California Fight Syndicate

font size decrease font size increase font size
Print
Email
Media
Image Gallery

Rate this item

1
2
3
4
5

(5 votes)

California Fight Syndicate California Fight Syndicate

As my brother Cody and I walk up and introduce ourselves to the staff of the event, I realized that I feel a weird feeling in my gut. At all the other events we attend, I know what we are doing and know that we have a job to do, but this one is different. I am a part of the Mixed Martial Arts community and I feel obligated to find an angle to give these athletes every ounce of recognition they deserve.

When the lights in the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium dimmed and the ring lights flooded the battle grounds, Chris Gregory, the announcer for the night, broke the silence with introductions for the fighters and received nothing less than the welcoming cheers of royalty from the crowd. The fight card for the night consisted of eight fights, four amateur bouts and four professional bouts.

Every one of the fights was a true test of the athleticism of the combaters. None of the athletes retreated or gave any ground up when pushed to their physical and mental limits. There were fighters fighting with broken noses and dislocated shoulders, and rather than tapping, they were being put to sleep with deep rear naked chokes. As a fellow fighter, I can recognize the level of skill, passion and pure drive in the cage. I was impressed with every one of the fights and support they received from the crowd for the performance.

If you have never been in a professional or amateur fight, let me educate you on the course of feelings you get from the pre-fight training up to the actual fight. The first stage of the pre-fight is finding your own ability and skill levels. Lack of confidence is one of the hardest parts to overcome and confidence only comes with time in the cage. The second stage is the four to six hours a day of training and the fear of losing not from the lack of skill, but lack of conditioning. There is nothing worse than getting beat because you got tired and sloppy. You push your body past the point of breaking daily just so your coach can do it again the next morning. Stage three is the cutting weight or gaining weight and the sacrifice to get there. This is something that takes more than a couple days to accomplish. While all your friends and family are eating the most amazing meals in front of you, you’re eating greens and meat 6 to 8 times a day. Next we move on to the pressure from friends and family to win, and the fear of letting the people that believe in you down. Believe me, this weighs a lot on your mind daily, whether you are in the gym or out of the gym. The true test comes the night of the fight once they tape you up and you’re waiting in the back for your match. The feeling you get when your mouth turns dry and you get a nauseous feeling in your gut. You have put all your fears aside and walk out with everyone cheering and yelling your name. Your sight narrows and you get pure tunnel vision as the ref checks you over and you hear your final words of encouragement from your coach. The next thing you are staring your opponent in the eyes and the bell rings. All fear is gone and it’s time to kill or be killed.

Remember that there is a lot sacrifice that goes into being an amateur or professional athlete. Every one of these men or women has a story of obstacles they had to overcome to get where they are and they deserve our full support.

Enjoy the pictures post interview from Joseph “Leonida” Henly after his win.

Xtreme Scale: 4 Fun Scale: 4

Story and pictures by Jamie Leibert