Last night in Virginia Beach snow fell and the only sounds that could be heard were that of the ocean. Inside the Surfside Oceanfront Suites it wasn’t as quiet. The cheers and screams of 500 of Virginia’s best MMA fans echoed throughout the business hall turned fight arena. King of the ring 24 was an outstanding stage for 28 amateur fighters from local gyms to showcase their fighting skills. This event had a little bit of everything; great submissions, knockouts, and of course great fights. Some of the fighters were starting their career with their first MMA fight like Scott Cozart, while others continued to claw their way to a championship shot. There were bouts in almost every weight class, and even had a few female fights. The numbers of participants show the growth of the sport in this area. This growth is also generating a handful of serious fighters, including one that will be fighting in the IFL next season. As the popularity for this booming sport grows, more events like this will be held in this area, and the rest of the nation.
The fighters competing in the event were from several local gyms. The most impressive gym of the night was Bushido MMA. Bushido went undefeated with two fighers on the night. These two fighters performed impressively, as they were part of the fight of the night and submission of the night. The submission of the night came from a nasty triangle to arm bar transition, which led to a picture perfect arm bar, and submission. The fight of the night came from our selected fighter Scott Cozart and his opponent Lee Higgins. Cozart has been training MMA for the past two years, and needed every bit of this training to become victorious. Cozart started a bit slow in the first round and was cut over his left eye. Higgins seemed to be getting the better of him on his feet so Cozart decided to attempt a few takedowns, but unfortunately his ankle was injured on one of the attempts. When the fighters went to their corners after the first round, Cozart was in pain, but did not let it affect his solid mental focus. At the start of the second round it was apparent that Cozart was there to fight. He proved this by landing a solid left hook and multiple leg kicks. At the midway in the second round Cozart shot a double leg that Dan Gable would have been proud of, pushing his opponent into the ropes. The ropes slowed the momentum, but he eventually got the takedown. After the second round, the fans could tell this battle had yet to be won, and the third round would be an amazing showcase of heart and determination. When the third round started, Cozart decided to bring the pain train. In the third round alone he connected on two left hooks that rattled his opponent. One of which knocked out a tooth. In this round Cozart had complete control, as he used his leg kicks and hands to keep his challenger at bay. When the final bell rang the crowd went wild. This was the type of fight that made the event worth the cover charge. In the end Cozart was the better fighter, but both deserve a large amount of credit. Fights like this are the reason the sport is growing in popularity everyday. This displayed the best parts of the sport, and was exciting from bell to bell. If there was someone in the crowd that wasn’t a sure fan, they were after this fight.
Fighters like Cozart and Higgins make it easy to love this sport. They both showed the heart and desire it takes to be successful. The best part of this type of event is that the athletes fight for the love of the game. It is their love for fighting and the overall sport of MMA that pushes them. It is the adrenaline of the fight and the roar of the crowd that keeps them coming back for more. The next ring event is in April, but there are several events before then. At this point there are a handful of fighters that I follow and feel could have a future in the sport. Cozart is now the newest addition to this list, and be sure; the next time he fights I will be in attendance.
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I do still love MMA and have...
January 28th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
This article was well written. This article made me feel like I was actually there watching the fight. It helps that I also know Scott Cozart. Scott is a rising star in this sport and the next time that he fights will be a complete different one. I’m looking forward to many more articles from Curtis.
January 28th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I am Lee’s trainer. He has been training a total of 11 months and I thought he did very well with the difference in experience. Also, not to be abrasive, but why do you say Lee lost a tooth? He did not, he had a cut on his lip. If you had come over to speak with us, that would have been readily apparent. Other than the tooth misinformation, that was a good article though.
January 28th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Good article and I would like to tell Lee great fight and applaud his trainers for preparing there fighter. I pass the same to Scott’s trainers at Bushido MMA in Chesapeake. Both there fighters looked good and performed outstanding. This fight alone was worth the $52 dollar ticket. I have a feeling we will be hearing about both these fighters again in local MMA news.
January 28th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Mr. Weaver, thanks for the comments. After one of the left’s that Lee took in the third round, there was a tooth in the ring. At one time, the two almost rolled on it while grappeling. I apologize for the wrong statement.
I would like to commend Lee on his fight! It was by far the fight of the night, and he will do very well in this sport. Like the article said Lee showed great heart and desire, and I look forward to seeing him as well as Cozart fight in the future.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Well since I had my hands all in Lee’s mouth after the fight checking that lip cut I am pretty sure it was not his, and since he never mentioned it to me I am still pretty sure it wasnt his. I never saw it though, but given what I saw after the fight and that he was eating at hooters after the fight I think a lost tooth would have come up.
But it was a good article.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
Not to hog the comments, but I do want to say I think Lee did very well considering he has 11 months of training (kickboxing +BJJ) and zero combat sports training (no wrestling and no boxing) prior to coming to Team R.O.C. and I think you will hear more about him in the future.
January 29th, 2008 at 12:00 am
I think that it is safe to say that Lee “DID NOT LOSE A TOOTH,” so lets move on. I personally give a lot of credit to Lee and his training camp for a great fight. Obviously Lee was well prepared and had the heart of a champion. I hit him with everything I had multiple times and he just kept coming at me when most men would have fallen(I say that not trying to be cocky at all). He was/is a true warrior and deserves all the respect we as competitors and fans have to give.
Lee if you read this I look forward to seeing you again in the future. Just not across the ring from you for a while, that was a war and a true test of any man/fighter.
February 21st, 2008 at 8:37 pm
and again…why wasn’t Scott’s incredibly good looking training partner mentioned, and/or photographed repeatedly?