UFC Boston

on ESPN: Reyes vs. Weidman

Many local fighters blew the roof off TD Garden on October 18th. I had a mixed feeling and was very emotional when I was supporting my teammates and watching their fight. I have never admitted that I give up to come back to the cage at TD garden since got a pink slip from UFC. My fighting career has been up and down since then. In order to come back to UFC, all released fighters must have a win strake to come back, and UFC is always looking for younger roosters. I know there are major MMA promotions except for UFC, but when it comes to TD Garden, I become very emotional because I could not bring a victory home Boston, which is my second home. To be honest with you, I was envious of those who were competing in the cage and jealous of their career.

However, Martial Arts, in general, is such a roller coaster-like sport. It is all about the highest or the lowest. A looser has to accept what it is in front of you and there is no way to excuse or talking about “should have“ and “could have“ in the past. At this time, I dedicated myself to my teammates who are taking a big shot in their MMA career and life in general.

My teammate Kyle Bochniak cutting weight

When it comes weight cutting, you do need support from teammates, family friends and etc. Definitely, you cannot make it efficiently without support because your body and mind especially decision making is very weak and at least I would say “it won’t be the best condition at all“ for sure.

I have been in this sport for more than a decade and always learn something new from each weight cut moment of both my case and others’ cases. Safety is the most important thing and being a third eye, arms and legs are very helpful for those who are cutting the last pounds. Anything could happens. For example, a fighter gets dizzy and slipped on bathtub, hit one’s head, gets concussion, and send him or her to a hospital. Of course a fight is off. That fighter is not get paid and even suspended for medical reason.

Hotel room weight cut!! Few more pounds to go

The weight cut sucks 100 percent of the time. Yes, we all dehydrate ourselves to make competition weight. Dehydrated state is very dangerous and we are not supposed to be dehydrated for a long period. With that said, it would be the key for all fighters to make a competition weight in short time. During weight cut process, I and my teammates at least, never stop feeding myself and drinking. There are a few ways to lose $$ pounds in a short period, but fighters have to be prepared for a fight week when most of weight cut happens. Kyle successfully made weight and looked very strong. I think I should write blog about weight cut process in the future.

They all made weight and looked sharp. Weight-cutting isn't exclusive to combat sports, but that's where the practice is most common. When you get in the cage with your opponent, you generally want to be physically larger than they are. This means that within any given weight class, it's desirable to be at the upper limit.

The best part of the Boston card is that we are local! Kyle could use the gym and simulated the fight night. We have done everything we could. What’s more? Just have fun in the cage!

The path I chose in the US might be long and tough for the last 15 years, but Kyle’s story is beyond inspiring. We naturally became best training partners, however, I had no idea about his past until Origin filmed this documentary during his fight camp.

The next day of UFC fight night Boston, I got a call and visited a hotel where all UFC fighters stay for a fight week. Zhang Weili wanted to have a talk with me, so we had a good talk and I shared my experience as a professional foreign athlete with her. We wish we both had more time in Boston, so we could train together. I didn’t expect that she asked me about my pathway to U.S. I felt a lot of sympathy for her tough road to the U.S because I was in the exactly same situation as an international fighter in my past. As long as believe in Asian power, we keep going!

Thanks for reading this. It is like a quick fireworks in a cage of a big venue. One side gets shine and the other side disappears in darkness. We all live in a moment. I hope people see the world fighters live.