Well, since my old log seems to be dead as Sherdog won't let me post in it anymore I am starting a new one. Also, as this is sort of a new phase in my training, I'm going to start it off with a bang:
VICTORY!
VICTORY!
Man, this was a great time. I won by TKO due to the fact that my opponent refused to come out for the third round. His standup was much better than mine, so I ate quite a few shots, but I was able to give some back and was able to keep taking him down. Once, on the ground, I was the superior fighter and had moutn several times. I couldn't finish him, but I did a pretty good amount of damage and also tried for a couple of submissions through the fight. Started to go for an armbar with 10seconds left in round one. I don't know if I missed it or just realized I wasn't going to get it, but I think I elected to just try and hit him as many times as possible before time went out. I also almost got an armbar from guard in round two but couldn't finish. I had it deep but he was able to turn me and get out of it. He got to his feet several times through the fight, but I was able to get him down every time.
I outworked him the entire fight, and he was visibly exhausted which gave me more energy. When it came time to start the third, initially I thought "man, I'm tired", but immediately I realized my opponent was much more tired than I was. Also, due to the intense conditioning that I've done for this fight, the next thought that went through my head was "I've been here before. It's only 3 more minutes, and I've had plenty of times where I was much more exhausted and with much more than 3minutes to go." Than I stood up straight and was ready to go, but my opponent wouldn't stand up and refused to come back out and fight. That's when the fight was waved off and I was declared the window.
Injuries:
I have a few marks on my face but not too bad.
My nose was bloodied but only a little. It's really small so it'll be hard to break.
My right shin is swollen from checking a kick, and my right angle is swollen pretty good.
I ate a kick to the ribs in the very first exchange, and one of my right ribs is now loose. I'm going to go get x-rays tomorrow and see what's up with it, but it's gonna take some time to heal.
In the dressing room after the fight one of the other coaches asked me if I was all right and my response was "I'm ok. I was just in a fight."
Thoughts:
1. Striking, striking, striking! It's got to improve on my end, so it's my major focus now.
2. Resting heart rate decrease: It's too high right now, actually mid 70s and I didn't get it doen fast enough in between rounds. Reading EZA's conditioning thread made me realize that it's something I can do to greatly improve my conditioning. It was too late to mod my training for this fight, but I can now do it in my next phase.
3. Armbars - Just work them in pract constantly. Try to hit them at every angle possible and make them a go to submission. I could have ended this fight several times.
4. Sweeps to my weak side. They're there but not nearly as good as to my strong side.
5. Keep improving my takedowns and takedown defense.
6. Keep working and keep having fun.
I'm the really white guy.
Round 1:
YouTube - Fight 2 Round 1
Round 2:
YouTube - Fight 2 Round 2
Better Quality vid from the promoter:
YouTube - MATT STEWARD VS BRIAN DARICEK-LONE STAR BEATDOWN-6-AMP
