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“Gasnier is arguablythe best pound for pound striker in the world. He’s been clocked at having the fastest knockout at 4.1 seconds. His kick registers at over ninety miles per hour...”
Tegan Holland wore a small smile as her friend Fiona launched into the statistics their co-worker Kylie had mentioned. Well, ‘warned’ her about was more accurate. Both Tegan and Fiona strolled from the coffee shop they all worked at, across the road, to Sovereign Arena, joining hundreds and hundreds converging on the main gate.
Tegan was lead to believe most, if not all, were here to see Owen Gasnier fight in the Cage as the main event of the night. Born in Sydney, yet living in America, this was Gasnier’s first ‘hometown fight’. Tegan was completely clueless about MMA. For the last three or so weeks of seeing the signs promoting the event, she could’ve sworn a band called Gasnier was playing at the arena.
“I can’t believe Kylie let her ticket go, after winning them on the radio, just because of a fight with her boyfriend,” Tegan said. She could almost sense the eyeroll and scowl on Fiona’s face.
“Teegs, save yourself some therapy and listen to FiFi. Don’t go there. These are worth over a grand each and she chucks it in because her pasty dicked troll, otherwise known as the Fuhrer, or boyfriend, forgot he let her choke collar loose. If there’s one person I’d love to kick right in the dick, it’s him. But kinda wanna bang some sense into her as well. He gets the shits because if his slave dares to start thinking for herself maybe she’ll realise his flaccid, two-incher on a good day, pickle ain’t so whizz bang. They fight. They make up. They fuck. Rinse and repeat. I’ve tried and tried to tell her to ditch the he-bitch. But you can’t get through to some people. Anyhoo, I’m just glad you agreed to come. I know fighting isn’t your thing, but hey, ringside seats and free booze! Yay!”
Tegan went back to nodding along while Fiona continued rattling off Gasnier facts like bullets, one after the other, barely stopping to take a breath. “I had no idea you were so into this.”
“I’ve worn my Gasnier shirt heaps of times at work. You’ve just never noticed.”
“So, who’s he fighting?”
“Rudy Dominov. A technical fighter out of Russia. He won his last fight by submission. He’s got a great mat game.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well, if you believe the experts, if he gets Gasnier off his feet and on top of him, it’s all over.”
“What do you say?”
“Gasnier will kick nine colours of shit out of him. Fight won’t last a round.” Fiona replied matter-of-factly.
Tegan handed her ticket to the door girl, who let her pass. “Let’s hope he’s as confident as you. Holy shit...”
Tegan had just entered the main floor and spotted the incredible structure known as the Cage. The crowd was already filling almost all the seats, and the noise was deafening. Lights and lasers were going off in all directions, and the music thundered all around her. Tegan walked with Fiona, sliding past women posing for selfies and fight fans sporting Gasnier shirts having heated discussions with the official program between them. Tegan found her seat, with the help of an usher, just as the first bout began. The night went on, and by the fifth bout she had already downed one champagne glass for each match she had seen. She was so bored. She didn’t see what drew Fiona. All the fighters looked ridiculous during their entrances. All of them showboating, looking like wankers before they even entered the Cage. The matches weren’t any better. The majority leaned and pushed against the cage, not actually fighting. Or rolled all over each other, making seconds last hours.
“Do they always cuddle on the ground so much?” Tegan shouted over the music as yet another dull match ended.
Fiona laughed. “All of them. Except for my boy.”
“What do you mean?”
“You see how when a guy goes down, the other one starts hitting him as quick and hard as they can?”
“Yeah! I can’t believe they allow that!”
“It’s perfectly legal. It’s called ground and pound. They all do it except for Gasnier. He lets them get back up. He was a huge controversial figure when he started. He got accused of taking bribes to fix matches. Then they said it was to cover his poor ground game. The whole lot. But he was clean. He just refuses to hit them when they’re on the ground.”
Tegan didn’t know the guy, but as her alcohol fuelled brain absorbed that information, her respect for him went up a notch. In this crazy, testosterone laced world, he appeared to have his own way. His own path.
The lights flickered all around the stadium, and the projector screen activated above the Cage. It looked like a news report, no... an interview, was occurring. The caption said ‘earlier today’. The camera showed just outside the arena, it was late afternoon, and a buff looking dude was stepping out of a limo. The caption changed to ‘Rudy Dominov’, and a chorus of boos rounded the crowd.
“Rudy! This is your first time in Sydney. What are your thoughts?”
“Is beautiful city.”
“What about Gasnier? Do you think you have a disadvantage being that he’s fighting in front of his home crowd for the first time?”
A huge cheer erupted after the question.
Tegan couldn’t help but feel goose bumps as the energy of the crowd rose. This was such a big deal to them. And, sure, she didn’t know what was going on, but the excitement was becoming contagious.
“No, no. Crowd means nothing. In Cage, is only two people. Me and him. I know crowd will not like me. They know Gasnier will fall to me. So, of course, they will not like me. But is my time and he’s in my way.”
That was where the video ended. Another chorus of boos, mixed with cheers, echoed around the crowd. Tegan looked around as a new swell of sound gripped the arena. “Oh yes! I hoped they would do this!” Fiona squealed, wrapping her arm around Tegan’s shoulders. Something more and more people were doing, it must be some sort of tradition, the way football players did when their national anthem was played. It wasn’t the Australian national anthem that was being played though. A strange tune that Tegan almost recognised echoed through the speakers, but it was difficult to place given it was performed with bagpipes.
