MP demonstrates strength in the cage   Perseverance propels Soldier to first middleweight title in hand-to-hand cage fighting                    Susanne Kappler        Leader Staff

Sgt. Danny Cox, 17th Military Police Detachment, is a well-mannered and soft-spoken man –– outside the ring. Once he gets inside the “cage,” though, he transforms into a fierce fighter, ready to knock out his opponent in hand-to-hand combat. The 5-foot-9-inch middleweight fighter was introduced to mixed martial arts by his cousin, who is an instructor for Muay Thai, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu and judo and operates a martial arts training facility in Virginia. He started watching Ultimate Fighting Championship matchups and began to train. He became serious about his new-found hobby during a deployment to Iraq in 2006.  “I started learning with a couple of guys in my squad,” Cox said. “That’s when I started formally training to fight.” His first bout took place in October at an event in Winchester, Va. –– a loss by tapout in the first round. “My first two fights, I was just starting to feel it out. The first one was pretty much all nerves,” Cox explained. “My second fight –– in my opinion, I was decisively winning that fight, but I got caught in the temple and took a knockout,” he said. “But I’m on a three-fight win streak right now.” That streak culminated in the Soldier’s first championship — the middleweight title in the Valley Fight League, which he won June 7 in Cherokee, N.C., in a one-sided fight against Zahay Bone. “It was a two-round fight. I won by using an inside choke. The first round was four minutes, and it was all me,” Cox remembered. “(In the second round,) I did a little toss on him, got the full mount, beat him up for another three minutes or so and got him in the choke.” Cox considers himself a ground-and-pound fighter. His strategy has been to slam his opponent to the ground and strike him while he’s down, but he is training to expand his repertoire. “All my wins came from fighting on the ground, from referee stoppages due to strikes. So, I guess I’m more of a ground fighter, so far,” he analyzed. “I’m working a whole lot on my stand-up game, trying to progress.” Cox is serious about his training and spends three to four hours daily in the gym.  “The training takes a lot of discipline. You pretty much have to change your lifestyle,” he conceded. “You have to eat right; you have to stay religious to your training. You have to keep building on new stuff every day, because it’s a perishable skill. If you don’t stay on top of things, you can forget it.” Despite the amount of time he spends training on top of his busy schedule as an MP, Cox’ wife, Samantha, supports his ambition. “She is at every fight, tapes every fight,” Cox said proudly. “She’s the first one I hear when I go into the ring. She’s extremely supportive. She and my son — I have a daughter on the way — are basically my driving force to do it. They’re my motivation.” The fighter’s success has already resulted in a sponsorship deal with a clothing company, and ultimately Cox, who is currently ranked 53rd in his weight class by the International Sport Combat Federation, hopes to turn pro. First, he will transition from Soldier to civilian when he leaves the Army next month. He will move back to his native Virginia to work in law enforcement and will train at his cousin’s studio –– getting ready for his next fight in August.