The brackets were finally done and I was scheduled to fight a girl from Turkey on the 30th. So, I had 2 days to keep my weight in check and try to not be consumed by adrenaline. There were 9 girls in 51kg (112lb.) weight division. Every day was spent at the venue. Some of my teammates won and some lost. But no matter what the result was the team pulled together. The morning of the fight I woke up at 6:30 am to make sure I don’t have to cut any water weight. I was 4oz over and the idea of getting into the sweat suit was very unappealing. So I decided to wait a little. There are several tricks to get rid of a few ounces like spitting a few times and keep going to the bathroom and so on. At 7 a.m. I did the medical and the weigh in and I was at weight so that stress was over. I replenished my body with an electrolyte beverage and got some breakfast. I was scheduled to fight later in the day so I had a lot of time to kill until my fight. The two days before I had watched the girls from Turkey to get an idea about their fighting style. They come from a tae Kwan do background which makes them very unusual fighters. They are busy and chaotic and unexpected. I was nervous. My last fight was in July and I felt a little rusted. And the level here was much higher than anything I had experienced before. I knew she wasn’t going to hurt me and the physical pain was never an issues for me. I don’t fear. Joe gave me the pep talk and my confidence was raising. All fighters are a bit nervous before fights even though some don’t admit it and some would rather not acknowledge it. I got my rub down. After I warmed up a little I shyly whispered to Joe in confidence that I was doubting my conditioning. I had to fight 4 rounds for the first time ever (usually it’s 3 rounds). But I knew I was in better shape than ever. So, there were probably the nerves talking. The Turkish girl decided to play the intimidation game, something that happens a lot in this world and I personally despise it. She came in the room that I was warming up and started to hit pads. My entire team stopped to watch her and I saw the smiles on their face. They knew that poor manifestation of skills would have no effect on me. I smiled too. I knew the fight will be chaotic but I was ready. I got my gear on (we had to wear protective gear that the organization provided and being used by so many fighters the gear was sweaty and smelly). The entire team walked with me to the blue corner. After I did the ram muay the fight started. And it was chaotic as I suspected. She was swinging punches and kicks and back spinning elbows and it felt like they were all coming all at once. There was no power behind them but she was scoring a lot of points and I didn’t want to find myself left behind. So I forgot all about standing my ground and fighting Thai style and I fell into her rhythm. I won the fight but I was disappointed with my performance as well as Joe and Rambo who actually smacked my head and said to me: “No, miss, no!” and gave me a look so mean I was afraid he will beat me up. I found the Turkish girl hysterically crying in the bathroom and she hugged me and sobbed on my shoulder. My heart was breaking for her but I am glad it wasn’t breaking for myself. This is the game. One fighter had to lose and I was glad that wasn’t me. I had no injuries and my next opponent was going to be a girl from South Africa.
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