How to Promote 10th planet while getting your ass kicked.

I had my first MMA fight tonight, and I got my ass kicked. For the most part it was my fault that I lost. When the fight was over I talked to the guy that beat me and he said he'd been stalking me for the past couple of months. He had been checking out videos of a little tournament I won. He had his coach teaching him how to counter the lockdown and rubber guard. I guess that meant that they had to study 10th planet in order to kick my ass. I'm a 10th planet white belt in the truest sense but I feel that I was able to promote the system in my own little way.

Of course, it's also possible that I'm grasping at straws to give myself some sense of solace.

If you got your ass kicked than hes probably better than you. Just train harder. Get explosive strikes. Great untelegraphic kicks and punches. Make sure you can dominate the clinch zone. And when in comes to the ground just try to get on top and when hes in your guard make sure you have drilled the shit outta Rubber guard with punches.

Unlucky Brian, but don't give up. I take my hat off to you for getting in the cage/ring and giving it a go. Learn from your loss and come back stronger for it.

You probably don't want to dwell on it, but how did the fight pan out?

First round: We boxed with each other a little and both landed a few good shots. I landed a few leg kicks. I took him down and controlled him for the last half of the round.

Second round: Started the second round the same way. I he clinched and in the scramble I ended up on bottom. He tried to mount I recovered half guard. Didn't take any damage on the way to securing guard. He was waiting for my rubberguard and pushed me into the fence. I managed to control him for a little while but he ended up posturing and landing some real good blows to my face. The ref would have stopped it if I didn't keep gaining control of his arms.

Third round: we're both exhausted. I throw a couple of leg kicks that land. He catches me with a few good punches. He gets a second wind and starts to get looser with his hands. He lands a few real stiff jabs and backs me up. I can see that he wants to try to finish me while he has the advantage. He can see that I'm not loosing my composure so he doesn't press to hard. In the final thirty seconds of the fight he gets the clinch and throws knees. There's not much on them but he catches me in the groin in the last fifteen seconds or so. I grab my groin instead of throwing a final flurry and that's how the round ends. I told the ref that he hit with a low blow; ref said he saw it.

Final thoughts: At the time I would have given scored it 29 - 27 in his favor. In retrospect, he didn't dominate the second round that much- it just felt that way. Judges scored it 30-27 for him. I talked the the guy I fought after, and he told me he thought I took the first round too -- I don't think Texas judges score anything but strikes. I slipped most of his punches, but a few guys said it looked like I was getting hit from their angle. My opponent also said he thought I he might of hit me in the groin and looked at the ref. the ref said nothing, so he kept on fighting. I don't blame him for that. Truth be told, I don't think it hurt all that much, I just reacted like an idiot. I feel like I lost on because of cardio, and that sucks. Part of me would love to blame it on the five mid-terms I took over the last couple of weeks; in reality I should have gotten up earlier and trained harder. It was my first fight, my first time cutting weight, and a hell of a learning experience. If the promoter offers me a guy that doesn't have a six inch reach advantage on me I'd probably take another fight in December -- after finals and a lot of cardio. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun.

There you go man, you're already able to find lots of positives out of your fight, and you're already planning ways to improve yourself for next time.

And thanks for the write-up too, sounds like you guys gave the crowd an exciting fight!

I have my first MMA fight coming up in March, I should be fighting some pretty awful guys.
The promotion I'm fighting there are probably like three 155 pounders, and I'm one of them.
Chances are I'll end up fighting one of my team mates brothers hah.

@mikesnowdon thanks for the kind words. The crowed enjoyed the fight. Rounds were only three minutes long but it went well.

@JeffRace727 out of the 22 fighters on the card last night, only two had more than 3 fights. Most of us were fighting for the first or second time. I think we were those "aweful guys" you speak of. The promotion I fought for seemed to have half a dozen bantamweights. I was the shortest and my opponent was the tallest. I feel bad for your team mate having to be between you and your opponent.

Brian: it sounds to me like you have the best attitude possible and that's huge. On TUF this week Jon Fitch said he'd much rather have a guy with no talent who's out of shape than a guy with a lousy attitude 'cause you can't do anything about a bad attitude. I have tons of respect for anyone who will sack up and step in a cage with someone. Lotta guys talk, damn few ever do anything about it. Much love and keep reppin 10th Planet brother!

@brian: yeah, most of the guys in the promotion I'm fighting in don't have much experience and I've watched most of the fights and they are sloppy as hell and really there is nearly no grappling to be had haha. I haven't fought MMA before but I've been doing kick-boxing for 6-7 years. My jiu jitsu is pretty good for somebody who has never taken conventional lessons from anyone. I've been beating high-school champion level wrestlers and even their coaches. So I believe I'm going to win, but I'm not a cocky guy by any means, anything can happen.

Brian, I'm with you brotha. I'm a life long martial artist and have been using the system for close to 4 years. Being in central florida, there is no 10th Planet here. I still rep. I've been to multiple gyms including ATT and Gracie Barra, just to rep 10th Planet. I've been beat before but I've also got plenty of wins too. Just keep it up. There's no better way of repping, than on the mat.