Roughest And Toughest Brawl Show Coming Back To Gadsden, AL In January 2025
"If you are bad enough to win the roughest and toughest brawl you can take home your part of the $2,500 dollars reward."
This is the call to action by Money Mike Promotions for their Roughest and Toughest brawl series taking place at the Venue at Coosa Landing in Gadsden, AL on January 10.
The fights will take place on January 10 and 11 and begin at 8 p.m. CST. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.) Each fighter will fight one fight on Friday night, with the winners advancing to fight the following night. The tournament will continue until there is one fighter left in each division and a single champion is crowned.
Fighters are required to be amateurs with no fighting experience of any kind. So to all you former Golden Glove Champions feeling an itch to fight again: NOT SO FAST.
"Just local guys and gals, slugging it out for 3 one-minute rounds, competing for cash prizes, and the title of the Roughest and Toughest brawlers in the area," the event description reads.
I caught up with the Promotions Head man "Money Mike Long" to dive deeper into the world of The Roughest and Toughest.
Question: How'd this whole thing get started?
Mike Long: I used to fight in these types of competitions 30 years ago all over the place. After that I "wrassled" in WCW. That's were I met George Hines. (better known as Jackie Fulton in the wrestling world) We had become familiar through WCW. One night I randomly ran into him at a Waffle House. He told me he was putting on the Roughest and Toughest competitions and needed some help; and of course I helped him. George was ready to move on from the business so I bought him out and the rest is history as they say.
Question: What's your favorite part of the shows?
Mike Long: It's a couple things. One is the purity. I feel like it's the only pure sport left. There's no coaching. No promoters avoiding fights for you. No back and forth negotiating. It's just you and another man or woman going head to head. The second thing is for sure the camaraderie. On the first night the guys come in looking all hard and standoffish, but by the end of the second night you can just see the respect and love they have for each other. I mean you can literally see the change as the days go by.
WATCH: Promo Video For January 10-11 Show In Gadsden, AL
Question: What's your advice to anyone thinking about signing up?
Mike Long: Just do it. It'll really help put things into perspective if you want to fight. It's a good measuring stick. You'd be surprised at the variety of people who sign up. We've have lawyers, doctors, even teachers fight. True story: At one fight I noticed there were a lot of young girls in one specific section. I'm thinking to myself that's different. I wonder who they are here supporting. After the fight, it got back to me that their wrestling coach was fighting. The coach was fighting because someone told them that if they fought, they'd donate $500 to the wrestling team to help them get supplies. When we heard about this we matched the donation. Then later that night I kept getting tapped on my shoulder by people saying "Hey add this to the donations for the wrestling team." That's a good feeling to know that those types of people are attending your show.
And of course I can't forget about my family. It's such an amazing feeling to look back and see where we came from. In the past we would all pile into a $39 a night hotel to put on a show. We're in a much better position now but I'll never forget those times. I'm very thankful that they're a part of this.
WATCH: Mike Long & Family on Family Feud TV Show
There is still time to register if you are interested in welcoming your fellow man or woman into the New Year with a punch or two to the face. Sign up here.
Doors are scheduled to open at 6:30 p.m. each night. General Admission tickets will be $35 on fight night, but fans can get a discount by ordering ahead on the theroughestandtoughest.com website. Kid's tickets are general admission only and are not valid for Rows 1-3.
Per the theroughestandtoughest.com website, the Gadsden, AL show is the first of two planned shows, with the second slated to take place in Dothan, AL at date to be later announced.
