night 20. "I went from trying to commit suicide and just being at the darkest spot in life to getting to the brightest spot in my life, getting to my dream. I took the longest road because I'm a tough, stubborn SOB."
Guymon's day of change began at his home after fighting with his wife, Nicole. She forced her way into the bedroom and Guymon fled in his truck, eventually pulling into a gas station where he was surrounded by police with tasers and one sniper.
"Jim, I didn't know, called all of them. He didn't pull in. I sat in the truck for awhile, they surrounded me. I just wanted someone to shoot me. Little old Jim Amormino (spokesperson for the Orange County Sheriff's Department) walks through the police line. They're yelling at him, 'Jim stop!' He goes 'nope, nope. That's my buddy in there. He loves all of you guys. He would never hurt anybody. He just needs help."
Guymon, 35, got out of his SUV and walked over to Amormino, ending the standoff. Many of the police officers on hand knew of Guymon and said he was a hero to their kids and that everybody has a bad day.
"I didn't realize I had the support of people like that."
Guymon went into a 72-hour hold and then sought out treatment. He is now taking medication for depression and insomnia.
"I had too much stress going on between work and family, Trying torun a gym, clean the gym, sign members up, Then on top of that, trainmyself for a fight. Figuring out how to train other fighters," said Guymon.
Life going to deal with you on life's terms. Nothing is going to be easy nothing is going to be simple. You just have to learn how to deal with the good and the bad."
Guymon's story isn't all the uncommon in the fight world. Several fighters committed suicide in 2008 and 2009 while several others had episodes with police that revolved around mental breakdowns. Guymon explained that he's been told part of the problem could be head trauma and another issue is the constant weight-cutting fighters put their mind and body through.
More...
Yahoo! Sports.
Cagewriter is an MMA blog edited by Steve Cofield.
