© Provided by The Repository Isaiah Chapman poses at the Bellator 232 weigh-in event in October. (Photo by Williams Paul/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Akron native Isaiah Chapman slumped into a chair in the bowels of the Canton Memorial Civic Center. His breathing heavy. His gloves and tape smeared in blood.

Trainers quickly began removing his gloves and cutting the tape from his wrists. Coaches forced the straw of a water bottle into his mouth in an effort to rehydrate him.

The man who went by the nickname of the "The Beast" is victorious this night — March 1, 2014. Chapman outlasts Charles Stanford for an impressive unanimous decision win at NAAFS Driven MMA 1 to improve to 5-1 as a pro.

In a sport where even victory takes it's toll, Chapman is looking worse for the wear.

Things escalate when an on-site physician becomes worried and plunges a needle into his arm to start an IV to speed up the rehydration process. I'm shocked by the graphic nature of the scene and ask Chapman if he wants to continue with a post-fight interview.

Chapman doesn't hesitate and answers questions quietly and politely in between receiving medical attention — medical attention he put off to sign autographs along the railing of the stands after his scheduled three-round fight went the distance.

"He took his commitment to the fans and the sport really seriously," former NAAFS matchmaker and Massillon resident Nichole Long-Castillo said. "That was a different era and he was really a byproduct of that. He was from the generation that viewed themselves as martial artists and not fighters. I think the guys in that time were a little more humble and graceful than they are today and he was a prime example of that."

An example taken from us far too soon by an act of gun violence outside of his Akron residence late Tuesday. The crime takes away a fighter, and a proud father of three, in the prime of his life at the age of 30.

"It's definitely a tragedy," former NAAFS opponent and Carrollton native Dustin Kempf said. "There are other people I met in MMA that if they happened to be a victim of gun violence, I would look at the situation and say, 'OK, I can see that possibly happening.' I never would have believed something like this would happen to Isaiah. It's just wild."

Chapman, a Kenmore High School product, had just made his Bellator debut in October 2019. He also had fought for the national World Series of Fighting promotion and had put together an impressive 9-4 professional record.

That came after a decorated amateur career that saw Chapman pile up a record of 12-1 and multiple championships. However it was Chapman's character outside the cage that was recognized as much as his ability inside of it.

"He was just a whole-hearted and humble guy," former training partner Antonio Castillo Jr. of Massillon said. "He was the perfect example of a fighter you would want if you were a promotion. He didn't have an ugly bone in his body and was just a great representative for the sport. This is the guy you would want wearing your gear and the guy you would want to see thrive as a fan. That's what makes it all so sad."

Despite all the success and all the accolades, fighting was not a planned career for Chapman. He was a factory worker that took up MMA on a whim after someone at the shop found out about his amateur wrestling background.

"A co-worker approached me about giving it a try during a shift change," Chapman told me in 2014. "I picked up things quickly. Especially the ground game because I was a wrestler. I decided to test the waters, and the gym put me in some tournaments. Everybody told me I had potential, and after the first fight I was hooked."

It was that wrestling background that would lead to success throughout Chapman's career. Opponents struggled to stop his takedowns. He picked up Brazilian Jiu Jitsu quickly to complement his wrestling, which led to several submission victories. That was all while taking college classes and focusing on being a father outside the cage.

"He was always easy to deal with," Long-Castillo said. "This wasn't a guy that ever gave me issues or problems. The thing I remember most was him swinging by the office with his kids to pick up paperwork. He was always coming from school. He was always looking for ways to improve himself as a fighter, a father and a person."

Chapman's son and two daughters were always a source of pride and he would often bring them with him wherever he went.

"He always had his kids at the gym whenever I trained with him," Castillo Jr. said. "He was a family man and he always made it clear he was a dad first before anything else."

While getting him to talk about his family or the sport was easy, getting him to talk about his considerable skills often proved difficult.

"I remember our post fight interviewers always telling me getting answers out of him in the cage was like pulling teeth," Long-Castillo said. "He was humble and soft spoken. They used to almost have to put the microphone directly on top of his mouth so the crowd could even hear him."

That quiet demeanor would be shattered within seconds of a fight getting underway in the cage.

"That nickname of 'The Beast' was really appropriate," Kempf said. "He had a switch. He would go from the nicest guy in the world to an absolute monster the second the bell rang. It was crazy. He could turn it off and on very easily, though. He would go back to his normal, humble self the second a fight was over."

A suspect was arrested Wednesday night and charged with Chapman's murder after being interviewed. The man is currently being held in Summit County jail. A GoFundMe page was started for Chapman's family to cover funeral expenses.

"Whenever someone dies it's a cliche for people to go back and say he was the best guy in the world," Kempf said. "I'm going to sound like a broken record but I really thought he was. I keep wondering what could have possibly happened to lead to this. It's a sad, unbelievable situation."

Reach Cliff at 330-580-8494

or cliff.hickman@cantonrep.com

On Twitter: @chickmanREP