MMA System: I Will Be Pound For Pound Goat

One of the other fighters threw them some water bottles as Damon and the wrestling Coach sat down on the mats, both of them drenched in sweat from the hard workout.

Damon caught his and twisted off the cap, gulping down the cool liquid.

The coach took a sip of his own water, then turned to Damon, giving him a knowing look. "This isn't your first time learning takedowns or wrestling, is it?" His tone was casual, but Damon could hear the curiosity behind the question.

Damon blinked, surprised at how quickly the coach had picked up on that.

Back at Victor's gym, Damon had trained takedowns with Tye's coach,

Tye was known for his grappling, and Damon had spent a lot of time trying to close the gaps in his own game by working with him and his coach, before coming to this show.

But he hadn't expected anyone here to pick up on that so fast, since he didn't think he had learned that much.

He glanced at the coach. "How did you know?" Damon asked, keeping his tone even, though he was curious.

The coach smirked, stretching his legs out in front of him. "Well, I've trained this art for years. If I can't even recognize a bit of mastery when I see it, then I must suck."

He chuckled, but then his expression turned serious. "You've got good takedowns. But at this level, 'good' isn't enough. You're competing against guys who've been doing this their whole lives. Wrestling isn't your main focus, but you don't need to learn everything. That's what Mixed Martial Arts is all about.

You learn enough to cover your weaknesses and gain an advantage, while building on what you're already great at."

Damon nodded, his mind turning over the coach's words.

It made sense.

He had a foundation, but refining those moves, making them sharper, could be the difference in his fight with Logan, or any fighter.

He didn't need to become a wrestler, just someone who could defend and attack with enough skill to keep his opponent guessing.

The coach continued, "Look, you already have a primary martial art. Your Muay Thai is solid. But there's always room to extend your striking game. Add some boxing, karate, whatever helps you sharpen your edge in a fight. Mixed Martial Arts isn't about being the best at one thing, it's about being good enough at everything to outsmart your opponent."

Damon took the advice in like a sponge and nodded his head.

It made more sense the more he thought about it.

He didn't need to overcomplicate things, just build on what he already knew and keep evolving.

"You've got potential, kid," the coach added. "Just keep refining those tools. The more well-rounded you are, the harder you'll be to beat."

Damon took a second drink of water. His muscles hurt, but he felt clear-headed. "Thanks, coach. I'll work on it."

The coach clapped him on the shoulder, his grip firm. "I know you will."

Damon stared ahead, his mind already thinking of how he could incorporate this knowledge into his training, not just for the upcoming fight with Logan but for his overall growth as a fighter.

It was all about becoming harder to read, harder to beat, and ultimately, unstoppable.

This fight with Logan was going to be his first big test, but it was far from the last. He had to be ready for everything.

But Damon knew that in this upcoming fight, Logan wasn't the only thing he had to defeat.

His temper had always been his greatest challenge.

Watching Logan's constant trash talking, Damon was almost certain the guy would be running his mouth inside the octagon, too.

This wasn't just going to be a physical battle, it was going to be psychological warfare as well.

Logan would try to get inside his head, throw him off balance, and make him lose control.

That's where the real danger lay, not just in Logan's strikes or takedowns, but in his ability to push Damon to the edge mentally.

Damon stood up and took a deep breath to get his mind ready for what was to come.

He glanced at the coach, who gave him a knowing nod, as if to say, "Keep your head on straight, kid."

Damon nodded back.

With that thought locked in, Damon walked away, heading over to mingle with the other fighters.

In the other training room, Team Chemasov was immersed in their own intense preparation.

Everyone was paying close attention to Balim Chemasov as he worked closely with Logan and pushed him through each tough task with the usual ferocity.

"Come on, brother!" Balim barked, his thick accent adding a layer of urgency to the training session. "You want to be champion, huh? You want to smash? You don't smash by being lazy!"

Logan grunted as he absorbed the impact from the heavy pads, his body drenched in sweat.

Each punch, each kick was met with a correction or an encouragement from Balim, who circled him like a wolf, always watching, always analyzing.

"More power! Don't be soft, brother! I show you how to be strong. If you want to win, you have to break him!" Balim shouted, his voice echoing across the room.

"Use your kicks, make him respect you. Then take him down. You know how to wrestle, but you must make him fear your hands first!"

Balim, true to his aggressive style, wasn't just training Logan's physical attributes, he was working on his mentality.

The idea wasn't just to beat Damon; it was to overwhelm him, dominate him, break his will.

"Always forward, brother, always forward!" Balim emphasized, pushing Logan to keep pressing the attack. "Damon, he's tall, yes? So what? You take his legs, make him slow, then take him to the ground. Easy. You wrestle, yes, but first, you must hit hard.

You must smash!"

Logan, drenched in sweat, followed every instruction, but even through his exhaustion, he grinned.

He relished the brutal training, feeding off Balim's intensity and no-nonsense approach.

"Come on, Logan, push! Faster! You want to win, you must push harder! No one gives you anything. You take it!" Balim growled, smacking the pads harder as Logan threw a flurry of strikes.

Logan's footwork was improving, and his strikes had power, but Balim wasn't satisfied. He never was.

"Hands up! Hands up, always! You drop your hands, and boom, he knocks you out. You don't let him breathe, understand?" Balim's tone was unforgiving, but that's exactly what Logan needed.

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Every few minutes, Balim would demonstrate a move himself, showing Logan how to use his kickboxing to set up takedowns, how to break down a tall opponent like Damon, and how to keep the pressure on without gassing out.

"This is your fight, brother. You must believe that. When you go in there, you make him afraid. He thinks he's smart, but he hasn't faced a beast like you. You don't fight him, you smash him."

Logan, breathing heavily but visibly pumped up, nodded vigorously.

Under Balim's intense guidance, he wasn't just preparing for a fight, he was preparing to destroy.