Face off
[Yuito's POV]
(10th February, 2018)
I was in Perth Arena again and this time, it was for the ceremonial face-off and weigh-in. This was done so that the people would be able to see the two fighters together before the match and to get a photograph of the fighters facing each other for the promotional posters.
The stage was set, there were ring girls and even Dana White himself on the stage as they supervised the weigh-ins and face-off.
During the weigh-ins, the teams of the fighters can go up the stage and get photographed but the main focus was always on the fighters.
The audience this time was also not just journalist as thousands of fans filled the stadium and screamed to show support for their favourite fighter.
The prelim cards fighters were the first ones to be called out of the weigh-ins as they saved the main event for the last.
I stood at the right corner of the stage and along with me were other fighters. But non of us were the other's opponents as our respective opponents were put on the left side of the stage to avoid conflict.
There were also many security guards to make sure we did not go running at our opponent to cause problems as it was quite common for fighters to hate each other before the fight.
I was having a shit load of fun as I analyzed the fighters around me. All of them had coaches and teams but I was alone, with no teammates or even a coach. I was the lone wolf.
Every fighter around me was strong. I had to control myself from attacking them and starting a fight just for the heck of it.
Not to sound gay but I prefer being surrounded by these strong fighters even more than sexy women.
{Hmmm?}
I looked at each of the fighters around me, Li Jingliang, Saparbek Safarov, Yoel Romero, and Jeremy Kennedy.
All of them were powerful fighters and a worthy foe. I could feel it.
But the one who caught my attention like a predator seeing another predator was the tall black man standing a few feet away from me.
He stood at 6'4 feet and he was lean with huge, dense bones on which muscles wrapped tightly around. No fat or unnecessary muscle seems to exist in his rough-looking body.
He had extremely long limbs and huge fists. You could tell just by looking at his limbs that they were made to swing and hit like a whip. It told of the fact that the man had swung those limbs around more than he used them for grabbing.
His body seemed to be designed by the Gods themselves for the sole purpose of striking down his opponent. Each limb was a weapon that never missed its target.
A perfect striker. If you were a fighter worth a damn, you can instantly tell that his body was trained and forged to be the perfect striker.
When our eyes met, he gave me a smile and bobbed his head, "Sup man."
Israel Adesanya.
The world did not know it yet but he was the future middleweight champion of the world. One of the best strikers the UFC had ever seen.
"Sup." I returned the greeting. The fighters around here were all either neutral towards each other or were on good terms.
We had all introduced ourselves to each other while the stage was getting ready and we were all familiar.
"Who's your favorite?" He suddenly asked me with a friendly smile. I was confused about what he was talking about before he pointed at his shirt and asked, "Who's your favourite?"
He was wearing an Akatsuki shirt. It was a black shirt that had red clouds all over it.
I remembered that Adesanya was a huge weeb who liked anime. Maybe that's why he was so friendly towards me when he remained quiet to other fighters. I was a Japanese.
"Kisame. Hoshigaku Kisame." I answered with a small smile to which he nodded.
"Fair. I thought you were going to say Itachi." He said, "You remind me of him you know? Being the prodigy." He said.
"Though Nagato no diff Kisame any time of the day." He said with a smile. Nagato was probably his favourite from the way he said it.
While he stood a few feet away from me, we shared a small exchange on the Naruto series while the other fighters remained ignorant.
Israel Adesanya's situation was similar to mine. He was also a fighter who turned to the UFC after his kickboxing career and the next hot thing in the middleweight division.
He also only joined the UFC last year and if things happened similar to my past world, he was going to be world champion by next year.
Both of us were one of the most anticipated fighters. Uprising stars who were said to bring a storm with them as we steam rolled through the division. Well, I haven't but Adesanya was in the middle of it.
While we had a small exchange, I did not see him as a potential friend though but a potential opponent. I was still only 16 and fighting in the Welterweight division, but I reckoned when I finally finished growing, I would fight in the middle weight and light heavyweight divisions.
Meaning more likely than not, I would cross paths with him.
'I can't wait.'
Our interaction was cut short as it was time for him to go up stage and after he was done with his weigh-in and face-off, he never returned.
The event went on for some time and right when it was at the halfway, I was called out.
I walked up the stage with a confident stride and my presence was immediately felt by the crowd, especially when they noticed that I was alone with no teammates.
My opponent, Dong Hyun Kim was already done with his weigh-in and posing for the camera so it was my turn.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome, Fujita Yuito the rising star. He weighs at 170.2 pounds and would fight in the welterweight division. Give a round of applause!"
I immediately headed towards the scale and took off my clothes while I was at it. The audience erupted and all the girl's present screamed 'kyaa!!' as I reveled my perfect physique to the world for a second time.
My physique should not be underestimated as it was supernatural. Coupled with my handsome face it was a potent poison for the hearts of women.
Of course, they were not in love with me or anything, but the girls finally had a man they could simp for like the men do beautiful women.
I put all the K-pop idols or male models to shame with my muscular body and my beautiful face. Creating a harmony between masculinity and femininity.
I had a smug and arrogant smile on my face as I flexed on top of the scale and for the camera.
The flashes of cameras were almost blinding. I got off the scale after standing on it for a solid ten seconds and immediately headed for my opponent
Dana, with a smile on his face, pretended to stop me and come between us as my opponent also came towards me.
We met in the middle and my body tensed, getting ready for a surprise attack when I stood only inches away from my opponent who took a boxing stance.
I, on the other hand, took no stance and just stared him dead in the eyes. The loud crowd went silent as I blasted my killing intent to intimidate my opponent.
They didn't know my pretty face could also look that terrifying. Silence enveloped the arena as we had a face-off. Dong Hyun Kim smiled the whole time as if saying, 'Not bad kid.'
Sure enough, although he looked phased, it did not show in his face.
After almost 20 seconds of staring into each other's eyes with no one backing away, we were separated.
After we were separated, Dong Hyun Kim took a mic and pointed a finger at me.
"You are going to fall tomorrow arrogant brat. And you will fall alone." He said, pointing out the fact that I had no teammates.
"And you are going to fail all those people behind you. Your time is up old man." I replied and so, our ceremonial weigh-ins come to and end.
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[The UFC 221 fight night]
(11th February, 2018)
"Good luck son." Sumire kissed me deeply before pulling away, "Stay safe."
She pulled away from my embrace as Marin leaped at me. I caught her as her lips smashed into mine.
"Don't lose." She said.
"I won't."
The final girl, Komi shyly approached me and gave me a peck on my lips before steam came off her red face.
"All the best." She whispered but I could hear it and pat her head to thank her.
*Woof*
I bent down and kissed Kurumi on the head and after that, I stood up and headed towards the door.
"Don't worry, I will be fine. Make sure to cheer for me." I said and left the hotel under their nervous eyes which they all tied to hide.
I will be leaving ahead for the arena and the girls will also attend the fight with the bodyguards from White Tiger.
Tonight is the night.
It will be the night I make a statement to the world and prove myself to be worthy of being at the very top.
There are people who doubted me since the fights I had before were nothing compared to this and the skills I showed were not too remarkable.
But they didn't know how much I improved just after my latest fight with Monseung.
This match will be the beginning of my phenomenal run in the UFC.
And my first step to being the youngest Champion.
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