May 27 — While the biggest fight in the world was going on: Ultimate Fighting Champions (UFC) Chuck Liddell vs. Quinton Jackson battling for the UFC Championship at UFC 71 – our local exhibition fight for two first time fighters was the same day.

You won’t see us on PayPerView but I hope we had just as much fun as Mr. Liddell and Mr. Jackson.

My hobby is MMA fighting – it’s a great sport – this match was kickboxing only.

Bruce (Black Shorts) 209lbs vs. Rich (Blue shorts/ shirt) 217 lbs

Rich was really strong on power and punching – my biggest mistake (as the whole crowd pointed out) was having my hands down. I got in some good leg kicks in and a couple punches. Another big strength of Rich was in his early punch flurry – this and me getting him to the corner sapped my energy right away. We were both pretty tired at the end.

Thanks for the match Rich.

Special thanks to Mike True, head coach and owner of Fightzone – both my and Rich’s coach and the organizer of the whole tournament. Mike organized 13 matches and all other aspects of the day. Special thanks also to our corner men Jessie Rebel and Chris Rondeau: two great coaches and fighters who show us how hard work can pay off. Thanks to the refs as well who kept everything fair and safe.

It was also nice to see my former coach who introduced me to the sport, Steve from Boston Muay Thai at the event.