Well the relaxing time is over and it’s time to get back to work.  Two weeks ago I won the amateur Battlefield middleweight title. In the days leading up to the fight I found it weird that I was going to go into a fight and attempt to stand up and box the entire fight. My hands were untested but I was confident.  During the camp I was beat up and tired and didn’t train much until I got back from the island. I had to cram in all the rounds of pads I could do. Lucky for me,  Shawn Albrecht and Josh Bohnen were there for me whenever I needed them and I was able to gain the confidence needed to go in there and not think about wrestling. Right before the fight I was talking to Josh and he told me he was going to throw kicks and I just had to step in and throw the right hand when he did so. It happened to work just perfectly twenty some odd seconds into the first round.

Road to the Pro’s: Micah Brakefield #5

I get much more nervous when my friends are going in for their fights. When David Kennedy was getting ready to walk out I was so nervous that I completely forgot that I was fighting until I looked down at my hands, realised they were all taped up and I was going to be fighting in half an hour or so.  After my fight, as soon as I stepped out of the cage all I could think about was that fact that Jeremy (Kennedy) was about to get that belt put around his waist as well. I knew Jeremy was going to win this fight, he was looking way to good before for me to think anything else. I didn’t however see it being so completely one sided. Jeremy looked like a stud, won every aspect of that fight and it was a lot of fun to watch. The crowd was going crazy the entire five rounds and there was no doubt in anyone’s minds that JBC won all 5 rounds. The judges agreed.  Jeremy and I won our titles and David Kennedy is in line for a title shot, the west coast team is looking great.

Not knowing when,where or who my next fight is against is killing me. My coaches want me to take some time off  until sometime in November so I can train all aspects of the fight game. At first I was mad, thinking I should jump back in and fight in September and I still would really like to, but I can see their reasoning and am starting to agree with them. So with not fighting until November at least I really look forward to becoming more well rounded. I want to start doing more jits classes a week so that I can move up the ranks and get my blue belt before the year’s end. Jacen Brooks is now teaching a stand up class right after my wrestling class on Wednesday’s and its going to be a great opportunity for me to get to practice with him. Also Dan MacIver from The Fight Pit is getting ready for his upcoming bout with Marcus Hicks in a pro middleweight fight at Battlefield 10, so every chance I can make it out there to train with him is a great learning opportunity for me. It also helps him out having some extra bodies in there for him to beat up.

For now it’s all about becoming more well rounded. I’m sure I will know who my next opponent is soon, then I can start game planning. For now it’s all about generic mixed martial arts fundamentals. I also plan to get back in the wrestling room at Simon Fraser for a little reality check this next week. Wrestling in that room is just incredible, everyone is so good I am constantly getting tossed around by guys bigger, smaller, stronger and better than I am. It’s why I love wrestling, the people train so hard and so often to go out and compete in one of the world’s most gruelling sports multiple times in a weekend a few times a month for 5 months straight. It’s all for very little external rewards. It’s all for the love of the sport. That’s what makes wrestlers good in my opinion. It does have a lot to do with how a wrestler can control the pace of the fight and  have very good kinaesthetic awareness but I think it’s mostly due to the fact that they are already so used to the grind of preparing for competition and used to the experience of going in for a physical battle.

I would like to thank all my friends, coaches and teammates who make all of this possible. And also a big thanks to my sponsors, Tapout Canada, Dominant Ground, Klench kustom mouthguards, Passion Sports, Fine Art Bartending and Reflex on Kingsway.  Also, check out www.kombatnation.com.