Hell it’s safer than riding a motorcycle. I can control what goes on in a cage. Punch someone in the face on a Friday night, not get arrested, receive cash for the work and shake hands with appreciative strangers. This is the America my grandfather taught me about. The ultimate exercise of free will. Isn’t that what we cherish most? Hit and get hit: it’s liberating!
Ya see, in a cage there are no lawyers to argue sides or police to protect you. It’s just you and another wild animal. Cage fights are a microcosm of life. You have to look closely to see, but inside that cage are two men fighting themselves.
Chuck Liddell said in an interview once, “What’s there to be nervous about?” The great ones enjoy the struggle. It is in those dangerous moments that fighters are the most calm, composed and focused. It is a discipline that cannot be taught. That discipline is what separates MMA from all other sports. There are downs in football, pitches in baseball and standing 8 counts in boxing. MMA fighters don’t get those luxuries.
With a second round knockout on Friday night I realized the discipline of fighting. That discipline is called confidence. I threw a right hand like I knew it was destined for destruction, and oh was it ever. My opponent Dominic Brown lay unconscious for nearly two minutes. Dominic is a veteran of 28 professional fights and countless other amateur and grappling competitions. I am a retired bar manager.
Combinations and footwork are not enough in MMA, they are merely standards. Great strikers are blessed with timing. They stalk their prey like a hunter with weapons cocked. I am not claiming to be in that category, but I felt unnaturally calm on Friday night. After all, what’s there to be nervous about?
I have been offered a fight August 8th in Tulsa, Oklahoma with Freestyle Cage Fighting. My opponent that night will be Aron Lofton. He looks like a huge scary dude on youtube.com. What’s really scary is that people are starting to talk that way about Brad Imes’ little brother. Before long they may actually refer to me as Brian Imes.
Until that day comes I will continue to fight and train like a man with no name. All I have is an endless desire. That desire is to climb out of a shadow I have known my entire life, then cast my own. I’ve seen huge scary dudes before. The only thing that scares me is failure. I’m just no good at it.
By: Brian Imes
“The Human Cock Fighter”
Congratulations to Brian Imes who won his fight on Friday, July 10th at Whisky Tango in Grain Valley, Missouri. A big right hand in the second round violently ended the fight. Brian’s next fight will be be August 8th in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is a Freestyle Cage Fighting promotion. His opponent will be Aron Lofton(6-2).
Brian Imes is a professional mixed martial arts fighter, brother of TUF 2 finalist Brad Imes, and a contributing writer to PRO MMA (promma.info). You can learn more about he and Brad and check out their clothing line at www.hillbillyfightwear.com.