Wilkens Precinct Police Officer Tim Kent Fights for Charity

For most people, stepping into a locked cage and fighting another man would be the most dangerous thing they did that week, not so for Baltimore County Police Officer Tim Kent who patrols the Wilkens Precinct and fought in Friday's Xtreme Cage Wars (XCW) Police verses Firefighters Mixed Martial Arts cagefight.

Everyday Kent puts his life on the line to protect and serve the people of Catonsville and Arbutus. As the early car on his squad, Kent patrols the streets and answers calls on his own as the other officers on the shift are still in roll call.

“We get a lot of service calls in the Wilkens precinct,” said Kent. “We are one of the busiest precincts in the county.”

XCW is a non-profit organization headquartered out of Englewood, Colorado, home to the world renown Craig Hospital which focuses on brain and spinal injuries, the fights that they stage raise money for injured and fallen police and firefighters around the country.

“I have had nothing but support for my fight from my fellow officers,” said Kent. “Everyone from the guys I work with everyday to my supervisors have really been there for me. Everyone is pumped up.”

Kent who has trained in MMA for 18 months, for the last six months at Team Maryland Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in Towson, has seen his training make a difference in his job performance.

“Really I'm more confident to go into a physical situation and be able to defuse it without it escalating,” said Kent. “But I know that if it does get physical I know I have the skills to handle the situation.”

In his fight against fellow police officer Daniel Harper, Kent gave up about 3-inches in height and several inches in reach.

Early in the first round, Kent looked to use his bull like stature to close the distance between himself and his opponent, he ate several jabs in the process. Kent tried to take Harper down with a toss, but was unable to take the fight to the ground.

As the fighters disengaged, Kent threw a looping hook and off balance slipped to the mat. Kent quickly regained his footing and drove Harper across the ring and into the cage. He pummeled his opponent with several close in punches before Harper fought off the cage and reversed the position.

With 10 seconds left in the first round, Harper stung Kent with several unanswered punches to the head, when an official outside the cage ordered the referee inside the cage to stop the fight awarding the win to Harper, much to the dismay of Kent, his cornermen and the fans watching.

“I don't know why they stopped it Tim wasn't phased and was still swinging,” said Stuart Ramos, Kent's coach from Team Maryland Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Despite the loss, Kent plans to continue his training and possibly take another fight. Either way, the people of Arbutus and Catonsville can rest assured he is doing his best to make these communities a safer place to live.