Under Pressure

By Donald Hawthorne

March 1st, 2010

Tamera Sturgis sits outside of an octagon configuration, better known as “The Cage” in mixed martial arts (MMA) and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She watches intently, camera in hand, as blood and sweat fly from her husband’s bruised and battered body. She wants to capture the event on tape so she can show the world what it takes to rank among the toughest modern-day gladiators on earth. Enter the cage unprepared, and you will get hurt.

Tamera is thinking of her husband, Todd Sturgis, “Will he stay the course? Is he trained enough to be a skilled and effective warrior?” Only one fighter will be the conqueror at the end of three five-minute rounds. How will it end? Will it be by submission, knockout, octagon control, tap-out or judge’s decision?

Do the terms sound familiar? They should to sports enthusiasts. MMA has been around for years, but only recently has it gained popularity with the upsurge of “The Ultimate Fighter,” which first aired on Spike TV in 2005 and is now starting its 11th season. Only the most skilled and practiced fighters will advance to the Ultimate Fighting Championship and hold the belt as a world champion.

As the battle continues, Tamera captures it all on film. Her documentary, “Under Pressure: Diary of a Cage Fighter,” has grabbed the attention of the fighting world with its examination of the sacrifice and courage of the cage fighter’s wife. One famous fighter, Randy Couture, expressed his support for the Sturgises’ hard work on the film, in showing the wives’ side of the story.

The training is intense. “Blood, sweat and tears” describes the physical and mental challenge that a highly trained martial arts warrior meets every day. Broken and dislocated bones and lacerations are common during the battle. Their wives live and feel the wounds as much as the fighter does. They will be the ones nursing their fighters back to health, only to begin training for the next fight.

Todd and Tamera are unique; they are truckers to the core. During the first five years as truckers they stored all of their belongings and lived on the road, taking advantage of what they describe as the greatest job in the world. “We were able to see parts of the U.S. and Canada that most people only dream about: the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Forest, the Grand Tetons, and many other sites, including driving through every major city in the country,” Tamera says.

“Becoming a truck driver was the greatest achievement in my life. It gave me the confidence to take on challenges that I may not have taken on otherwise. One time, while walking into a truck stop, I turned to see if I had parked OK, and it hit me: ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m able to drive such a huge vehicle. And I’m good at it!’

“When Todd decided to pursue his dream of becoming an MMA fighter, my self-confidence gave me the courage to film Todd and produce a documentary. I had no formal training but I knew I could learn on my own. If I can drive that big truck, I can do anything!” she says. Tamera’s mind was set, and with encouragement from friends and family, she went forward with her decision to make the documentary.

At first, Tamera found the bloody training sessions too stressful and feared for Todd’s safety. She thought the men challenging him were younger and more developed and skilled. “After all, he’d been driving a truck for 10 years and was 40 pounds overweight. Todd was a very good wrestler in high school and college, but the MMA was entirely different. He could actually get killed in there,” she says.

In 2003, Todd joined the Extreme Sports Fight Club in Marysville, Calif. Unfortunately, he was not gaining the skill necessary to become a competitive fighter in the MMA and in his 10th week he suffered a broken rib, taking him out of the cage for a month or more.

During Todd’s recovery, Tamera connected with MMA fighter James Fanshier and his supportive wife, Valerie Fanshier. Valerie struggled with some of Tamera’s same fears for her husband’s safety. “This is brutal, and it’s only the training. How did you get through this?” Tamera asked her.

“Valerie told me, ‘As Todd becomes more skilled, the stress level becomes more bearable because you know Todd will be trained in offensive and defensive skills,’” Tamera says.

At about the same time, Tamera met and filmed Jaime Jara, who sustained a broken orbital bone nine seconds into a fight with Scott Smith for the Gladiator Challenge’s heavyweight title. His mother, too, told Tamera that she worries for her son’s safety but encourages his decision to fight.

After eight months of training in Marysville, Tamera encouraged Todd to go to Sheridan, Calif., to continue his MMA training with a “No Limits Fight Team.” Tamera’s film documents Todd as he strengthens his boxing, kickboxing, grappling, wrestling and jujitsu skills.

Two months later Todd signed a contract to fight, in six weeks, for the Gladiator Challenge. In the Feb. 12, 2004, fight, he defeated Charlie Riblon at the cost of considerable body damage. That night Todd decided he would rather be a spectator than a competitor. He had followed his dream, made it a reality, and won.

During Todd’s training, Tamera decided to pursue other interests in addition to filming the documentary. With Todd’s encouragement, she worked at improving her photography skills and submitted her photos to several trucking magazines that accepted them for publication.

She is now experimenting with an art form using digital photos. She takes pictures of objects and then shapes them into words, such as “love,” “Jesus,” “sister” and “joy.” To test whether her idea would catch on, she displayed these photos on a table at a local mall. To her delight, they sold well.

Another interesting development took place, to Tamera’s surprise, in 2002. Todd entered her in a modeling contest and she was selected to pose several times in G. Gordon Liddy’s “Stacked and Packed” calendar. She said she had fun doing the photo shoots, which took her to Atlanta and the Bahamas. “The money raised went to victims of 9/11. I felt really good about that,” she says.

Rather than pursuing a modeling career, Tamera opted to climb back into the truck with Todd, and together they haul People magazines from Los Angeles to Seattle.

Looking back, Tamera now recognizes another benefit from the sometimes brutal training camps. The fighters, she says, were not only learning how to fight but how to survive all of life’s challenges. “I saw young men’s lives change because of what they experienced and learned working around people with a positive attitude and [who were] goal oriented,” Tamera says. “Hard work, teamwork and surrounding themselves with good people will open doors to a wide range of potential successful adventures.”

Training camp and the MMA experience was “life-altering” for her and Todd, she adds. “It changed our lives.”