Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford.

Alex Larmey, a combat engineering army officer who recently served in Afghanistan, came down from upstate New York to fight in his first MMA fight at Caged Chaos 8 on Saturday at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC. "I went from being deployed to Afghanistan with a job where all I did was look for bombs. I was in a constant state of adrenaline. Competition feeds that adrenaline addiction and keeps me from emotional depression," explains Larmey about his attraction to a gladiator sport where two people attempt to survive one another inside of a cage.

Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford.

Larney got a start in the army's Modern Army Combatives as a form of military self defense. "Then I met a crazy old Indian named Stonehorse, who just happened to be a world class striking and MMA coach." Alex's favorite fighter is Jose Aldo. "His kicks are nasty and like my coach Stonehorse says, he 'picks the legs off like insects.'

Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford.

Now 1-0, after defeating his opponent with a "rear naked choke" - as described by the fighter, "using one arm around his neck, [I] squeezed off his blood supply, forcing him to tap instead of going unconscious." His next test as a fighter comes in May in a bout in upstate New York where Larney lives.

Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford. Caged Chaos 8 - Photos - Columbia SCCaged Chaos 8 at the Jamil Temple in Columbia, SC - Feb 22, 2014 by South Carolina photographer Sean Rayford.