Extra motivation

A twisted, tangled scar, stretching from left ear to collarbone, reminds Arthur Milam there are more frightening things than climbing into the cage.

The 29-year-old Orange native was well on his way to making his amateur mixed martial arts debut while training at Zamora Boxing Gym in late 2009, but everything came crashing down with one terrifying word — cancer.

“When someone tells you something like that, it’s like they’re cutting your legs off,” Milam said. “I’ve always been a real active person, but the first thing I thought was, ‘Well, no more sports for me.’”

Instead of walking down the ramp and trading leather in November, Milam went under the knife to have a cancerous tumor removed from his neck.

Less than a year later, he is preparing for a shot at Barbarian Fight Club’s 185-pound championship in just his third MMA bout.

“That just shows his drive and tenacity to finish something he started,” said Eric Zamora, owner and head trainer at Zamora Boxing Gym. “I saw lots of potential the first time I met Arthur, but his heart is what’s going to carry him a long way.”

Milam (2-0) will face defending champion Bill “The Manheim Strangler” Bookwalter at BFC’s “Fight Fair” Thursday at the Fredericksburg Fair Grounds.

Bookwalter, 31, enters the bout with a 6-4 record. The jujitsu and sambo practitioner from Lancaster, Pa., was on the cusp of going pro before a recent setback.

“I would say he’s Arthur’s most dangerous opponent in terms of experience,” Zamora said. “But is a guy with 10 fights always going to beat a guy with three? No. Anybody can lose on any given night.”

Zamora said Bookwalter’s takedowns and takedown defense are sloppy, but Milam will have to be careful about the champion’s submission attempts from his back.

Milam could care less who his opponent is — he just wants to fight.

And who could blame him? He’s been battling an invisible foe for years, and it all started with a little bump.

The comeback
The winter of 2009 wasn’t the first time Milam had an inkling something was wrong with his neck. In fact, he said the first time he noticed a bump he was 25.

“I could always see and feel it, but nobody else could,” Milam said.

But a harrowing message forced the Orange County High School graduate to come to grips with the day he had been dreading.

“The doctor said either we remove the tumor or you live with it and eventually die from cancer,” Milam said. “(MMA training) was the hardest thing to walk away, but what choice did I have? It’s not like they were operating on my hand — it’s my neck.”

The surgery left Milam unsure about his future, but he said training at Zamora’s gym was his miracle cure.

“This is where I did my rehab,” Milam said of the gym on Montanus Drive. “That’s why I love this place so much.”

The first person outside of medical personnel to touch Milam’s neck after surgery was former UFC champion Dan “The Beast” Severn, who was in Culpeper holding an MMA seminar.

“There I was with Dan Severn cranking on my neck,” Milam said. “But I figured if this 250-pound UFC Hall of Famer can crank on it, anyone can.”

Milam just returned to full-contact training in March of this year, but he has already reeled off two impressive victories — neither of which has made it out of the first round.

He made his 185-pound debut in June with a first-round stoppage of Jeremy Wood. The 5-foot-11, 200-pounder followed that up with a submission victory via rear naked choke over Joseph Selvig in July.

“That (submission) showed his composure and that he listens,” Zamora said. “We always tell our guys to go for position over submission. You have to control your opponent first, and that’s what he did.”

Feeling at home
Despite only having two fights under his belt, Milam has already become known for the bone-rattling slams he’s executed in both bouts.

“I’m sure those guys were thinking, ‘No one has ever done that to me at my gym,’” Zamora said. “It probably hurt their confidence a little, and I’m sure they were wondering what they had gotten themselves into.”

Milam’s pension for powerbombs is probably a direct result of the time he has spent in wrestling rooms since he was 12 years old.

The 1998 OCHS graduate was crowned district champion three times, regional champ twice and ranked in the top 10 wrestlers in Virginia his senior year.

“Wrestlers make the best transition to MMA,” said Milam, who also played football for the Hornets. “Wrestling, like MMA, is so personal. Whether it’s on the mat or in the cage, when you’re in there it’s just you and him.”

Milam is understandably excited about his title shot, but he also knows becoming champion is simply a means to an end.

“It’s going to feel great (to win), but it’s really just an oversized belt buckle,” Milam said. “I’m going to be a great champion and defend my belt, but this is just a step in the right direction toward going pro.”

Milam knows his dream of breaking into the UFC is going to take years of hard work and sacrifice, but he shouldn’t have any problem staying motivated.

All he has to do is look in the mirror.

Want to go?
What: BFC’s “Fight Fair”
When: Tonight at 8
Where: Fredericksburg Fair Grounds, 2400 Airport Ave.

Tonight’s championship bouts

Arthur Milam
Hometown: Orange
Height: 5-11
Weight: 185 pounds
Record: 2-0
Opponent: Bill “The Manheim Strangler” Bookwalter

Juan Vazquez
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Height: 5-9
Weight: 145 pounds
Record: 2-0
Opponent: Daniel “Yeager-Bomb” Yeagley

Gabby Holloway
Hometown: Orange
Height: 5-4
Weight: 145 pounds
Record: 2-0
Opponent: Jenn “Visegrip” Martin