Bryan Porritt is proud of his nickname “Huggy Bear.”

“I have a friend I work with and they call him Pooh Bear,” Porritt said. “The people at where I work wanted to give me a nickname, too. I love it.”

A security guard at the Cherokee Casino in Fort Gibson, Porritt, who lives in Tahlequah, was doing everything but hugging in his heavyweight bout in the Toughman Contest at the Muskogee Civic Center on Friday night.

“I try not to hug as much as possible,” he said with a smile after winning by decision over Adair’s Mitchell Calvert to advance to tonight’s finals.

It was his first time to get into the ring and may do it some more.

“I’m thinking about getting into (Mixed Martial Arts) fighting,” he said. “I wanted to see what I could do against other guys. I know there’s more I have to learn. I thought this would be a quick $1,000 and it’s not. Everyone here in this is tougher than nails.”

The former Sperry High School baseball player, who played for Muskogee native Bill Fisher, wasn’t expecting a walk in the park either.

”I knew the competition would be tough,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to (tonight).”

So is Billy Shaw, a self-described “risk taker.” He’s tried bungee-jumping and now he’s stepped into the ring for Toughman.

“The rush for both is about the same. It’s unbelievable,” the Coweta resident said.

Shaw took the risk Friday night and won by unanimous decision against Phillip Greany of Seminole in their heavyweight bout.

“This is the first time I’ve done this,” he said about stepping into the ring for three one-minute rounds. “I did it for the competition. It’s something I wanted to do.”

Shaw, who won his heavyweight bout over Phillip Greany of Seminole to advance to tonight’s finals, bungee-jumped twice in a week about 10 years ago. Then, a friend of his told him about Toughman.

“He fought in Toughman and told me I had to try it,” Shaw said.

Shaw began serious training three months ago and went from 242 to 218 pounds.

“I was serious about this and I wanted to get into shape,” he said.

The finals start at 8 p.m. with fighters competing in three divisions — middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight.

Division champions in the heavyweight and light heavyweight receive $1,000 and a Toughman jacket with champion on it. Runners-up get $250. Middleweights will get $250 and $100 and jackets.

Tickets go on sale at the Civic Center at noon today.