Inside ASAP Fight Promotions and the amateur grind shaping MMA’s next generation

If you asked most people about MMA, they would likely point to major promotions like the UFC. But before fighters reach that stage, they come from somewhere far less visible: grueling amateur circuits where performances are do-or-die and money is hard to come by. Amateur fighters come from all over the world, but in the Northeastern United States, former Bellator fighter Pete Rogers Jr. and his father, Pete Rogers Sr., have been making their mark on the sport. At Rogers Academy of Martial Arts in North Franklin, Connecticut, they not only help train the next generation of fighters, but also…