Nobody ever questioned Dan Keefe's toughness. Now fighting in the MMA (mixed martial arts), toughness is part of his everyday life.
The former Salem High football and wrestling star will have that toughness on display tonight against Woody Weatherby at the Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington.
Keefe, who is now 4-1, found his calling for MMA fighting after high school.
"As UFC started, I knew it was something I wanted to do. I started grappling and kickboxing, and as the sport grew more fights were starting locally," said Keefe, who goes by the nickname ''Ghost'' for his pale complexion.
The 27-year-old Keefe works as a correctional officer at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass., by day and by night is a workout machine. He continues almost the same workout regimen as he did playing football and wrestling.
"I take this very seriously. I spend hours working out with kickboxing, jujitsu, and conditioning," said Keefe. "For football and wrestling I had the same mentality and just wanting to win every time."
"I wasn't surprised to see Danny take up MMA fighting and I can see him doing very well," said Michael Bolduc, his wrestling coach at Salem. "He was always very mellow but on the mat, he was tough. He was quiet, the type of kid that you think you want to mess with but you know you don't."
"He was very dedicated, competitive and intense," said Jack Gati, Keefe's former football coach.
Those qualities helped him earn Eagle-Tribune All-Star honors in football as a senior and three times in wrestling.
"He was always very into working out, doing sprints after practice and always showed great hustle," said Gati.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Keefe, who later was a starting linebacker at UMass Lowell, began his MMA career with little support from his parents. They didn't want to see their son getting hurt.
"Whenever I go to his fights I have to sit with my eyes covered. Sometimes I will take a peek on how he is doing but everyone is usually telling what's going on," said Thelma Keefe.
"I felt trepidation the first time he told us he was interested in MMA," said Mike Keefe. "You heard a lot of horror stories about UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) and that their reputation needed to be fixed. But it's clean now and I don't want to see anyone getting hurt."
MMA card
When: Today, doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Shriners Auditorium, 99 Fordham Road, Wilmington
Other local fighters: Calvin Kattar of Methuen, John Benoit of Methuen, Tom Moreau of Derry and Jeff Silva of Lawrence.
Ticket prices: Starting at $40
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