Junior Dickie White felt his knee pop about two minutes into his match with Brad Daddis, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor from New Jersey.

Daddis had been wrenching White’s leg for most of the match. White, a former wrestler for Ithaca, could not escape the seasoned martial artist’s vice-like grip. Then, after a sudden surge of pain ran through his leg, White repeatedly tapped his opponent, signaling the end of the match. White limped off the mat, grimacing in pain.

“I’m probably not going to be able to walk too well tomorrow,” he said.

White is one of 10 Ithaca College students on the newly established mixed martial arts club, which competed at the third Northeastern Grappling Challenge in Ben Light Gymnasium Saturday.

Mixed martial arts is a no-holds-barred combination of submission moves, kickboxing and various other martial arts like Brazilian jiu-jitsu and judo. The club was founded in the fall by former Bomber wrestling standout Ryan Ciotoli ’02, who is now a substitute physical education teacher in the area. The club focuses more on grappling — mixed martial arts without punching or kicking — though members still spar lightly, never striking with full-force. Ciotoli said as many as 10 colleges in New York have mixed martial arts clubs.

Ciotoli, a national runner-up twice during his stint as an Ithaca wrestler, now competes as what many call an “ultimate fighter.” He holds a 3-1 record as a super welterweight in the United States Kickboxing Association.

In Ciotoli’s most recent match, professional fighter Joe Lauzon applied a standard chokehold called a guillotine. Ciotoli felt if he could outlast or escape the hold, then he would win the match. But he miscalculated and went unconscious due to a lack of oxygen.

“I let it go too long and got caught,” he said. “Those things happen.”

Ciotoli doubled as both a referee and the promoter for Saturday’s grappling competition. Professional and amateur grapplers from around the nation gathered for the competition and the $1,000 grand prize for the winner of the Absolute division – an invite-only tournament of professional grapplers.

Grappling is similar to wrestling, as points are awarded for takedowns and holding dominant positions for a certain amount of time. Where grappling differs from wrestling is the application of submission moves. Submission moves, which can be either a chokehold or the twisting of arms or legs, are designed to force the opponent to give up, or as it is called in mixed martial arts, tap out.

In essence, grappling is a watered-down version of the controversial fighting-style made popular by Ultimate Fighting Championship’s pay-per-view events. Many of the professional grapplers, who participated in the event, compete in leagues similar to UFC with many of the same rules. Certain mixed martial arts competitions, like UFC events, are banned in 10 states, including New York. In grappling, however, punches and kicks are prohibited and competitions are legal nationwide.

Ciotoli said he believes the stigma attached to mixed martial arts stems from a basic misunderstanding of the sport.

“There’s injuries in every sport,” he said. “[Mixed martial arts] is not as bloody and rough as it looks on TV.”

Ciotoli said most television sports highlights, such as reels of vicious football tackles, glamorize the more brutal side of games.

Club members agree that in mixed martial arts, brains always beat brawn. Senior Mike Mainetti, who finished first in his weight-class in the beginner division, called mixed martial arts “physical chess.” Junior Timothy Blair also said strength is second to strategy.

“If you’re not smart, they’re just going to work around your strength and speed and catch you in a situation you can’t muscle your way out of,” he said.

White’s first opponent found that out the hard way.

White choked-out 26-year-old Corey LaPlante by applying a chokehold from behind. After a few fruitless attempts to escape, LaPlante tapped the mat, giving White his first-ever win by tap out.

White admits the sport may not be for the faint of heart.

“You have to be kind of [crazy] to be drawn to this kind of stuff,” White said. “It appeals to a certain crowd. I’m one of those people, I guess.”

In a sport where knees pop and throats are crushed, maybe White is right. In mixed-martial arts, it’s survival of the craziest.