Former Marion Wrestling Star Finds MMA Talent With 'Heart' Back Home in Iowa

Donald Royer left Marion two decades ago after four-straight years on the Junior Olympics Games' wrestling team while attending .

He’s back, though -- in away.

He does occasionally visit his beloved home town, but he’s living in Tucson, currently managing professional mixed martial artists. Despite the approximately 1,500-mile move, he prefers to sign athletes from his hometown of Marion and areas nearby. He believes Iowa wrestlers are more grounded — and have "heart."

UFC, the popular promotor of MMA fights, is estimated to have a a fan base of approximately 31 million people in United States. MMA, through the UFC, is the only sports property to experience growth in its fan base over the last three years.

"I know Marion and Linn-Mar and Cedar Rapids — it is a big pool of great wrestlers," he said. "I want to help them succeed, because that is my home town."

Right now he’s managing Cedar Rapids resident and 23-year-old Zach Mills, who turned pro three months ago and started fighting as an amateur 2.5 years before that. 

"He is just honest," Royer said. "He had a heart and he wants to be a champion."

While words like champion are seemingly thrown aimlessly in sports stories, there’s something to be said about Mills’ ambition, work ethic and fury.

"I’ve broken noses. I have KO’d guys, last summer I threw an overhand right — Logan Ford was his name, the fifth ranked guy, stand up guy — hit him in the nose."

But what does he and other wrestlers get out of it? After all, MMA is one of the most violently brutal sports in existence.

Three things:

1. It’s a sport with clear winners and losers. When he wins, he’s the better man. And, when he loses:

“So you watch a basketball game. The team can make an error and someone else can win the game. Those guys truly aren’t the best. When you stick two guys in a cage, the best man wins."

2. Mills is also addicted to progression. He trains full time, sometimes eight hours a day. Not working towards his dream, is psychologically taxing.

"If I have to sacrifice a practice to go to work, it’s the worst thing in the world. I’m putting my dream on hold for a few hours."

3. There’s also a certain thrill to the fight, a way to get caught in a moment and use violence in a way that Mills finds professional, honorable and self-gratifying.

"It’s about domination, personal victory. I love seeing that look (in the opponent’s) eye: I am locked in a cage with a guy I can’t take down, I can’t damage, what do I do?"

But for all his years of experience, both Mills and Royer see Mills as a beginner.

He’s only seen one professional fight. He lost, but in all fairness to him, the other fighter won after Mills KO'd him. Apparently, the man was so thoroughly trained in Jiu-Jitsu, that his muscle memory kicked in while he was unconscious and put Mills in a match-ending hold.

"He is right at the beginning. He is at the baby fights." Royer said. "But I know that he is going to be a champ."

Mills agrees. He's said he's putting off friendships, relationships and having time to himself. All he does is work at Deanoz Sports Bar & Grill in Cedar Rapids as a cook/waiter so he can pay the bills and train so he can be the greatest MMA fighter ever — even when he admits that might not happen.

Now that Royer is on the business side of managing fighters, he said he doesn’t mind his transition from athlete to coach to manager. He loves finding talent, even from states away. He's especially excited about a Marion wrestler turning pro soon whom he promised to tell me about soon, but that might not be enough for him.

He just wants more Marion wrestlers.

"I am 43. I am not there to fight," he said. "Me finding a great wrestler in Cedar Rapids and Marion — obviously it helps me having fighters in my team of fighters — but I still go back to Marion."