Politics & Government
Amateur fighters grapple in a boxing ring at Contingency Operating Base Adder's first Friday Night Fight, on January 8, 2010. Mixed martial arts fights involving U.S. soldiers, Special Forces and private contractors are gaining popularity on U.S. bases across Iraq. (Maj. Myles B. Caggins III/U.S. Army/MCT)
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U.S. soldiers cheer on fighters who grapple in a boxing ring at Contingency Operating Base Adder's first Friday Night Fight, on January 8, 2010. Mixed martial arts fights involving U.S. soldiers, Special Forces and private contractors are gaining popularity on U.S. bases across Iraq. (Maj. Myles B. Caggins III/U.S. Army/MCT)
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Framework for a combatives ring was constructed by U.S. service members two days prior to the first Friday Night Fights at Contingency Operating Base Adder near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (Specialist Marco Del Valle/US Army/MCT)
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U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Christopher Costa, assigned to the U.S. State Department's Muthanna Provincial Reconstruction Team wields two drills used in the construction of a combatives ring. Costa dispatched his opponent by submission-- a rear naked choke-- during the inaugural Friday Night Fights at Contingency Operating Base Adder, near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (Specialist Marco Del Valle/US Army/MCT)
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A standing room only crowd cheers on U.S. service members and civilian combatants at Friday Night Fights, a mixed martial arts tournament organized by the 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division at a large military base near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (Specialist Marco Del Valle/US Army/MCT)
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U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Dominic Buzzelli, a military police officer, strides through onlookers prior to his bout at Contingency Operating Base Adder's Friday Night Fights-- a mixed martial arts tournament that pitted U.S. service members and civilians in a series of three-round matches. (Specialist Marco Del Valle/US Army/MCT)
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U.S. Army Sgt. Sarah Wicker, a combat medic, examines the face of Fidel "Castro" Rodriguez, a U.S. State Dept. staffer, between rounds at the inaugural Friday Night Fights mixed martial arts tournament at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. (Specialist Marco Del Valle/US Army/MCT)
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Staff. Sgt. Aaron Martinez, referee and Friday Night Fights coordinator from Des Moines, Iowa, raises the arm of Aaron Kashner, a civilian contractor, after a fight at Contingency Operating Base Adder's inaugural Friday Night Fights sanctioned by 4th Brigade, 1st Armored Division near Nasiriyah, Iraq. (Specialist Marco Del Valle/US Army/MCT)
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