After School, It’s Fight Night For Cleveland's Chase Archangelo

As physical education teacher Chase Archangelo blows the whistle to round up his class of kindergartners, the gym fills with sneakers squeaking, voices overlapping and questions flying before he can answer the last. He pulls out his phone, capturing the babble, the side comments, the small, unfiltered exchanges he’s come to appreciate.

Clips from moments like these have made him a viral hit on TikTok, where more than 270,000 followers tune in for the chaos, humor and unexpected sincerity of his classroom at Constellation Schools in Downtown Cleveland. His most popular video has drawn more than 27.5 million views.

Most of what Archangelo posts is unscripted, half-formed conversations or playful challenges, like a tug-of-war against the entire class.

In the mornings, he’s composed, glasses on, polo tucked in, a steady presence in the gym. Sometimes, his students notice the details, a black eye, the hardened curve of cauliflower ear, small clues to a second life that starts when the final bell rings.

Now, he’s stepping into a new arena. Archangelo is set to make his professional debut May 23 against Sam McGuigan at Caged Thunder: Fight Night in the Land, a milestone that brings his two worlds closer than ever.

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By the afternoon, he’s home just long enough for a quick nap before heading to Strong Style MMA & Training Center in Broadview Heights, where the energy shifts. Hours are spent drilling kicks, grappling, working through rounds in the cage. Even there, between sets, his smile shows through the mouth guard, a reminder that the draw is deeper than discipline.

It’s also where he trains alongside Stipe Miocic, the former UFC heavyweight champion from Euclid, whose presence at Strong Style serves as both a benchmark and blueprint for Archangelo’s own ambitions.

“Stipe has been a really good role model. I think it's time for me to step up to the plate, follow in his footsteps and try to get to that level,” Archangelo says.

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At 27, the Townsend, Delaware, native came to Cleveland for college, wrestling at Cleveland State University before deciding to stay. Now, he’s living Downtown, navigating a career in education with a growing presence in mixed martial arts.

That balance isn’t accidental. The lessons he’s learned in wrestling and MMA carry directly into his classroom. Learning how to lose is part of the curriculum. “I make the mistakes here,” he says, gesturing to the mats. Here, failure is seen as preparation rather than defeat.

“If you’re going to swim, you’re going to get wet,” he tells his students, offering  a simple way of normalizing effort and risk. Every class ends the same way: with a handshake, reinforcing sportsmanship early.

“I learned how to be more patient,” he says. “You never know what these kids are dealing with at home, so even on their worst day, my job is to make sure they’re learning and having fun while doing it.”

He pauses.

“They look at you like a superhero.”

The debut fight, held at the Huntington Convention Center, gives his students and community a chance to see him compete firsthand, something he doesn’t take lightly.

“I was a very quiet individual until I came to Cleveland,” he says. “It helped me try new things, be open and really experience life. The people around me supported me tremendously.”

A tattooed “Archangel” stretches across his abdomen in bold black capital letters, the same name he fights under and a reflection of the identity he’s building. Rooted in the biblical image of St. Michael, a symbol of strength and leadership, the name carries a weight he’s chosen to embody.

As his following grows, he’s started to extend that idea beyond himself, encouraging fans to take part in it, building what he calls an “Archangel army” as he works toward the UFC.

Training at Strong Style MMA, he flows in the ring with the same agility he brings to his students, weaving between blows, ducking in precision, throwing jabs with everything he’s got. 

For his students, that transformation is already visible, even if they don’t fully understand it yet. As interruptions stack up around the school gym, Archangelo moves between them with the same quick reflexes he brings to the cage, redirecting and keeping the chaos under control. To them, he’s still Mr. A, the teacher with the whistle, the jokes and the camera.

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