Bullying too good at martial arts (87)
“I’ll start at middleweight.”
Dave White’s pupils widened at the answer.
“U.S. middleweight?”
“yes.”
“Heheum, is that so?”
Dave White cleared his throat and diligently scanned Innocent’s body.
Mugyeol’s current height is 195cm, which is 7cm higher than 2 years ago.
On the day of the heavyweight match, he weighed 105kg, but now he loses muscle and fat little by little and maintains his weight at 101kg.
Richie is 210cm, which is the top class in the WFC light heavyweight division.
Despite being an Asian, he has body specifications comparable to that of Jon Jones or Alexander Gustafsson.
It was Dave White who couldn’t help but be a bit disappointed with the answer of ‘A middleweight
with this frame.’
The WFC middleweight limit is 85kg, the same as RCF.
Considering the usual weight in the low 100kg range, it is not that there are players who lose about 15kg and appear in the game.
An example is Anthony Johnson, who actually had a heavyweight weight but lost 78kg to compete at welterweight.
The reason for excessive weight loss is to gain a ‘size advantage’.
If a player with a large frame and reach loses weight to the limit, it is possible to crush the opponent with a sufficiently regained body on the day of the match.
However, if you do not reduce the weight properly, the side effects are also serious.
Moreover, the WFC is more sensitive to the use of IV fluid packs than any other organization in the world.
Weight loss and regain are just as difficult.
That’s why Mugyeol didn’t want him to make that choice.
The ideal weight for Mugyeol to play an active role is, of course, light heavyweight.
I hoped to show the best performance by starting with my proper weight class without losing weight.
“Why don’t you think about it again? It’s possible to run middleweight, but the weight loss will probably be tough. Besides, the WFC also bans IV fluid packs.”
“I know.”
“Do you really want to go down to middleweight? The one with the heavyweight belt?”
“yes.”
“Huh, that’s surprising.”
Dave White let out a small sigh of disappointment.
“I didn’t know you were considering the size advantage that much.”
However, Mugyeol smiled lightly as if Dave White had misunderstood.
“You’re not starting at middleweight to take advantage of your size.”
“…?”
“As you said, the WFC is prohibited from using drugs and fluid packs. Losing more than 15 kg in this environment comes with risks. Even with the best weight loss trainer, I may not be able to get my form on race day. No matter how big you are, it will be difficult to beat an opponent with a body like a deflated balloon.”
“okay! That’s what I said. So, light heavyweight if possible…”
“But I want to start at middleweight.”
Saying that, Mugyeol gave strength to the word ‘start’.
“I never said I would stay at middleweight. I said I would ‘start’ at middleweight.”
“hmm?”
“There are quite a few fighters who started out at light heavyweight and went on to become heavyweight. There are even fighters who have won both light heavyweight and heavyweight belts. But no one in the history of the WFC has won three weight classes from middleweight.”
“That’s it, that’s right.”
“I think winning three weight classes at RCF was kind of a tutorial.”
“tutorial?”
“Now this is the game. I don’t care about the size advantage.”
“…”
“What I am looking at is a feat no one has ever achieved.”
“…”
“I want to go down in history as the greatest player of all time.”
“Now, honey…”
“For that, you shouldn’t follow the path someone else walked.”
“…!”
“How many champions in both weight classes have already been there before?”
Dave White couldn’t keep his mouth shut as he listened to Innocent’s words.
I thought ‘WFC 3 weight class champion’ was a simple but nonsensical list of words.
Fans unfamiliar with martial arts would think that Cha Moo-gyeol could win all three weight classes in the WFC, but experts all shook their heads.
Since you have shown overwhelming power in the weight class in Asia, you must find your proper weight class and show 100% performance in the WFC!
If there were ten experts, they would probably all give the same answer.
However, innocence was different.
Mugyeol, who knows martial arts better than anyone else, made a decision that seemed like he didn’t know the fight better than anyone else.
Dominating three weight classes in the WFC?
MMA is not boxing.
In boxing, where the weight divisions are very subdivided, there are champions in 7 and 8 weight divisions, but in MMA, the weight difference between weight classes is much wider than that in boxing.
Even in boxing, there are only a handful of players who have won the three heavyweight divisions.
Becoming a three-weight division champion in the WFC is a dream come true for elementary school students who are just starting out in martial arts.
But now, the world’s best prospect is putting that futile goal in his mouth.
“Chairman, I will be a three-weight champion in the WFC as well.”
“…!”
If it was another player, I would have yelled at him not to be funny.
Dave White, however, only pursed his lips.
I definitely have to dissuade him, but I have to convince him well.
Rather, it was Dave White who was persuaded.
Why does my heart beat when I hear those absurd words?
Why do I picture this Asian man cheering in the Octagon with three belts!
“…really going to win three weight classes, starting at middleweight?”
“yes.”
“The weight loss will be formidable. I’ve only raised the weight class so far, but I’ve never lowered it.”
“I am prepared.”
There was no wavering in the flawless eyes, and Dave White was eventually persuaded.
He is a promising player brought in for 4 million dollars.
If you get beaten up while your brain is dehydrated due to excessive weight loss, your durability may quickly wear off.
If that happens, it will be a huge loss for the WFC.
Stocks that have invested a large amount of money must give a high-efficiency return corresponding to it.
Dave White, however, decided to jump on the gamble.
“good. I will trust you.”
“thank you.”
“I’ll get you the best weight loss trainer instead.”
“yes.”
Even after breaking up with Moo-gyeol, Dave White’s heart beat for a long time.
Middleweight, light heavyweight, heavyweight…
and even a ‘new weight class’ that will be established sooner or later.
Perhaps a new history unprecedented in the history of MMA may be born.
“I can’t help but hope.”
Dave White was smiling an ambitious smile before he knew it.
* * *
Even before the ink was dry on the WFC contract, Dave White moved in to make his match.
Although he has shown amazing skills, he needs to be verified to see if he can fight at the WFC level.
“It would be right to try it with a top 10 player first.”
While working hard on a match with matchmaker Jack Shelby.
Dave White received a call from Lawrence Fertita, the WFC’s major shareholder.
It was CEO Dave White who was in charge of the overall operation, but important decisions had to reflect the will of the majority shareholder.
Cha Mu-gyeol’s move, which invested 4 million dollars, was also a big issue on the WFC side.
“You said you were going to start at middleweight? Hmm-.”
“yes. I’m going to incorporate a heavyweight belt. He is a very ambitious guy.”
“Well, that’s good. Those guys are the way to grow an organization.”
It was a putty hit that had no objection to Mugyeol starting at middleweight.
However, it has put the brakes on giving Mugyeol an immediate game.
“Dave, but I can’t give him the game right away.”
“yes? What is it?”
“Ask me because I don’t know. A new season of ROUGH is starting soon.”
“!”
ROUGH is a joint project between WFC and WOLF Broadcasting Station, and is a documentary program for rookie players who have just joined the WFC or who have played 1 or 2 games.
After the three-month training period, they will be divided into two teams and will participate in the main competition called ‘WFC R’ and have a team competition.
The sharp confrontation between the teams and the conflict between the real men during the training period made viewers go wild.
Thanks to its popularity, it is WFC’s fruitful content, whose copyright has been sold to OTT services such as Webflix.
Of course, RCF’s ‘Real Fighter’ is also a program that imitates WFC’s ‘ROUGH’.
However, Dave White expressed his disapproval of having Mugyeol play in the rough.
“But integrity is different from other rookies, isn’t it?”
“What is the difference?”
“Did you forget? The amount we invested in him…”
“That’s why we need more reliable verification.”
“!”
Unlike Dave, whose top priority was value creation, Fertita was a pretty strict principled person.
“Whether it’s $4 million or $5 million, it doesn’t change the fact that he’s a rookie who hasn’t played a single fight in the WFC.”
“That’s…”
“Of course you want to play right away. But if we send out the game now, all we will hear is the ‘Asian quota system’.”
“It is not. Most martial arts fans are already aware of the innocence. On SNS, he is already the most responsive among WFC players…”
“Not all fans who watch Dave WFC work hard on SNS.”
“!”
“To old people like me who don’t use social media, he is just a new Asian player. We cannot overlook that.”
Dave White lowered his head and Fertita gave a hearty laugh.
“What are you so worried about? As you say, if he’s a great prospect, he’ll definitely do well in the rough.”
“That’s it…”
However, Dave White had reasons for his worries.
‘Rough’ is a program where energetic young people in their early 20s gather and live together.
There are numerous macho men with muscles even to the brain, and there are quite a few bad quality guys.
It bothered me to release Moo Gyeol, who was just starting her life in America, into such a jungle.
It is all too common in professional sports for good players to ruin their performance because they can’t adapt to the environment.
Moreover, it also bothered me that Mugyeol was bullied in high school.
However, there was no gap in Fertita’s logic, and Dave could not voluntarily go against the decision of the major shareholder.
If there is only one solution, it is to make a good excuse and refuse to participate in ‘Rough’.
Dave immediately called Mugyeol and explained the situation in detail.
After the explanation, Dave cautiously asked a question.
“What are you going to do? If you don’t feel like it, you can make up an excuse to not attend.”
– An excuse?
“huh. Whether it’s an injury or a religious reason… I can join the WFC after the ‘rough’ season.”
– …no. You don’t have to do that.
“hmm? Then how…”
– I will participate in the rough.
“What?”
Contrary to Dave’s worries, Mugyeol was confident.
– I understand your worries, but it could be an opportunity.
“opportunity?”
– If you get attention from that program, won’t your road to the main event be shortened?
“…That’s right.”
– In Korea, there is a saying ‘telephone fortune’.
“Joe Jon or Wivok?”
– It means that a crisis will soon become an opportunity, but it is just right for the current situation.
Unlike Dave, who had a feeling of putting his child on the beach, Mugyeol was confident.
No, on the contrary, I thought it was fortunate.
No matter how much he signed up for a huge down payment, the WFC is a competition that adheres to the principles.
If he was going to challenge for the middleweight title in the normal way, he would have had to fight at least six fights at middleweight.
However, it is possible to cut the process in half if you show good performance in the ‘rough’.
“If this isn’t a blessing in disguise, what is it?”
Mugyeol smiled and told his father about this.
“Dad, that Webflix is coming!”
“What!?”
* * *
Time passed quickly and the first day of shooting for ‘Rough’ finally arrived.
The filming location was AKK Gym located in California.
As one of the largest gyms in the United States, its scale and facilities were unmatched.
Moo Kyul was able to meet quite a few familiar faces there.
“Perfect! The WFC is finally here!”
“long time no see.”
“Nice to meet you. I knew you would come.”
From the Chandler brothers who haven’t met in a long time.
“Oh Lucas! Are you participating in ‘rough’ too?”
“okay. I watched Jiu-Jitsu with SJJ’s black belt. But it won’t work for me?”
Even Lucas Marcelo, the descendant of the Marcelo family.
Of course, it wasn’t just the friendly gaze.
“Is that bastard the guy who thinks he’s the car flawless?”
“You signed a contract for $4 million?”
“Damn it, this is stupid reverse discrimination.”
“These days, wherever you go, the Asian Quarter is the problem.”
Some participants gathered in twos and threes and showed outright hostility.
Among them, a few of them with tattoos covering their necks came up to Mugyeol and started a fight.
“Hey, I heard you got 4 million dollars?”
“…okay.”
“Why don’t you open a laundromat with that money? haha.”
“I can’t write like that.”
However, Mugyeol did not back down an inch and replied.
“It’s money to beat them up and pay for it.”
“What?”
“Oh, fortunately, I won’t have any head injuries. Seeing that even China and Korea can’t tell the difference, Daegaltong seems to have already been destroyed.”
“이 이 개새끼가-!”
Brother Chandler burst into laughter when Moo Kyul didn’t miss a word.
The tattoo bullies turned red all the way to their ears, but Mugyeol just shrugged his shoulders.
Who is stronger will soon be revealed.
“Now, all participants, please gather in the middle. The physical examination and fitness test will begin soon!”
The first schedule of the WFC rookie documentary ‘Rough’ is a physical fitness test.
Since it was a jockey with only elite athletes, all participants looked confident.
However, when it came to bodily functions, Moo Kyul also had absolute confidence.
The confidence that I can’t lose to anyone in this place.
