(WTRF) After a drag show was cancelled at Primanti Bros. Restaurant & Bar at The Highlands a local MMA instructor is offering himself and some of his fighters as security if they should reschedule.
Johnny Haught, who operates as the owner and head instructor at Ohio Valley MMA , took to Facebook after the drag show was cancelled and volunteered him and some of his fighters to make sure the event stays safe.
Haught said he has personally bounced in a couple local bars for around 10 years and has a good understanding of security and safety. Haught also said his students have more than enough training to keep an area safe under his direction.
“The drag show is no more offensive than a Broadway show, or a stand up comedy show. In essence, it’s a mix of both. At the end of the day, it is entertainment. Not part of some hidden agenda, like some would have you believe,” Haught said.
Haught says that he and his team can de-escalate any situation without violence and they key is to never get to that point. “If you have control of a situation, it shouldn’t escalate. That comes with the understanding that you will put your self in harms way sometimes. As long as you speak with respect to an individual, and refused to be treated any other way, usually even the most unruly person will fall in line.”
S&S productions posted the cancellation on their Facebook page last week, citing threats made to Primanti Bros., the entertainers and patrons.
The Ohio Valley MMA has two fighters in the Toughman contest this weekend, Dee Turner in the light heavyweight division and Steven Carney in the cruiserweight division.
Turner currently has two titles and will be fighting for an amateur title next month in Parkersburg.
