Staff Sgt. Jackelyn Walker enters the ring to fight Pfc. Gregory Langarica in the bantamweight championship of the finals of the Ft. Hood Combative Championships in Killeen, Texas, on Feb. 16. Langarica won the fight when it was called off in the second round. Walker had to be carried off on a stretcher. Fights during the finals take place in a cage with advanced rules. The Army still doesn’t allow women to fight in combat but does let them fight against male soldiers at mixed martial arts tournaments at Army bases all around the country. (José M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Army women battle men at the Ft. Hood Combative Championships.
Spec. Dariana Chesser fights teammate Spc. Linda Martinez, both with the 48th Chemical Brigade, at the Ft. Hood Combative Championships on Feb. 14. Martinez beat her teammate Chesser in this match. Started as a way to promote the “warrior spirit,” the Army tournaments have gradually come to resemble hard-core “Ultimate Fighting” bouts now widely seen on television. (José M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Staff Sgt. Jackelyn Walker takes blows to the face as she fights Pfc. Gregory Langarica in the bantamweight championship of the finals. (José M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
The audience watches a cage fight at the Ft. Hood Combative Championships in Killeen, Texas, on Feb. 16. (José M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
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Pfc. Yennyfer Usuga, left, with the Army’s 48th Chemical Brigade, fights Spec. Ike Mathes on Feb. 15. Usuga lost this fight and was out of the tournament. (José M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Staff Sgt. Jackelyn Walker is the aggressor as she fights Pfc. Gregory Langarica in the first round of the bantamweight championship of the finals of the Ft. Hood Combative Championships in Killeen, Texas, on Feb. 16. (José M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
Championship belts are lined up before the start of the final matches. (José M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
