"A welterweight match?"
"Yes. Can you do it?"
"We need to discuss this."
"Tell Jung-ryong to come in."
The people responsible for Yu Jung-ak's training all gathered. Welterweight. While numerically only one weight class above lightweight, there was a 7kg difference in weight.
Unlike boxing, mixed martial arts weight classes weren't as finely divided yet. This was likely due to its shorter history compared to boxing.
A shorter history implied a thinner pool of athletes. This was an undeniable fact.
However, the growth rate of mixed martial arts was unparalleled.
Just 20 years ago, there was a time when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was considered the strongest in the world. An era when taking a guard position itself was a strategy for Jiu-Jitsu practitioners.
But now, almost no Jiu-Jitsu practitioners willingly take the guard position. Doing so would likely make them vulnerable to pounding from above.
MMA experts predicted the era of Jiu-Jitsu practitioners would last long. However, that prediction was spectacularly shattered.
The era of Jiu-Jitsu practitioners passed, followed by the so-called era of wrestler-strikers, and now it's the era of well-rounders.
Whether it's striking, wrestling, or ground game - it's an era where one needs to excel in everything without any weak points.
Having no weaknesses isn't enough. One needs to have outstanding strengths to succeed. Assuming MMA has been in the mainstream for about 30 years, this is an incredibly rapid rate of development.
The skills of current MMA fighters are on a completely different level compared to the past.
That's why in the past, lightweight fighters often competed in welterweight matches, and even middleweight matches.
It was believed that skill could make up for weight class differences.
But that's not the case anymore.
Weight classes in combat sports exist because weight is that crucial. Yu Jung-ak was a lightweight fighter who had even competed in featherweight matches.
Until recently, his average weight was 80kg.
It was known that Jose Aldo, the former CFC featherweight champion, had an average weight of over 80kg. Yu Jung-ak's average weight wasn't particularly high for the lightweight division. Even after bulking up to 82.5kg, it was still the case.
But now he's competing in a welterweight match.
It meant cutting 5kg before the fight.
It was essentially asking him to fight at his walking weight.
Fighters in combat sports never compete at their walking weight. They cut weight until the day before the fight and can recover close to their original weight in just one day.
Rebounding.
When Yu Jung-ak's average weight was 80kg, weight cutting was too easy, so he bulked up to 82.5kg. It was easy enough to make lightweight that he increased his weight, but now a welterweight match?
From Yu Jung-ak's perspective, it was bound to be concerning.
"Yukimura Daisuke is a welterweight fighter. He's from Grabaka."
"Grabaka?"
"Yes, the famous grappling team from Japan."
Grabaka, meaning "grappling idiot." It's quite an old, prestigious team. They once produced many champions, but they've been on a decline recently.
The reason was their failure to properly adapt to recent trends.
Ground and pound.
It means taking the fight to the ground and striking from above. Grabaka fighters stick to either submission or ground and pound strategies.
This differs from the current trend where striking is a basic requirement.
"30 fights, 20 wins, 10 losses. Wow. Quite the veteran."
"He's old too."
"35 years old. Almost grandpa level. Can we make this fight happen?"
"As a veteran, he's popular. You'll see, but he's handsome, so he's popular among Japanese female fans. He's a wrestler and uses submissions fairly well."
Click.
As Yoon Chang-seon pressed the space bar, a video of Yukimura Daisuke played. It was a highlight reel, showing many scenes of powerful ground and pound.
"He looks strong at least," Yu Jung-ak said.
"But this is all he's got. His ground and pound looks powerful, but like most Japanese fighters, his fights are boring. Mostly decision wins, and he gets frustrated when his wrestling doesn't work. Jung-sun and I have been keeping an eye on this fighter, and an offer just came in."
"Why were you watching him?"
"Even though the weight class is different, this type of fighter is good for you to beat. It suits your style."
"Because of takedown defense, right?"
A takedown refers to bringing a standing opponent to the ground. Simply put, a tackle. But Yu Jung-ak already has unrivaled skills in wrestling.
"Yes. The more real fights you can get, the better. It all becomes experience and record. If it's an opponent you can beat, let's fight regardless of weight class. We're far from Spirit anyway. And there's also a women's division fight coming in."
"If I accept, does that come with it?"
"Don't worry about that. Just decide if you want to do it or not."
"The answer is obvious. I should do it. I've bulked up, so I need to test how much stronger I've become."
"Don't be careless. Focus on wrestling training with Young-tae. We're going to Saitama in a few days."
"But be honest. If I don't accept the offer, there's no women's division fight, right?"
"That's right, kid."
Yu Jung-ak grinned at Cho Yong-il's words. Rising had offered a deal: if Yu Jung-ak accepted the replacement fighter offer, they would give a women's division dark match.
A dark match is a fight that isn't broadcast but still counts towards the record. Simply put, it's like an opening act.
The match was a strawweight bout.
52kg.
Cho Yong-il asked Kim So-hee and Yang Jae-in about their willingness to fight. Yang Jae-in said the weight cut might be difficult with the short notice, while Kim So-hee said it might be possible as her walking weight isn't very high.
However, a problem arose the next day.
Kim So-hee injured her toe during wrestling sparring. Cho Yong-il prepared to look for a replacement fighter.
However, it wasn't easy.
That's when Angela stepped up. Angela's walking weight seemed high for a 60kg woman, but due to her muscle mass, she didn't look particularly plump. Above all, Angela's height of 173cm was quite tall for a woman.
It wasn't for nothing that she was called American-style.
Cho Yong-il said it couldn't be done due to lack of experience, but Angela insisted she wanted to fight.
"Let's check your weight first."
Angela weighed herself.
57kg
"How much did Yu Jung-ak work this kid to lose 3kg in a week? No way, looking at your weight, your condition seems terrible."
"No, it's not. I just ate as the trainer told me to, and the weight came off naturally. My condition is really good."
Yu Jung-ak had subtly talked to Angela about diet. Angela, who used to like bread and ham.
She changed her diet after seeing Yu Jung-ak eat. It was natural to lose weight when changing diet and increasing training intensity.
Ditching bad carbs and consuming good carbs like sweet potatoes naturally leads to weight loss. She also reduced sugar and sodium intake, and above all, eating good carbs reduces the total amount of carbs consumed daily.
A sweet potato contains about 50g of carbohydrates. It's much less than foods like rice.
It's less, but the feeling of fullness is greater, so you can't eat much. Imagine eating ten boiled sweet potatoes a day.
No matter how delicious sweet potatoes are, it's not an easy task.
"Hey, Yu Jung-ak! Is Angela's condition really good?"
"Why are you asking me?"
"You were in charge of her training until this afternoon."
"Well, I guess it's better than before."
Yu Jung-ak's curt reply. Angela laughed loudly.
"You take charge of Angela's training too."
"I have a fight coming up."
"That's why. Train together. Didn't you learn anything?"
"I did. But..."
Those who have taught know that you learn a lot while training others. Focusing on someone else helps develop your own insight. And it becomes an opportunity to discover aspects you might have overlooked.
Yu Jung-ak felt this deeply while training Angela for just over a week. He would probably gain more if they trained together until the fight day.
"You've improved her condition this much, so take responsibility."
"Are you going to send out someone whose striking is now nothing?"
"The opponent is also making their debut."
"What if they meet a prepared fighter like me in their debut?"
"You weren't properly prepared for your debut either."
"Oh my."
"She says she wants to do it. I've explained thoroughly, but she won't listen. She's stubborn."
"I'm not responsible if she loses."
"I've already said that too."
"I can barely handle myself, how am I supposed to train her?"
"Kid, that's what being part of a team is about. And don't you think Angela will help you with jiu-jitsu training? Her jiu-jitsu skills are phenomenal. Even Yoon Hong-seok acknowledges her skill level."
"Fine, I understand."
Sweet potatoes, mushrooms, pumpkin, fish, vegetables, eggs, beef, pork, fruit.
Yu Jung-ak removed sweet potatoes from Angela's diet. He made her consume only the rest.
While sweet potatoes are good for carbohydrates, they're not great for weight cutting.
He also said they would start water cutting a week before the fight.
There were two weeks left until the fight.
Angela decided to stay at the wellness center until they left for Japan. Yu Jung-ak trained alongside her while doing his own training.
And when evening came, Yu Jung-ak took a drastic measure with Angela.
"You've never really done striking, have you?"
"A little one-two."
"No, I mean have you ever exchanged punches in a real fight?"
"No, I haven't."
"Put on the headgear."
"Yes!"
After making Angela put on the headgear, Yu Jung-ak took his stance.
"Dodge."
He said briefly and threw a jab. The sharp jab landed precisely on Angela's face. Angela's head snapped back. She sat down right there.
"It's just a jab. You're going to compete after falling from one jab? Is MMA a joke to you?"
At Yu Jung-ak's words, Angela stood up.
Thud! Thud!
This time, a double jab.
One grazed her, and one landed cleanly. But this time, she didn't close her eyes.
"Can you do this? There's no headgear in a real fight. And they don't just use jabs. Can you endure that?"
"Yes. I'll try."
"Dodge."
Yu Jung-ak's jabs started again. Angela tried to dodge while raising her guard. Then came a left middle kick.
Angela's body curled like a shrimp. She recovered and stood up again.
Yu Jung-ak's attack started with a jab again.
She dodged the jab, but there was no follow-up. This time, a right straight came flying.
It landed squarely on Angela's face.
Angela fell backward like a domino. And blood started to flow. Her nose was bleeding.
"Hey! That's too much!"
Oh Jung-ryong, who was watching, shouted angrily.
"There are only two weeks left. Are you going to send her out to get beaten to death? She needs to experience this properly before she can use jiu-jitsu or anything else."
"Angela, are you okay?"
When Oh Jung-ryong asked, Angela said she was fine. Fortunately, the nosebleed didn't last long.
After that, until they left for Japan, Yu Jung-ak sparred with Angela in a way close to a real fight. Just as Yu Jung-ak himself had done, Angela was growing rapidly.