20 years ago today, on August 31st, 2003, I stepped into the ring to be part of @pancrase_official’s 10th Anniversary Event held at the historic Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Arena in Tokyo, Japan to realize a personal dream, enter an MMA ring to fight and continue my family’s legacy.
Facing the current welterweight champion (non-title fight) and the #2 ranked middleweight who had a record of 29-15-9 at the time on my debut was, in every sense of the word, a challenge.
But I knew when starting preparation for the fight three months before that he was not hungrier than I was, that he would not train harder than I was planning to, and that he would not sacrifice more than I was willing to during training camp.
The thrill of accomplishing my second life goal (the first being earning my black belt) was unexplainable.