OUT OF KICKBOXER'S DEFEAT COMES HOPE; RECOGNITION IN EYES OF NEIGHBORS, SHOT AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WORTH POUNDING FOR SIMI VALLEY FIGHTER NOW THAT HE'S RESTED AND READY TO ENTER RING.

Byline: Douglas Clark Daily News Staff Writer

Except for a pink scar on his right eyelid, Jim Mullen's sculpted body shows no sign of the bloody beating he endured in February.

In fact, Mullen's first, disastrous foray into the world of ultimate fighting - a controversial combat sport - may have deepened his fan base, even if it didn't advance his martial arts career.

``I've had more people come up to me and say, `Jimbo, you have more courage than anybody I've ever seen,' '' Mullen said. ``I got more positive feedback from that loss than I did from most of my victories.''

During his ultimate fighting bout on Feb. 7 in Dothan, Ala., Mullen was battered, choked and knee-kicked by a 323-pound opponent nicknamed ``The Pitbull.''

Mullen - 210 pounds - said he wanted to ``tap out'' and let the referee stop the madness. Instead, he was pinned against the chain-link sides of the octagonal ``cage,'' surrounded by a roaring crowd, with friends and family watching on pay-per-view television.

``It felt like a truck was crushing me. I couldn't move this guy,'' Mullen said. ``And everything in my mind was saying tap out, tap out. I got right to that point when I couldn't breathe and I was going to tap, but something inside me said forget about it,'' he said.

Mullen, 27, had hoped that ultimate fighting would continue a martial arts career that includes five national amateur kickboxing championships and the professional North American kickboxing title.

But Mullen says there are no emotional scars from that night. In fact, the loss may only have served to focus his dreams.

On Saturday, Mullen will compete for the world title in the Global Invitational Kickboxing Championships at the Moorpark College gymnasium.

Mullen said a win could bring him lucrative title fights in Europe, where he could make as much as $30,000 per bout. He was promised $4,000 for Saturday's event, which is being promoted by Robert Beene Productions, a Simi Valley company that hopes to sell the fight to various cable network markets.

Negotiations for the broadcast rights are ongoing, Beene said.

But aside from the relatively modest monetary rewards of a world kickboxing title, Mullen hopes the prestige a victory would bring will assure the success of his year-old studio - Ultimate Fighting Concepts, where he teaches martial arts to about 50 students.

Not that Mullen has stopped dreaming of the ultimate fight. If he gets past kickboxer Schelle Rescca, the European champion who is a 100-to-1 favorite, Mullen said he would like to return to the ultimate fighting arena. But next time he'll compete in a 200-pound-and-under weight class.

And Mullen will work to fix the one costly mistake he said he made in his match with Scott ``The Pitbull'' Ferrozzo. He let his feet come too close together, he said, rather than assuming a broad base from which he could throw a powerful punch.

``It was my mistake. And I paid for that mistake by letting a 300-pound man get on top of me,'' he said.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--color) Left, Jim Mullen kicks a bag held by his brother Tim. (2--ran in CONEJO edition only--color) Above, Jim Mullen of Simi Valley stands beside a boxing ring erected by First Nissan of Simi Valley. Mullen recently fought in the Ultimate Fighting match in Alabama.

(1) Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News

(2) Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News