“I started it six years ago because I went to other shows and I saw that fighters weren’t getting fair fights; they were getting overmatched. There were guys that had never fought before fighting guys that had six or seven fights,” said Gerber. “I started Iron Cage Clash to really protect the fighters.”

Gerber’s next Iron Cage Clash event is set for May 9 at the Elwood National Guard Armory. His reputation for making fair fights and the professionalism of his shows has had his phone ringing off the hook lately.

“I’ve had over 50 fighters call me that want to be on this show,” said Gerber. “The last three shows have been sold out. I’m already getting huge response for (the Elwood show).”

Whether it’s his students in his taekwondo or jiu-jitsu classes or his students in his MMA program, Gerber gets the satisfaction of a teacher passing on what he’s learned to another generation.

“I get the enjoyment of seeing them do something that I learned from my grand masters and passing it on. Just to see what I teach used and it’s working,” said Gerber.

Gerber has done traditional martial arts demonstrations at his MMA shows before. One featured Amber Leigh Clauson, a Pendleton Heights junior, doing a tumbling routine and staff demonstration.

“It was fun,” said Clauson. “That was the first cage fighting show I’d been to. It was cool.”

Gerber prides his shows on being different than the stereotype of what some consider an MMA show to be, just a couple of guys beating each other up.

In addition to the more traditional martial arts demonstrations, he has some of his younger students show off their skills.

“I call it the Iron Warriors. We have the kids put on the full face mask, so they can punch but they can’t get hurt. It’s more of a demonstration. I teach them some boxing and little bit of what to do on the ground; it’s like a junior MMA,” said Gerber. “Some states are trying to do it with the kids doing full-on MMA. The kids are still growing; they shouldn’t be going full out.”

Attendance at the Iron Cage Clash shows has been growing steadily over the past year. A show in Noblesville drew 700 people, while another one in Marion drew 1,200 spectators.

“It just keeps growing. I think people appreciate what I do; I make sure the show is professional. It’s a family atmosphere in the way we make it,” said Gerber. “It’s not this big old barbaric thing anymore, at least the way I do it. It’s more entertaining and it’s something else to do on a Saturday night.”