City Detective Wins Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Debut

For most people, stepping into a locked cage and fighting another man would be the most dangerous thing they did that week.

That was not the case for Baltimore City Police Det. Calvin Moss who patrols the eastside of Baltimore City as a member of police department's elite Violent Crime Impact Section. The detective also fought in Friday's Xtreme Cage Wars (XCW) Police versus Firefighters Mixed Martial Arts cagefight.

Moss trained for the fight at Charm City Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on Belair Road in Overlea.

"Calvin has been training with us for about five months," said Shaun Grazuties, owner of Charm City Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Moss' cornerman. "He had a good wrestling background, so we just had to refine that for the cage."

Moss, who hails from Detroit and graduated from Penn State, chose to work in Baltimore because of its high crime rate.

"If you want to affect the crime rate, you go where the criminals are, and we have plenty of criminal activity in Baltimore," Moss said.

Moss' unit is specifically assigned to focus on the most violent areas of the city. The primary goal is to reduce the number of homicides and other violent crimes committed with a focus on gang activity.

"I go into the precinct, grab an unmarked car and go out on the streets in jeans and a tee shirt looking for criminal activity," said Moss. "I try to get close enough to witness suspicious activity and investigate it. It could be a hand-to-hand drug deal, or someone carrying a concealed weapon. Sometimes they make eye contact with you and just run and the chase is on."

Compared to Moss' everyday job, fighting fellow police officer Greg Boris seemed easy. Moss controlled the first round with his impressive Brazilian jiu-jitsu and carried that into the second round by taking Boris down. Midway through the round he was able to isolate Boris' arm and crank a kimura lock, forcing Boris to tap out, ending the match with Moss claiming the victory.

"Calvin went in there and imposed his will," said Grazuties. "He circled around and threw some jabs before taking the fight to the ground and dominating. Calvin had him mounted for most of the first period and got some good ground and pound in, but in the second period when he locked up that kimura, I knew it was over."