LANSING, Mich. — As most of the Lansing Mall’s doors closed for the night and the last few shoppers slowly filtered out, one door stayed open, welcoming a new crowd, one that wasn't there to go shopping.
“It’s like Night at the Museum,” said fight promoter Ron DeLeon. “The mall comes alive once the door is locked.”
DeLeon, who has spent 29 years putting on fights across the greater Lansing area, has staged events anywhere and everywhere, from nightclubs to high schools and armories, the Lansing Center and now, the Lansing Mall.
For the past three years, DeLeon has put on the Capital City Cage Fight Championships at the venue every three months, with the next event set for Saturday, July 18.
“We get them packed in there,” DeLeon said. “We're looking at an average of about 1,100 people a show.”
A sprawling line wrapped around the mall’s last open door as it swung open, a crowd that seemingly exceeded DeLeon’s prediction of 1,100, if not in numbers, at least in spirit and energy. Antsy, excited fight fans filtered through the double doors, clearing security and getting their tickets from the desk that greeted them.
The official attendance was 1,177, with each person stepping into a completely transformed mall.
The entire west wing had been cut off, highlighted by a massive, raised, eight‑sided chain‑link octagon. Surrounding it were rows and rows of black chairs that stretched nearly to the storefronts of the mall on every side of the cage, decorative lights hung from the ceiling above. Below the lights, DJs blared music and local Lansing businesses promoted their brands with free gifts and gear.
Worn-out, unused mall storefronts had been repurposed into concession stands, selling pizza, sodas and beer. Other stagnant retail spaces were repurposed into makeshift fighter warm-up rooms.
The slate began at 8 p.m. with 10 amateur fights. Wrestlers, strikers, and first timers took their turns, fighting under the sharp lights illuminating the octagon. Between nearly every bout, DeLeon grabbed the mic to shout out local gyms and businesses, turning pauses between fights into small celebrations of the Lansing community.
At the center of the event stood defending CCCFC champion Taylor Antles (5-3-1). The challenger was Marcus Arens (2‑1).
This was the main event fight, a 170‑pound championship, that punctuated the evening. Their names printed at the top of fight cards left on every seat in the mall.
Arens, 24, spent his camp sharpening the basics and focusing on himself rather than on his opponent.
“The biggest thing has just been working on my striking, my grappling,” he said.
Arens didn't tailor his training to Antles, instead emphasizing his growth in the cage.
“I’ve just been so focused on myself,” Arens said.
Heading into the fight, Arens hoped his physical skills would help him most.
“I just think my speed, my athleticism, I think that’s going to play a huge thing into this,” Arens said.
Antles, 27, came into the fight as DeLeon’s longest-reigning champ dating all the way back to 2019, wanting to prove something. Antles had been training tirelessly for this fight, building his days around a strict routine. He trained Muay Thai and jiu‑jitsu with his team on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; one‑on‑one striking sessions with his coach on Tuesday and Thursday; and Sunday consisted of conditioning work at his home gym.
“I work out in a home gym every day.” Antles said “I had a lot more time to prepare and kind of spend the whole day training,”
Despite the strict structure and hours of training throughout the week, Antles didn’t mold his camp around Arens. Instead, he focused on sharpening the tools and skills he trusted most.
“At the end of the day, if I go out and fight my fight, and I’m happy with what I did, then there’s nothing to be worried about,” Antles said.
Antles was focused on setting the tone, not wanting to let Arens settle in.
“Just kind of making him pay for anything… nothing’s for free,” Antles said. “Any time he was coming inside of a certain zone, making him pay for it.”
Antles wanted pressure from the start to make Arens feel his presence as soon as the fight began.
“I want to get in there, and just kind of let them know that I'm there,” Antles said. “Just set the tone, you know.”
Antles would succeed in setting that tone. The fighters met in the center of the cage, separated only by the official giving a quick rundown of the rules. Neither looked away during the tense faceoff. After a brief touch of gloves, they returned to their corners for a final moment. The official glanced at each fighter, stepped back, and clapped his hands together, unleashing the command to fight.
Both fighters met in the center of the ring once again, this time with a kind of bubbling intensity between them that warned something violent was seconds away. It took only eight.
Antles met Arens more than halfway into his corner. After a pause, Antles made the first move, an outward swinging left leg kick aimed at Arens' head. Arens was able to block the kick. Then, almost instantly, Antles continued to apply the pressure with an intentionally exaggerated high and to‑the‑right jab, which forced Arens to block again, this time opening up the right side of Arens’ face. Like a flash of lightning, Antles then unleashed a left‑handed hook, a punch that seemed to vanish almost as quickly as it appeared. It tore across Arens’ right cheek, the flash punctuated not by thunder but by the dull pop of knuckles meeting jaw.
Arens fell to the ground as Antles sprung on top of him, delivering two more punches to the face before the official jumped in between the two fighters. Antles won by KO/TKO 8 seconds into the fight. Antles bounced to his feet and celebrated with the ecstatic crowd, climbing the fence and straddling the top, stretching his arms out wide. Successfully defending his belt, continuing his title reign.
“I’m baaaaaack,” Antles said when receiving his belt. “You can’t stop me, you can't break me.”