My Fight On June 28

I’ve been training for 8 months in preparation for my first mixed martial arts fight, and this weekend I got the opportunity to put my training to the test. The time, energy and blood I’ve invested improving as a fighter paid off with a TKO in the first round.

That’s not to say it was an easy win. My opponent, Eric Willoughby, turned out to be a good athlete and a nice dude. He’s an ex-Army guy, having earned 5 Golden Gloves with a 50-5 record as a boxer, and sported a mean goatee. He certainly was a challenge and a perfect first fight for a newcomer like me.

My game-plan was to come in strong, setting the pace with punch combos, fakes and setting up leg kicks. As we all know, most plans we make don’t turn out the way we plan them. He dominated the first quarter of the round and got some good shots in, bloodying my nose with a barrage of punches and rocking me enough to where all I can remember was black and in and out coherence. From there instinct set in and I went to work with leg kicks, punch combos, and knees to the face. It was nowhere near as smooth as when I was sparring with my training partners but the fundamentals were there. My trainer, Bart Guyer, said that it looked really good for my first fight and I did well changing my game plan when something wasn’t working.

In hindsight, had I known he had such an impressive boxing record, I would’ve attempted to take the fight to the ground where I could have had the upper hand. On the flip side, there’s the possibility I would’ve been gun-shy of his punches, knowing his record and experience.

After the fight, I got the chance to talk with Eric. He was a pretty cool guy to be around. We laughed at the consequences of our actions, him having a cut eye and bruised legs and me having an injury as well. His team was also very pleasant to be around, most of them congratulating me on my victory. I even met a skunk-drunk uncle of my opponent’s who insisted on holding on to my hand way too long during our handshake.

The fun didn’t end when the event was over. When I got home I noticed when I attempted to blow my nose my eye wigged out and pain shot through my eye socket. I initially shrugged it off, thinking it would go away but soon called my doctor (who happens to train with me also), and he insisted I get it scanned, suspecting an orbital fracture. Four hours later it was confirmed I had an orbital fracture, which means Eric busted my eye socket with one of his blows. It turns out air was escaping the wrong way (through my eye socket) and was putting pressure on my eyeball. There’s not much they can do for a small fracture like mine, except let it heal up and not take anymore beatings for a while.

I will probably fight again. I think it’s in my blood. It was an experience like no other in my life, one that couldn’t be replicated by anything else and quite addictive once you get over the pain part.