Fighter knocks out mentally ill man in unregulated MMA fight

And yet, last month, he was allowed to step into the ring at a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Harley-Davidson dealership with a veteran fighter - who drove him to the bout and promised to pay him $50 and give him a medal. 

Jesse Rowell, a champion jiu jitsu wrestler and veteran mixed martial arts fighter, knocked Roach out in 47 seconds with a savage blow to the head. 

Rowell left without giving Roach the medal or cash he promised, Roach says. He was also left with no way home. 

This is the brutal, cruel world of unregulated amateur kickboxing. 

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reveals that such fights - unlike boxing and mixed martial arts - are not regulated by the state of Wisconsin. 

Experts told the newspaper that Roach would never have been allowed to participate in a state-sanctioned fight - and certainly not against the veteran Rowell.  

Within hours Rowell's fight last month, he posted pictures and video of the knockout blow. He even made the brutal image his Facebook profile picture.

Roach's Facebook page also includes pictures of the flight.  

Roach was never examined by a doctor before the fight - which took place in front of hundreds of cheering fans who paid $80 each to watch fight that evening. 

He signed a release waiver - but Roach's family says his dyslexia is so severe that he can't read. Someone read the paper to him, but he said he didn't understand. He told the Journal-Sentinel that he thought he was putting his name on a signup sheet. 

When the time for the fight came, Roach told the newspaper, he thought he would be wrestling. He didn't even know it was a kickboxing match.  

Rowell met Roach through a mutual friend who had been training Roach in UFC-style fighting in his basement. 

Rowell has previously fought Roach in a mixed martial arts fight years ago, before the state regulated that, as well. Roach was knocked out in the first round.

Rowell, who has owned a kickboxing gym for five years, defended the fight and told the Journal Sentinel that he had no idea that Roach was mentally disabled. 

'You gotta remember, people are punch-drunk all the time, so I thought he was just that,' Rowell 

'I didn't sit down and talk to him.'

He claimed the bound was 'just for fun' and was meant to be a sparring match, not a real fight. 

He denies promising Roach cash or a medal, but admits he gave him a ride to the fight.  

Roach, for his part, got $50 from the fight promoter out of sympathy. 

But he still wants his medal.  

(dailymail.co.uk)