Soar To The Limit: The Story of Rickard Patterson and the Canadian Tough Team

White Dolphin · February 28, 2018

Ever since I was old enough to remember, I wanted to be a fighter.

Whether it was TV shows based off comic books, boxing, wrestling (both pro and Olympic), or even hockey fights, seeing a big fight happen always got me going. Maybe it appeals to some base instinct we all have, seeing others testing themselves in a one versus one confrontation with a winner and a loser, a better man and an inferior man. Maybe its just me. But I knew what I wanted to be. I didn't just want to watch the fights happen though........ I wanted to be in the fights.

I was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, first day of November 1983. My parents and a bunch of other family members died in a boating accident not long after I was born, and I didn't have any reliable family members left to take me in afterwards. I moved around from home to home, from school to school, even stayed in an orphanage once. The only reliable thing I had in my life was me and me alone, and that had to be enough. Stupid kids made fun of my life, made fun of me for being being an orphan or a foster kid. I got into fights with those bullies. I didn't win the first few, and thats when I realized I needed to learn how to fight for real. Not just to stop from being picked on all the time, but to achieve my dream. It wasn't gonna be handed to me, thats for sure.

Luckily, whatever guardians I had at the time were pretty good about that, letting me go into a cheap martial arts programs in the neighborhood, just to get me active and out of the house. I learned how to box from several different gyms throughout Saskatchewan. I took a few judo classes at various YMCAs and was a quick study. I was on a wrestling team, whenever I was in a school with one. Eventually the bullies learned to leave me alone. I got on well with everyone after that, but was never a bully myself. No sense abusing what I learned on someone unless thye forced me into it. All the adults stopped seeing me as a troublemaker with a tragic past and started seeing me as a model student, a good athlete with good grades who was everyone's big brother.

Given what I was learning, it seemed inevitable that I'd be drawn into the world of Mixed Martial Arts at some point. I can remember the first time I saw it like it was yesterday: Saturday night, April Week 2 of '95, GAMMA presents the Cohen vs Foster TV Special. It was something I stumbled upon while flipping through American TV channels on a grey-market dish setup, so I tuned in for kicks just in time for the main event. Mark Cohen, the first GAMMA Heavyweight champ, was making his first defence against an All-American wrestler named James Foster. Foster had fought his way up from the small time and this was his first big fight. Cohen tried to take him down, but couldn't do it. He had taken down the bigger Frank Sheedy to win the title, but Foster wasn't gonna go down too easily. The commentators said this was the first time they'd seen him not be able to use his violent Ground and Pound right away.

I didn't know what Ground and Pound was, but I was about to find out, as Foster took Cohen down instead and threw BOMBS. Punches the the face, knee strikes to the ribs, and elbows to the skull landed hard. Cohen was sliced open above his eyes by a couple of those vicious shots. The bell rang and Cohen went into the corner a bloody mess after just 5 minutes. Me, the commentators, and a few million viewers were in shock. We'd seen fights before, but never anything like this. No-rules brutality in an 8 sided steel cage that was even more intimidating than the fighters. This was the big time. This was REAL.

Foster took Cohen down again. I expected more bloody strikes from Foster, but what we got was interesting in its own way. Foster was throwing punches to soften up Cohen and keep him guessing, while he was slowly working into a dominant grounded position. Like a boa constrictor trapping its prey, he wrapped his legs and arms around Cohen from behind and started punching him in the head, before putting his right arm over Cohen's neck to choke the breath from him. Cohen tried to fight him off, but in a famous scene passed out and went limp. The ref finally pulled Foster off. Foster climbed the cage, mimed wearing the championship belt around his waist, and acted the part of the unbeatable All-American jock that everyone wanted to see put down.

After that match I tried to find out everything I could about what I just watched. The internet wasn't as good back then, and libraries didn't have too many books on the phenomenon. Eventually, I found out that this was Mixed Martial Arts. Striking blows mixed with grappling, inside a cage or a ring, with a limited ruleset. Certain moves and techniques were banned for safety reasons, but everything else was legal. With all the techniques available, the future direction of the sport suggested if you were good at only one thing, you wouldn't survive for long in the world of MMA. Luckily for me, I was good at three things: Boxing, Judo, and Wrestling.

I ramped up my training. I was just a kid, but I was mature for my age, and I knew I shouldn't wait til I was an adult. I needed to practise now and get prepared for my chance when I turned 18. I ran more, I started lifting some weights (although I've always favoured speed over power), and I never missed a session for whichever one of the 3 martial arts I was learning at the time. A couple years later I learned of the existence of ALPHA-1, a company from Japan that featured fighters just as talented as GAMMA's. I saw guys like Carlos da Guia, who showcased Muay Thai kickboxing, and tried to look up just what on earth that was. I managed to find a local gym run by a punch-drunk and slightly crazy Thai immigrant named Adul. He had some serious scars and was a scary, scary dude when he got angry, but deep down he was a softie and a good man, and he let me train. I worked hard in that gym off and on throughout high school. That was my 4th martial art.

When I turned 16 I had a breakout year all-around, winning an amateur boxing title, a couple Muay Thai sparring matches against adults, my brown belt in Judo, and a provincial high school wrestling event. I even had a strong showing at a national wrestling event before losing a match on points. A couple universities offered me a scholarship for their wrestling teams, but I didn't have the passion for wrestling itself. It was a means to an end, and I still wanted to turn pro in MMA when I was 18. It was a tough decision, but I passed and left the wrestling team my senior year. I ekpt practising, but the foucs was on 4 disciplines, not one. Balance without weakness.

With all 4 disciplines, I noticed that everything was flowing towards one aspect of fighting: The clinch game. There were deadly fighters who could strike from the clinch or work takedowns, but very few who could do both. I still focused on being an all-rounder that was a truly mixed martial artist, but all the while, whatever I was practising, I knew that close-quarters was going to be of high importance to the style I would use in MMA. Eventually I graduated high school with good grades and a few accolades. I moved out into a small apartment on my own in Regina, and got a job with flexible hours to leave time for training. With that stabilized, I decided to put in an application to register as a mixed martial artist with the Athletics Commission of Saskatchewan.

My application was accepted on my 18th birthday. I got in touch with a local promoter and had my debut fight at the end of November 2001. I couldn't go pro yet, but I was registered and accepted as an amateur fighter. I faced a local opponent who had a background in Jiu Jitsu. I kept the fight strictly on the feet and peppered him with punches and a few kicks. Then I moved into the clinch, hooked a Thai plum, and KOed him with a textbook knee strike in a little over 3 minutes. I had a quick turnaround to another fight a couple weeks later in Saskatoon. It was against a local striker, so I went with the ground game. I got a power double leg takedown, passed from full guard to half guard to side control, then locked in a Kimura for a tapout in 2 and a half minutes. Not long after that win, I was officially registered as a pro fighter.

Now its heading towards Christmas, and big things are starting to happen. A British businessman who was at the card scouted me and invited me to a meeting, saying it could be beneficial to my career. 3 new companies are popping up in 3 different countries to take advantage of the deep crop of talented new fighters. One of them is in my home province, and its called Classic Cage Combat. Opportunities in MMA are popping up just as I officially enter the world of the pros. The dream I've had ever since I was a kid to be a fighter is here. Now its time to see just how much farther I can go. I've found my wings, and I'm ready to soar above the world.

My name is Rickard Patterson...... and this is my story.

Dolphin81 · February 28, 2018

Awesome thread, really good writing gonna be following this closely. Love the backstory too. Glad i'm not the only one inspired by Logan Sky.

Exciting to see where this will go.

White Dolphin · March 1, 2018

(OOC: Thanks for the kind words other dolphin, much appreciated

Just letting y'all know, first post was meant to be srs business and meant to get the main character established. However, theres gonna be a bit of a tone shift for the future posts, and we'll get a little bit of levity and leaning on the 4th wall in future with the srs business cause thats how I roll. Case in point, Rickard's new trainer/agent here, who had a name randomly generated by the game itself that was too good to pass up......)

Aidan Ryland had an interesting past, to say the least.

Aidan was born in Birmingham, England, although no one held it against him. He became fascinated with the martial arts as a teen and enrolled in as many classes as he could. He had a real aptitude for martial arts, bordering on genius, and he soaked up new techniques and moves like a sponge.

There was just one problem holding him back. Or to be more accurate, a lot of them: No part of his body was durable at all.

Ryland was on the card for a kickboxing event and won a match via a highlight reel head kick KO. On an opponent wearing headgear, this was impressive. It was even more impressive that Ryland broke his leg with the winning kick and didn't collapse, somehow making it back to his corner in severe pain as the ref administered a ten count to his opponent. That put him out of action for a long time, and when Aidan came back, he won 2 rounds in his next fight before taking a vicious KO loss in the 3rd after exchanging right hands with his opponent and getting his jaw broken as a result.

He tried competitive judo and blew out his shoulder trying a throw. He tried competitive Karate tournaments and got KOed when facing skilled opponents who could hit past his headgear. He tried...... well you get the idea. Unsurprisingly, he eventually got wind of British Cage Fighting near the turn of the millenium, as they were rising up and pioneering the British MMA scene, and decided to try one last shot at glory in MMA to get a spot in that org. With his skillful "Jeet Kune Do" all-around approach to fighting, Ryland blazed through his first 3 amateur fights before having his jaw shattered in fight number 4, which was to be his last one before going pro.

At 27, Aidan was done as a fighter, at least at any sort of meaningful level. It was always a sideline for him though, as he had investments in several successful businesses overseas and had a rich family who would bequeath him a considerable inheritance. He decided to move to Canada to be closer to one of these businesses and for a change of pace.

Eventually, Aidan was reconnected to MMA again when he went out to a local card after work with some business associates, and got the idea to use his business acumen and martial arts knowledge to open a gym and manage fighters in Saskatchewan. To do so, however, he'd need a flagship fighter to help establish the brand. The only one in GAMMA or ALPHA-1 not committed to a team was Irwin Middleton, but Ryland sensed that he was a bottler who would ultimately screw it up for himself. He needed someone else, which led him to the independent scene.........

It was at an amateur/pro hybrid event in Regina where a young rookie fighter with a lot of talent named Rickard Patterson caught Aidan's eye. He made his amateur debut and looked completely composed and utterly dominant, taking apart a grappler with strikes and finishing him with a brutal Muay Thai knee strike that left his opponent out cold. He looked lithe and athletic, and he had a certain aura that made Aidan think he could be a big-timer, even if it was only one fight. Aidan decided to keep tabs on him.

By the time Rickard's second amateur fight rolled around in mid-December, Aidan had quite a file on him. He was more intrigued by Patterson than before, just from looking at his background. Pretty tragic backstory, but Rickard had showed some admirable heart and determination just achieving what he had as a youth to get this far. The kid had national-level abilities in 4 different martial arts, and seemed to have a bunch of intangibles as well, like good gameplanning and strategic acumen, a chin made out of adamantium, incredible fighting spirit and determination, a lot of energy and enthusiasm to put into his craft, and cat-like response time. He took a striker apart this go-around by dodging his strikes, securing a takedown, advancing past the guard with ease, and locking in a kimura for the big submission win to go 2 for 2 in his amateur career.

He hadn't faced quality competition, and if he were to face a top guy in his weight class like Matthew Dean or Braulio Moura right then, he'd lose. Maybe not badly, but he wasn't at the world class level yet. Even though he was well-rounded, Aidan suspected he had a huge matchup hole to take advantage of with his current skillset. However, he had the raw talent and it was immediately obvious he would be something special. Aidan knew he was going to be sanctioned as a pro soon thanks to some contacts he made in the Commission, and knew there was a promotion in the works called Classic Cage Combat that would take him on as a hometown draw, so he needed to act quickly. The next day, he made first contact with Rickard and tried to set up a meeting. Rickard agreed........

---------

".......So basically, heres the offer. You'll have a full-time role at the gym, a good flat to live in, and I'll pay you in the off-months to train students when you're not collecting enough of a wage fighting. I'll help with your training, be in your corner for all fights, and represent you in contract negotiations with Classic Cage Combat and any future group that wants to hire you. In exchange I want 25 percent of what you earn and some help with this whole setup. You'll have a job here at the Canadian Tough Team as I mentioned, but I'll need your help publicizing the gym to get students and pro fighters in as well."

"......This seems like a terrible deal for you, even if you're taking 25 percent."

"Yes, well, I expect to lose money at first doing this, then be rewarded later if we attract some big names from the other camps to come down, and if we fill out our weekly classes and private lessons. 25 percent is actually a little low for the fight game, because promoters and agents and their ilk need to take a lot more of the money to meet expenses........ Also because they're greedy."

"But you're the honest agent right? Good ol' Jerry Maguire?"

Aidan smirked. "Yeah, something like that. But remember, I've still got you on the payroll during the off-months when you don't have a fight or aren't making enough from the fight. This new org is small so you'd be lucky to clear 3000 a fight even if you hit all the bonuses. If you can be built up for the big-time, you could make 5 figures a fight base pay, then you're making a living wage even if you just lose 2 times a year and get sponsors."

Rickard threw his head back and smiled. He thought he wouldn't be having this conversation for a few more years at least. But an agent already? The ability to be a full-time fighter in a gym, instead of scraping around for training at the YMCA? This was nuts. There had to be a catch.

"Why me, exactly? And how am I sure this isn't some sort of joke from my old buddies in high school or something?"

"......This is no joke. You know yourself you have the potential to be a top Middleweight in the world. Some more experience and polish and you could get into GAMMA. You know this. All I'm trying to do is put together the best environment for someone like you to succeed in this sport. All the Canadian aces in GAMMA or ALPHA are in teams already, or aren't good enough to make it in the long run. You're my best shot, and we both know thats no joke. What do you say?"

".........I'll need some time to think about this. Gimme your number and I'll call you with a response later."

"Fine, but we need to move quickly on this. Classic Cage Combat is likely going into business in January and will start signing fighters then. Call me back soon, alright?"

"Alright......."

----------

*45 minutes later, phone rings.*

"Hello, Aidan Ryland speaking."

"Hey, its Rickard...... I took a while to think this over, but I've decided. I'll sign with you and join your camp."

"........Took a while to think this over? Its been about an hour since we met."

"Yeah it was a tough, life-changing decision so I needed a lot of time to think about it, sorry. But I'll sign on. When can I come by to start training?"

Aidan hoped he was being sarcastic.

"........Tomorrow at noon?"

"Suuuuuuuper. See you then! *CLICK*"

Aidan hung up and stared at his window for a moment.

"What did I just get myself into here......."

(OOC: Next post I'll start laying the groundwork for the first pro fight. Could've sworn this post was shorter in the Notepad file............)

Dolphin81 · March 1, 2018

Who cares if it's longer then you thought in the notepad file, longer the better <img alt="

" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />!

ShepShep · March 1, 2018

This is great stuff. +1 set of eyes added.

MMAManiac · March 1, 2018

Will also be following closely. Been enjoying these type of dynasties and this one seems to be of quality.

White Dolphin · March 2, 2018

(OOC: Thanks for the praise fellas! Hope you'll like the next few entries.

I've got the early story stuff out, so most of the entires will be in a journal format going forward unless I need to write some specific dialogue. I'll mostly focus on Rickard, but I will write a bit about the other people who come into the Tough Team, Middleweight division happenings, random interesting MMA news, etc. Relevant names and happenings will be bolded.)

Rickard's Journal

Monday Week 3 December, 2001

-I've been asked to keep a journal to record stuff going on in my career by my new agent and trainer, Aidan Ryland. He got me a laptop computer for this and I'm typing notes from the days down as I think of them. Here goes......

-I signed on with Aidan yesterday. He seems like an interesting guy, willing to take a big risk on a rookie like me in the hopes I become a future star and make him a lot of money. I've gotta step up to the challenge to reward that faith and prove I deserved this opportunity

-Hes certainly got the setup down. The camp hes set up for me is called the Canadian Tough Team. Hes brought in a few outside coaches who really know their stuff, and I had a nice productive training session today. He was putting me through some drills and tests to get a better idea of how skilled I was. Not sure what the deal was with one of them, namely the chin strength test, that was weird. Some bald guy in a ridiculous yellow and red comic book hero getup just punched me once, then dashed off saying he had to get to a 50% off sale at a grocery store? No idea what THAT was about......but apparently I nailed it because I wasn't knocked on my ass! Hooray! He hit me REALLY hard though......

-The other drills were good though, hit the sandbags and speedbags hard, worked my ground game against a living person who knew what they were doing, put some miles in on an exercise bike, standard stuff, but it was better than the YMCA, thats for sure.

-I'm staying in the Middleweight division. I've topped out at 6'2 and my walking weight is in the 180s, but I don't like to cut or gain too much weight either way, so I can't make Welterweight or Light Heavyweight's max limit. A lot of boxers and wrestlers I trained with do big weight cuts and rehydrating to get the size advantage and all that, but its not my thing. I prefer being in peak condition going into a fight and being quick and agile, rather than carrying around unneeded water weight after being emaciated and drained. My pure physical strength was a slight concern amongst the coaches because of that so I'll be pumping more iron in our great workout facility and trying to burn off any excess body fat. I've always favoured speed to power, but if I can get more of both......look out.

-Aidan confirmed that 3 new orgs are coming into the fight game, and they're looking to have shows in 2002. South American Martial Arts will try to fill the hole left by the demise of FLB, OMEGA Fighting Championships is the first serious attempt at running MMA in Mexico, and Classic Cage Combat is a promotion created right in my hometown, right here in Regina......dramatic pause.......Saskatchewan, Canada. Aidan's trying to get me onto CCC, and it should be easy cause I'm the only legit hometown pro it seems. I'll know more next month I hope, but I'm ready to fight whenever and wherever.

---

Friday Week 4 December, 2001

-We've got our first pro fighter in our gym besides me! Aidan set this up as a co-ed camp for men and women cause of how successful women's MMA is becoming in Canada, and we got Piper Evergood, a 26 year old 8-2 Featherweight contender, in the fold, as she recently left Femme Fatale Fighting to shake things up. Shes a Sprawl and Brawl fighter for WEFF with a dangerous left hand, good Takedown Defense, and......shes pretty attractive. I laid down the suave Rickard charm, and I got the first months training fees and her phone number! I rule.

-(Aidan sez: Yeah....... thats not what happened at all. Rickard was basically nervously chattering and laughing awkwardly at almost everything she said before I took her into the office to sign the paperwork. Piper was asking what Rickard's deal was, and I decided to say nothing and let this run its course. Rickard does not have either the first month's training fees or Piper's phone number.)

-......Ignoring the BLATANT propaganda and lies above from some weird cyberhacker guy who got into my journal, Piper's a talented up-and-comer and will be a great addition to the team. Strikers with adequate Takedown Defense are a super-big threat at this stage of women's MMA. With some polish here a WEFF Featherweight title is not out of the question.

-Aidan's expecting a contract offer from CCC any day now.

---

Thursday Week 2 January, 2002

-Took a little while for Aidan to work out the details, but I got signed to Classic Cage Combat! Its a standard 3 fight deal, for $900 a fight plus bonuses, to fight in their Middleweight division. It currently has 20 fighters and a mix of every Canadian middleweight currently active, some American journeymen, and some undefeated American prospects. A solid group, but I'm ready for them. Aidan has obtained some tape of possible opponents and we're going over it on the off-hours.

-Also, two pro fighters have joined the Canadian Tough Team! Both are also part of the CCC roster in different weight classes. Richie Stiller is a 6-3 Featherweight kickboxer. Hes a real scrapper with a great chin and decent skill, but lacks a ground game and takedown defense. He's here long-term to fix his weaknesses. Jeffrey Foxworthy is a 6-1 Lightweight wrestler. He really doesn't have a lot to offer offensively and has poor stand-up. He's only here for the short term to prep for his next fight, whenever that may be. CCC hasn't announced its first show yet but have over 100 fighters on contract right now across 7 weight classes, so we'll see what happens.

-Some interesting stuff going down in the MMA world. Braulio Moura left the Estrela Academy after getting into a locker-room brawl with Affonso Villar. THAT match sounds like it'd draw some serious money if they ever cross paths professionally. Word online is he might go to Escola de Luta, which would be a spectacular way to burn your bridge there. Li-Kong Ho is going for gold at the Submission Wrestling World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Good luck to him. Also, GAMMA snagged Jonathan Huang, a famous Thai Jiu Jitsu ace, for their Welterweight division right out from under ALPHA-1. Both companies also signed some SIGMA talent to deplete that promotion further. These hiring wars could get big......

---

Thursday Week 3 January, 2002

-First CCC card is announced and I'm on the opening fight in the main card! I'll be taking on the 2-0 "Progression" Jason Pilgrim on Friday Week 3 March, 2002. From the limited data we've gathered on him, hes an average wrestler with poor stand-up, who likes to work from the clinch and occasionally get a takedown or two. I'm likely a better wrestler than he is anyways, but ideally I should keep the fight at middle range and pepper him with strikes, or work the clinch (with discretion), and look for some elbows and knees. If I stuff his takedowns and don't lose in the clinch game, he shouldn't win a round, let alone the fight. However, I can't totally underestimate him. He did win 2 fights to get here, and he is a pro. We've got a 2 month camp to prepare for my first pro fight, and I'm ready to work. Normally I fight people on short notice, and although I'm fine with a week of prep time......this is a welcome change.

-The card itself will be main evented by a Lightweight title match between prospect Chad Zoff and the veteran Duane Weatherly.

-Richie and Jeffrey didn't get their fights yet. CCC booked 3 events in advance and they didn't get on any of them, although I've heard from Aidan they're likely getting on the 4th and 5th cards somewhere. Theres close to 150 people under contract and only so many fights to go around, but both of them have some problems with their skillset so any amount of coaching helps.

White Dolphin · March 2, 2018

Sunday Week 1 February, 2002

-More new fighters coming into the Canadian Tough Team! Allen LeFleur is a 7-0 mixed martial artist in CCC's Light Heavyweight division. Hes got a fight coming up at CCC 1 against a veteran boxer named Samuel Russo and wanted to get in a good camp with us beforehand. LeFleur is primarily a wrestler, but has good defense off his back and decent boxing abilities that create a nice, well-balanced skillset. He has the potential to be a champion in CCC if he stays with us, even though the Light Heavyweight division is fairly deep. This fight with Russo should be easy enough: Russo's outclassed on the feet and has no ground game.

-The other new fighter is the 4-3 Emiko Shikuk, a female Flyweight Japanese Muay Thai striker. Shes below average at the striking game, her strongest area, and is weak on the ground. She moved to Canada recently to take one last stab at making something out of her career, but at 34 I don't see it happening, and her upcoming fight on a local show in a week (in Japan, shes seeing out a contractual obligation) could be her last even if she wins. She says she's here long-term but we'll see how that pans out.

-BCF stole Luis Basora and Niko Soldo out of nowhere from GAMMA and ALPHA-1, who were rumoured to be putting out feelers.

---

Tuesday Week 3 February, 2002

-Emiko Shikuk had her fight in her hometown of Kobe. Me, Aidan, Allen, Piper and a cornerman made the trip to Japan to be in her corner, get in some training, and take in the sights. Emiko faced a Local Fighter and did quite well, getting a knockdown early and following up with punches for the TKO win early in round 1 without getting hit once. The camp and increasing age took a lot out of her though and it'll be a month and a half before she'll be ready for another fight. She isn't retiring, so we'll keep her on and see if she can get a win in Canada and get a crack at the WEFF.

Official Result: Emiko Shikuk defeats Local Fighter (TKO (Strikes) in 2:31 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Great.

-ALPHA-1 held a press conference while we were in Japan announcing a Middleweight Grand Prix event in March, so it looks like tournaments are gonna be a yearly thing there. It'll be Kyuwa Itou vs Shuncho Sakurai, Bambang Sriyanto v Kojuro Kudo, Haranobu Oshiro v Ieyoshi Yamashita and Heiji Endo v Mal Phe Roby. The seeding of that bracket was pretty damn awful but thats MMA matchmaking for you.

---

Wednesday Week 4 February, 2002

-Aidan got a commentary gig at a local show, and dragged me along backstage to hand out business cards and advertise the Canadian Tough Team. Card was mostly women angling for a WEFF roster slot and a couple of rookies, so it was good fun all-around. Aidan did a good job on commentary and got a couple plugs in for us, and I'm sorta surprised CCC didn't give him a call when they put together the broadcast desk.

-GAMMA held a free TV card a week or so back as well, and apparently Thomas Smith got cut after stepping in on short notice to fight Sutton Ripley. He might get picked up by CCC so I'll keep an eye out for him. Other notable Middleweight fight was Eriverton Laurentino getting guillotined in 35 seconds by Dwayne Alleyne. In other news, Li-Kong Ho came up short in the Submission Wrestling championships, losing in the quarterfinals.

---

Sunday Week 1 March, 2002

-Me and Aidan were backstage at a WEFF show doing the hustle again. WEFF got a surprise TV contract with QTV and ran a TV special that had a couple excellent fights. One of the fighters we handed a card to was Rose Nessa, a 7-1 female Bantamweight boxer from England now residing in Canada. She became 8-1 later that night by defeating world-ranked Helen Fox via unianimous decision in the prelims in a shock. She came in with our card later looking for some training, and is staying with us short-term but it'll be a little while before she gets booked again. Her standup is acceptable, but her ground game is bad. Somehow this wasn't exploited by Fox and Nessa outpointed her. We'll see what we can do with her.

-We gained another new fighter later, Sue Eccleston, a 7-3 female Featherweight wrestler from England now residing in Canada (there it is again!). Sue was hired recently by WEFF, but wasn't on the card. Shes similar to Emiko in that she doesn't have much threat in her strongest area, is worse everywhere else, and is in her mid-thirties and on the brink of retirement. She says shes in for the long haul, but her next fight could be her last.

---

Thursday Week 3 March, 2002

-Weigh-ins for CCC 1 took place. It was easy enough for me, I've gotten my walking weight around 191 so I only had to cut 6 pounds. I had a good camp, and me and Allen have been pushing each other hard in sparring. I've tried to box as much as possible, hes tried to grapple as much as possible, and we're both getting a good accounting of our strengths and flaws. I saw my opponent Jason Pilgrim and he looks ready for battle. I'm ready for my pro debut.......Lets hope its a good one.

-Piper got booked for a WEFF card, a main card opener against Kelly Andrews. It'll be a pure standup battle between Brawling and Muay Thai kickboxing. I'm hoping Piper can pull it off, but Kelly's a game fighter and has been involved in a couple fight of the year candidates. She'll be a tough opponent if Piper can't defend the kicks.

(OOC: Pilgrim fight will up up later today or tomorrow)

White Dolphin · March 2, 2018

Friday Week 3 March, 2002

CCC 1: Weatherly vs Zoff

This was it......fight day......

"You nervous?" Aidan said as we were in the locker room waiting for the prelims to finish.

"Yeah, a little bit."

"Good."

"Why is that good?"

"It means you're not stupid. I was worried you'd underestimate this guy, but you seem to be in good condition and you had a good camp."

"I'm nervous.....but I'm here. And I'm ready."

"Good. Now remember, keep it in a striking battle. If he clinches, don't let him stall against the fence, try to outwork him, because thats your strong point too. Don't give him openings for a takedown, you've got a good sprawl and you'll be fine off your back, but you don't want him stealing a round or two via control. He'll be aiming to wear you down and get a decision. Don't let it happen!"

"Right!"

I put on my fight attire. Aidan got a Canadian Tough Team entrance shirt and pair of trunks custom-made from a local company called Big Green Threads. They gave me a shameless set of green trunks with golden-yellow dragon wings on the side, the colors of our provincial flag. Hey, I'm the hometown boy after all. My fight nickname is "The Dragoon", cause I played Final Fantasy a bit as a kid and liked the name of the class Kain used, so the gear was appropriate. I wished Allen luck, he was taping and re-taping his fists getting ready for his fight against Samuel Russo. I fistbumped Richie and Jeffrey. Piper was backstage too.

"Good luck boss, go get him!"

"DAMN RIGHT I WILL BABEE! I'VE GOT THIS! WOOOOOOO!"

I push kicked the door open and started shadowboxing in the hallway. I was hype. This was my time....... to soar over the competition.

Piper looked at Aidan weirdly.

"Whats his deal there?"

Aidan sighed.

"Hes a hyped up kid who doesn't know how to talk to girls, cut him some slack."

"He talks to Sue and Emiko and Rose just fine. I know he has a crush on me, is that really the only reason why he can't act normal?"

"I certainly hope it is......"

Aidan and the cornermen went through the door to follow their fighter out, Aidan shaking his head.

---

Rickard Patterson entrance music: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M</a>

Jason Pilgrim entrance music:

---

The crowd cheered as I made my entrance, I guess they knew I was the hometown boy. I got into the cage, circled around to check my footing on the canvas, and pumped up the crowd before settling in for the intros, done by the owner of the company himself, Christopher Penn.

"Ladies and gentlemen.......this is the first fight of the main card here at Classic Cage Combat Number 1! This fight is sanctioned by the Athletics Commission of Saskatchewan, with ringside judges Edward Wilde, Marianne Froth, and Benjamin Milligan the 3rd. When the action begins the referee in charge is Harry A. Bierce. This fight is sponsored by the Canadian Tough Team MMA gym, at 2142 Broad Street right here in Regina, Saskatchewan, and by Cory and Trevor's Meat Company: You can't beat our meat.... Now, for all the fans here in attendance at the Turvey Convention Center in Regina..... ITS TIME! 3 5-minute rounds of fighting in the Classic Cage Combat Middleweight Division!"

"Introducing first.....fighting out of the blue corner! This man is a Greco-Roman Wrestler, holding a professional record of 2 wins, no losses! He stands 6 feet tall, weighing in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of Toronto, Ontario, he is.......

"Progression".....Jason Pilgrim!"

Crowd booed him throughout. He took it in stride.

"And now introducing his opponent, fighting out of the red corner! This man is a Freestyle fighter, holding an amateur record of 2 wins, no losses, and making his professional debut here tonight! He stands 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weighs in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN! He is......"The Dragoon"....Rickaaaaaaard Pattersooooonnnn!"

Crowd roared with my introduction. I was feeling it.

Ref Harry Bierce gave us instructions then went to the center of the cage.

"Are you ready? Are you ready? Lets fight, come on!"

---

Round 1

We touched gloves and circled for a bit. Pilgrim tried to approach but I hit him with a jab into a left hook to the liver. He kept coming though and we ended up clinching. I got into a dominant position and tried to hook the Thai plum, but he got out of it. Pilgrim tried to come back in but I fended him off with a jab, missed a left cross, then hit a jab-low kick combo. He still kept coming in to clinch, and this time I managed to outwrestle him and hook the Thai plum. I blasted him with a huge knee strike and that put him out cold! Ref went between us before I could follow up to be sure and that was it! My first win as a pro!

Official Result: 'The Dragoon' Rickard Patterson defeats 'Progression' Jason Pilgrim (Knock Out (Knee) in 2:13 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Great.

---

I jumped on top of the cage and revved the crowd up, soaking in the cheers! It went totally to plan, I took no offense and he took all of it except a missed left. Aidan and the cornermen gave me a hug and celebrated with me, before clearing the cage for the official decision and then the interview.

"Alright Rickard, good stuff in front of a hometown crowd, you got the big KO win in your professional debut, how you feeling?"

"Awesome man! Been looking forward to this since I heard the company was starting up, its been a long road to my debut, but I got the W baby! Thats what we do!"

"You seemed to show some real expertise in the clinch, hooking that Thai position and hitting the big knee strike for the KO win, was that your aim all along?"

"Well I knew his gameplan was the clinch and coming in, so the plan was to win via standup, hit him with strikes and keep him away, but he surprised me man! He kept coming and kept coming so I figured I should bust out the Muay Thai skills and put him down. Shout outs to my old coach Adul for teaching me that knee when I was a kid, it came in handy here!"

"Well with this debut win, anyone you're looking at for your 2nd fight kid? I'm running this, your hometown fans seem to like the way you fight, who do you want?"

"I'll fight anyone man! Doesn't matter if its Captain Awesome or Captain Tomato Can, I'm ready for another fight whenever! Call me when you got someone, and thanks for the opportunity!"

"No problem man....Now before we get the cage ready for the next fight tonight, anyone you want to give a shout-out?"

"I'd like to thank the hometown fans, it gave me a real rush to hear you guys cheer me on and it helped me win! I'd also like to thank my sponsors at Big Green Threads for hooking me up with this gear, check em out, they're in the Northgate Mall by the food court. I'd like to thank the other sponsors I had lined up for me by my trainer Aidan Ryland, and I'd like to thank Aidan and the rest of the Canadian Tough Team for helping me train for this! Nobody does it better baby! I owe a lot to you guys!"

"Alright...."The Dragoon" Rickard Patterson everybody!"

---

I headed backstage, and since I took no damage, I was fine for the doctor checkup and could get ready to help Allen LeFleur in his fight vs Samuel Russo. First round was a striking battle, Allen outlanded Russo and hit some good power shots, and even got a knockdown late in the round after a simultaneous exchange of a left cross and a right cross. LeFleur went in for stomps and soccer kicks to finish, but couldn't land any and Russo scrambled away to get saved by the bell.

Between rounds we told LeFleur to get the fight to the ground and end this. He took our advice and slipped past some strikes to get into the clinch, where he got a hip throw into side control. LeFleur then locked in a kimura and tapped out Russo 1:39 into Round 2 for the win!

Official Result: 'The Chunky Monkey' Allen LeFleur defeats Samuel 'The Animal' Russo (Submission (Kimura) in 1:39 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Decent.

---

The main event saw an upset win as Duane Weatherly outworked Chad Zoff for a 48-47 decision on all cards. You could make a case for Zoff winning the decisive 5th round, as he got a takedown, took Weatherly's back, and desperately tried to cinch in the fight-winning RNC, but couldn't get it before the round ended. They gave the edge to Weatherly, presumably for winning a standup battle and cutting Zoff above his eye. Great fight though, and a solid main event to start the company off.

The event drew a crowd of 277, which is five times what I fought in front of in my first amateur fight, and was a critical and commerical success it seems. I got Knock Out of the Night and made a little over $2000 before Aidan's take, but money's not the issue right now for either of us. Aidan's sold his stake in his businesses (for a huge profit, he pointed out), and the cash reserves are fine for the moment. We'll get a few more students in after this performance hopefully.

Dolphin81 · March 3, 2018

What a statement on debut.

Hopefully a fast turn-around for Rickard without taking too much damage.

MMAManiac · March 3, 2018

Extra points for the final fantasy and trailer park boys reference lmao

Jon The GOAT · March 3, 2018

Not a big MMA guy but really enjoying the read. Keep it up.

White Dolphin · March 3, 2018

(OOC: Thanks for following along fellas! Rickard's real name is also inspired by a Final Fantasy character, as I took it from one of the various translations of FF2 for the NES, theres a knight guy named Rickard/Richard/Gareth/Edward/etc who helps the party find the Ultima spell. A cursory googling reveals about 10 characters in FF14 with this name as well because reasons.)

---

Saturday Week 3 March, 2002

-Aidan met with me today go over the fight with Jason Pilgrim and talk about other stuff, although in reality it turned out to be an excuse for Aidan to have some snacks and drinks with a friend while watching the ALPHA-1 Middleweight GP. Hey, I'm down with that. It was a good event, and it saw Heiji Endo blast through Mal Phe Roby, Haranobu Oshiro, and Bambang Sriyanto en route to a win.

-Reading online afterwards though, it left a bad taste in my mouth, as five of the guys in the GP got cut. Yes, it is legal to cut a guy after a loss. Thats how the fight game's always been and we understand that. But usually its a loss at the end of a streak of losses. Why would you cut Bambang Sriyanto after a loss when he won twice beforehand to get to the finals? Idiots!

-Not so fast, says Aidan. He mentions ALPHA's always had shady stuff going on in the background and is rumoured to have Yakuza ties. This could be a cost-cutting measure due to contract demands or some other, more sinister reason. They may be hired back later or end up in GAMMA. Still pretty bad though.

-CCC had their rankings updated. I'm #20 out of 21. Pilgrim was at the bottom of the ladder and I wasn't even ranked due to not having a pro debut yet, so I still have a long way to go.

---

Tuesday Week 1 April, 2002

-Drug tests for CCC 1 came back clean. I don't and will never use, so it was no worries for me. The owner Christopher Penn reached out to Aidan afterwards to see if I'd be up for a fight on the last Saturday of June, as they're planning on running a Canada Day long weekend card. Aidan told them that I would be up for a fight, so they'll get back to me with an opponent in a few weeks.

-In the meantime, Richie Stiller has a fight booked we need to prep him for. He's taking on the 7-2 kickboxer Beau LuPone in the main card opener at CCC 4 in late May. LuPone is a slightly unorthodox striker with no ground game. Stiller doesn't have one either so he can't exploit that, so it'll be a pure striking showdown. The fact that Stiller has a better chin may swing this fight in his favour.

-Jeffrey Foxworthy is also booked for CCC 4, he'll be in the match after Stiller's at CCC 4, facing 6-2 kickboxer Roy Arnett. Roy's in good shape and has good striking, but his TDD is subpar and his ground game is worse. Foxworthy might be able to stall out 2 or 3 rounds via lay and pray or wall and stall, but we'll see if he picks up a submission or ground and pound game in this camp.

---

Sunday Week 1 April, 2002

-More new teammates! Chad Zoff is a 7-1 mixed martial artist in CCC and XCC's Lightweight divisions. He was in the main event of the first card and lost a hard-fought decision to Duane Weatherly. He's out for a few months due to damage from that fight but when he resumes training he'll be with us for at least one camp. Hes a decent wrestler with some kickboxing skill and abilities off his back, but could use a little more polish before heading to the big-time.

-The other new face in our camp is Buster East, a 5-0 Kickboxer in CCC's Welterweight division. He doesn't have a fight yet but is said to be here for the long haul. He has good striking skill, but lacks power, and severely lacks TDD and submission defense. He's a long-term project, and we'll see what happens with him.

-ALPHA-1 added a Featherweight class. Theres gonna be HUGE raids on KDM FC and XCC, but CCC should be fine because theres a contract clause that prevents you from signing an exclusive deal until 6 months after you signed one for another org. If they take Philip Ziskie I think Matt Tripp will blow a gasket, but thats why you gotta take the initiative and start your own division before they do.

---

Friday Week 2 April, 2002

-Second CCC card took place. No one from the Canadian Tough Team was on it, but me and Aidan were backstage anyways handing out business cards and taking in the fights. There were two big fights in the Middleweight division I wanted to keep an eye on. First was Chaz Babish taking on Glenn Pimm. The two journeymen were in contention for a title shot, and Babish won with a decisive Round 2 TKO after a right uppercut followed by ground strikes. He looked pretty decent, although Pimm looked over the hill. The other fight was to determine the first Middleweight champion, which was part of a triple main event of three title matches. Wade LeCavalier took on Owen Hyde and won the first Middleweight title fight via split decision. It was a bad decision, but not the way you'd expect, as LeCavalier almost got robbed. He clearly won 3 rounds and the other 2 were toss-ups, but one judge gave 3 rounds to Hyde for some reason. It went down 47-48, 48-47, and 50-45. It was a spirited performance from the veteran LeCavalier, who I've actually seen fight before and totally respect. If he doesn't retire or get beat before I rise up the ranks, that'd be a neat fight, although he lacks a ground game.

-The other two title fights saw Nate MacReary beat Chuck Dooley via clear-cut decision for the Heavyweight title and Marvin Stevens beating Sherman Shields for the Super Heavyweight title in a main event that started out good but ended with both fighters completely spent and just leaning against each other on the fence. Stevens did enough to secure the win but it was not a good look for the division. Overall the card was a commercial success but not too entertaining.

---

Sunday Week 3 April, 2002

-Piper had her fight against Kelly Andrews, and it was a dramatic encounter, although everyone else just thought it was a merely good fight. Jerks. Andrews won Round 1 and even rocked Piper with a roundhouse kick. Andrews went into the clinch to try and finish, but couldn't. 2nd round Piper was outlanded big time, and was limping a bit after a few leg kicks. Aidan told her it was now or never. Andrews kept outlanding her in Round 3 as Piper went into a defensive shell, but it was all part of the plan. The finish came with a brutal exchange when Piper suckered Andrews into a leg kick and hit a brutal left uppercut while Andrews was on one leg. Andrews went down and Piper followed up with ground and pound for the epic comeback KO.

Official Result: 'The Sniper' Piper Evergood defeats Kelly 'K.O.' Andrews (TKO (Strikes) in 3:43 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Good.

---

Saturday Week 4 April, 2002

-KDM FC fighter Kei Maki is competing in the World Kick Boxing Championships. Good luck to him!

-My next fight is booked! I'm in the main event of CCC 5 on Saturday Week 4 June, 2002, taking on "Crushin" Moe Muschin, a 6-1 Canadian wrestler ranked #12 in the division. CCC lacks drawing power somewhat due to the company getting out the title matches early, so the hope is having the hometown boy in the main event on Canada Day weekend can spur on some ticket sales. Muschin is a step up from Pilgrim as a wrestler. The clinch is also his strongest area, but hes less of a pressure grappler, and might be more inclined to try a takedown at some point. Hes not a very good striker, so I can outpoint him on the feet if I keep the fight standing. Overall the gameplan should be about the same as the previous fight.

-Buster East is also booked. He'll be facing Van Jolson, a 6-2 Kickboxer, on the 3rd fight on the main card. Jolson is a subpar striker with no ground game and a supposedly questionable chin, a tomato can if I ever heard of one. This should be an easy win.

(OOC: There will be another post or two of buildup and news, then the fight.)

White Dolphin · March 4, 2018

Saturday Week 1 May, 2002

-Backstage at another CCC event....... handing out business cards for the Canadian Tough Team and getting the word out as usual. No one in our camp in fighting today but there are three title matches and a couple Middleweight bouts to keep an eye on.

-Bernard Blue beat Ronnie Allen Teller by unanimous decision in a poor fight that was mostly dirty boxing against the fence. Blue held off a spirited round 3 from Teller to get the win. I'm not particularly worried about either man.

-Pip Mercurial beat Ed Burridge by unanimous decision, getting a takedown in every round and outlanding Burridge in Rounds 1 and 3. Pip's a pretty good wrestler who prefers to fight from the clinch with dirty boxing, like at least half a dozen other people in the division, so I'll be on the lookout for him. This win may get him into the Top 5 in the rankings, so hes likely another win away from a title shot.

-Another notable fight was the main event of the prelims, where Evan Gardner and Houston George had a hyped up prospect battle at Welterweight and Gardner utterly destroyed George, breaking his jaw in round 1 and continuing the beating in round 2. George's corner threw in the towel before Round 3 and that was that. George was game for a 3rd round, but he lost 2 rounds 10-8 and was getting the hell beat out of him, so props to his corner.

-The three title fights were ok: Joshua Ziegler took apart Joe Hinchcliffe to win the Welterweight title. Hinchcliffe got a charity Round 5 win for basically ending up in top control for a sustained period of time after getting knocked down but Ziegler controlled it otherwise, 49-45 on all cards. Trevor Murray dominated Jethro Munter for the Light Heavyweight title in a boring fight, taking all 5 rounds with top control and light ground and pound. Azor Portela Nunes scored a TKO win on Gregg Grable to win the Featherweight title, knocking him down with a head kick and following up with punches for the win in a little under 4 minutes. The show did ok for entertainment due to the undercard and drew 331. The crowds are slowly growing......

---

Monday Week 2 May, 2002

-More new members of the Canadian Tough Team! Ethan LeGrange is an 8-1 kickboxer in the CCC Welterweight Division (ranked #11). He lost in the 2nd card against Rich Robinson via submission, and is hitting us up to improve his ground game for his next fight. Hes a solid striker though and a good addition to the gym.

-The other newbie is Christine Jameson, a 4-3 female Flyweight BJJ practitioner who moved here from America. She had a crack at the big-time in WEFF, but lost 3 fights against tough opponents and was cut. She rebuilt her career with two wins on the American local scene before moving to Canada to try her luck again. Shes a decent grappler, but is inconsistent and lacks striking ability. She'll be here long-term and we'll see how far she can go.

---

Wednesday Week 3 May, 2002

-Sue Eccleston got booked for a June WEFF card, she'll be taking on Martina Collee, a 4-0 wrestler who prefers clinchwork. Sue will be hard-pressed to win, Martina is the better wrestler, the better striker, and has more physical power. Nonetheless, we'll give it the old college try and see if we can make a victory happen for her.

---

Monday Week 4 May, 2002

-Got dragged along to another local show, which Aidan was doing commentary on. Some promising rookie talent was sprinkled throughout the card, a lot of former wrestlers and kickboxers are going into MMA now due to the creation of CCC and the rise of MMA in general.

-Aidan got a call after the event saying that the fight between me and Moe Muschin was moved down to the co-main event of CCC 5. The advertising hadn't started yet, so they were able to make the change. The new main event is a Welterweight #1 contenders match between Rich Robinson and Gus Fitzpatrick. Aidan wasn't too pleased, but I didn't think it was an issue. It didn't feel like a real main event anyways, which is probably why they made the change. I'm still in front of my hometown fans, and due to the way my contract works I get paid the same. Its no big deal to me, but I think Aidan was wanting the exposure for me and the team and was really let down by this.

(OOC: So yeah, didn't mention this at the start, but how this diary works is I'm basically booking whatever promotion Patterson is in, and controlling a retired fighter character if Patterson ever gets released and works local shows. RN my user character is Christopher Penn, who owns CCC. I generally book everything based mostly on rankings, but a bit on win-loss record and popularity, hence why so many Canadians were fighting each other. Originally I wanted this to main event cause this had the highest combined pop on the card, and I thought Patterson would hype it up beyond "this is a potential main event", but with no stories on Blurcat, I decided to see if anyone would take a fight on short notice who could get "this is a decent main event", and I found Rich Robinson and Gus Fitzpatrick. I then moved another fight down to CCC 7 and here we are.)

---

Saturday Week 4 May, 2002

-Richie Stiller and Jeffrey Foxworthy had their fights today. They made weight successfully and had pretty decent camps leading into this. Buster East sparred with both of them on the regular since they were facing similar opponents to him, and I had high hopes going into tonight.

-Richie fought first against Beau LuPone. LuPone didn't touch gloves to start, and Stiller made him pay, outworking him in all three rounds and scoring a knockdown near the end of the 3rd. Stiller couldn't follow up though and the gong sounded. Richie took the decision with ease, two 30-27s and a 30-26.

Official Result: Richie 'The Killer' Stiller defeats 'The Dark Lord' Beau LuPone (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Decent.

-Jeffrey's fight did not go as well. Arnett gameplanned well, backing off Foxworthy constantly with the threat of strikes, and took nothing of note himself. Every time Foxworthy looked like he was going to shoot for a takedown, Arnett circled wide and played him, and every time he approached to clinch he got pushed back by strikes. Between rounds Foxworthy looked shaken, he was clearly expecting to win. Round 3 he finally managed to secure a takedown, but struggled to pass guard, we were screaming at him to just try to throw strikes and do something to steal the fight, but it was all for naught as the 3rd round ended. Judge's decision was 29-28, 30-27, and 30-28 for Roy Arnett. Super disappointing.

Official Result: Roy 'Trigger' Arnett defeats Jeffrey Foxworthy (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Good.

-Foxworthy just showed a total lack of heart out there. He didn't summon up his strength for a final big round and it showed. Aidan chewed him out thoroughly backstage while I tuned it out and watched the monitors for the Middleweight fights on the card.

-Tuck Durdell beat French Dancer by unanimous decision in the first fight, and this was free money for Durdell, who didn't even bother going for takedowns and just boxed Dancer to pieces. His boxing wasn't much though, Dancer is just a tomato can there to take the beating that night. I think I can handle Durdell.

-Reed Howlett and Tood D'Abruzzo were up next, and it was a similar performance between two totally different fighters than the last: Howlett hit him, D'Abruzzo barely did, and Howlett took a 30-27 decision on all cards. Howlett tried to work some knees and elbows in, but they looked awkward. Neither guy has a ground game for Plan B, so I'm not worried. Howlett could be a bad matchup for me if I can't take him down, hes an excellent boxer, but I haven't seen him against kickboxers, and I do think I can take him down. Howlett could be up soon for a title shot after this win, so I'll keep an eye on him.

-Main event saw Joshua Hope beat Russell McPhee by RNC halfway through Round 1 in CCC's biggest drawing main event yet, despite the fact there wasn't a title on the line. Word on the street is Hope will face our boy Allen LeFleur at some point, and that'll be interesting.

-Meanwhile in GAMMA, Manuel Silva announced his presence on the world stage by knocking down Julio Regueiro with a body kick, following up with strikes, and ultimately sending him to the hospital to claim the Welerweight title. One's gotta wonder if hes gonna move up to Middleweight at some point to face his ex-teammate Braulio Moura.

-Kei Maki got eliminated early at the World Kick Boxing Championships. Unfortunate. He'll still do well in KDM though if he can recover from that KO loss to Hino and this.

---

Sunday Week 1 June, 2002

-Even more new teammates! Kristen Page is a 7-1 kickboxer in WEFF's Featherweight division. She has knock out power in her high kick, but lacks a ground game, and has a questionable chin. Shes facing Muay Thai striker Tabitha Cameron in a title eliminator and came in to polish her skills her for that fight.

-The other new addition is French Dancer, a 7-5 Middleweight wrestler for CCC. Hes a tomato can at best, with no real strength in any aspect of the fighting game, but hes trying to become more than that, and we'll see if our coaches can get anything out of him.

---

Saturday Week 3 June, 2002

-GAMMA's announced a 3rd fight between Matthew Dean and Buddy Garner. Tora Mizwar was the number 1 contender but I guess they didn't want to wait for him to recover from his last fight. This will be a good one to watch.

-Emiko Shikuk has been booked for a match at a local show against 7-2 German boxer Helena Broderick. Broderick has knockout power but sloppy technique, and is no great shakes in the clinch, so thats probably the only route to success for Emiko. That and leg kicks.

-Jeffrey Foxworthy left our team after his loss to Roy Arnett. He didn't have the heart to be a good fighter, so its for the best that he moved on from here. I'll take a guy like French Dancer if hes at least professional enough to improve and try to succeed.

-My camp for Muschin's going pretty well, but Aidan was laying into me for not showing enough effort, in his eyes. Aidan reminded me that if I underestimated Muschin and assumed he was the same as Pilgrim, I'd be in for a rough night. From my point of view, I was certainly showing enough effort, and I do think I'll win, but I'm not underestimating Muschin. I'm giving up a few pounds to him come fight night, hes a strong, tough fighter, and he can take rounds if he plans well. But I've been sparring with Allen LeFleur, who is one weight class above him and has a better skillset, and I'm doing just fine. I think Aidan's just a bit pissed because theres a couple bad fights for our camp coming up, and also because I got shifted to the co-main event for the Canada Day card, and also because of the Foxworthy thing. He just needs to left off steam and thats fine. Aidan and I have become friends and this is the first real bust-up we've had, but we'll be fine. Aidan took this huge chance on me, and I'd be a fool to fall at the second hurdle. I'll do my very best, and win this.

---

Friday Week 4 June, 2002

-Weigh-in was no problem. Muschin looked okay at the weigh-in and fistbumped me after we took the promo pictures. This is a big opportunity for him too when you think about it, he hasn't made his CCC debut yet, and he'll want a strong showing to move from the middle of the pack to the contender slots. I had a really good camp and finished strong after Aidan's little rant last week. The gameplan is simple: If he clinches, thats fine, but stuff the takedowns and focus on keeping him at middle range, where I dominate the fight. I watched the Arnett/Foxworthy fight as reference, Arnett did a good job swatting away Foxworthy and moving before he could think about shooting in for the takedown. If I stick to the gameplan and don't get bullied, I'll win this.

-Buster East also made weight for his fight against Van Jolson. He had a decent camp and should be fine, Jolson's a tomato can.

-A few staff members are in Quebec with Sue and Kristen for their fights, they plan on calling Aidan with the updates. They're both in troubling matchups and Aidan is worried, although hes focusing on me and trying not to show it. Tomorrow night could be a big night for us, or a bad one........

(OOC: Fight to come next post. Thanks again to anyone following, any feedback is appreciated.)

White Dolphin · March 5, 2018

(OOC: Bit of a loooooong post cause I wanted add some dialogue and give Piper a scene. Also cause theres 4 fights going on with Tough Team members simultaneously.)

Saturday Week 4 June, 2002

CCC 5: Robinson vs Fitzpatrick

Aidan was bothered by a few things. Jeffrey Foxworthy wasn't going to amount to much but that fight was a bad look for the team nonetheless. Rickard being in the co-main instead of the main event hurt a bit. Sue Eccleston and Kirsten Page were underdogs in their respective bouts and were probably cooked. All of this was annoying at best.

What was really bugging Aidan was Moe Muschin, and what would come after Moe Muschin. Aidan was worried when he saw the CCC roster being built, because he knew Rickard, with time, could be a top-end fighter. But there were a few others in that division that with time, could also be top-end fighters, or gatekeepers to top fighters.

The Pilgrim fight wasn't too worrying. The Muschin fight might not be too worrying either, Muschin may not amount to much in MMA. But he might have some of the tools necessary to exploit Rickard's biggest weakness, something Aidan was hoping to fix before his got into the big leagues.

This was why he went off on Rickard a week before the fight. Rickard had a good camp to that point and was doing fine against LeFleur in spars, but Aidan needed him to be on-point for this, and show nothing that some of the future monsters in the division could use against him.

---

I could tell Aidan was worried. There was a lot on his mind right now, what with four Tough Team members being in fights today in two different locations. In all honesty Aidan should've gone to Quebec to give the girls help, but I was his primary client, so he thought it was his duty to support me and honor the contract.

"Don't worry Aidan, we'll go 4 for 4 tonight. Then we'll get a dozen new students so you can pay the light bill."

"The light bill's been paid on time every month and you know damn well its not going to be 4 for 4 tonight."

".......Alright, 2 for 4. Cause Buster, you're gonna knock out Van Jolson tonight to get the crowd going, right Buster?"

"Damn right boss."

"See? We're fine. The girls have Piper, and shes godlike, so the girls will be fine even if they lose. Kirsten can turn it around and Sue can try again for another pay day. You worry too much Aidan, we've got this!"

"I sure hope so........"

---

After an hour that felt like ten minutes, a flunky knocked on the door.

"Buster East is up in 5 minutes."

"Alright, thanks bud."

"TAKE HIM OUT BUSTER! YOU GOT THIS!"

Buster finished his stretches, nodded, and fistbumped me before heading out the door with Aidan and the other cornermen. I had the room to myself, so I laid out on the bench and went over the fight plan like a mantra in my head.

---

Saturday Week 4 June, 2002

WEFF 29: Vaughan vs. O'Neill III

Meanwhile in Quebec, Sue Eccleston had lost a dirty boxing battle to Martina Collee, getting outworked in all 3 rounds. Neither fighter went for a takedown and the majority of the match was against the fence throwing light uppercuts. Eccleston said she'd fight on afterwards to Piper and cried on her shoulder.

Official Result: Martina Collee defeats Sue Eccleston (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Poor.

Kirsten Page came out for Tabitha Cameron and Piper watched with interest. She could be facing one of these two down the line, after she recovered from that beating Kelly laid on her. Piper's leg was still bugging her from a couple of those shots.....

In the back of her mind, she wondered how Buster was doing.......and also how Rickard was doing........

One of the great sources of amusement in the gym for everyone was Rickard being tongue-tied around her while being able to talk normally to every other girl. Even Kirsten didn't make Rickard nervous, and Piper thought she was better looking even if it was due to hair dye (and maybe silicon).

Interestingly enough, that nervousness around Piper disappeared a bit when Rickard was talking fighting. He gave her pointers in the gym sometimes with no problem, and gave her advice in the corner between rounds with Kelly Andrews. Piper also saw Rickard watching a lot of tape on Andrews with Aidan before her fight, and even taking a couple pages of notes, which Rickard handed to her afterwards without incident.

Rickard was a hell of a fighter, a hell of a trainer, even though he was only a kid, and a pretty good guy overall it seemed. Piper could give him credit for all that. But he really, really needed to grow up. This 12 year old nervous schoolyard crush routine was ridiculous and more than a little embarassing.

So was this fight, at least for Page. She was getting outclassed. Kirsten had a habit of telegraphing a head kick with a jab beforehand, and lunging in with power punches. Cameron countered one with an excellent right hook that broke Page's nose. Page didn't learn and went for a right cross at the 2 minute mark, and Cameron countered with a gorgeous switch head kick that dropped Page. Page fell backwards like a chopped down tree, and Cameron went in to follow up before being tackled by the ref. Page was out like a light. Cameron straddled the cage, pumped up the crowd, and blew a kiss to Piper, who smirked and shook her head.

Cameron was nervous-sounding on the mic and didn't make a call out though. Piper didn't know what the deal was with the taunt. Maybe she meant to call out Piper later and was just too nervous to do it in interviews. Piper would be ready for that fight, which is more than could be said for Page, who looked rough and needed a shoulder to lean on to get out of the cage. Her nose was in really bad shape and she had a black eye from some of the strikes.

"I hope the guys back home aren't looking as bad as Page did there......"

Official Result: 'The Flame-Haired Phenom' Tabitha Cameron defeats 'Thunder Foot' Kirsten Page (Knock Out (Kick) in 2:09 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Decent.

---

Van Jolson seemed to realize in the first part of round 1 that a striking battle was going lead to him getting outpointed, so with a minute left he tried to work the clinch against East and to everyone's surprise (even his cornermen's) tried some takedowns. It was total amateur hour stuff though, so Buster defended. Buster tried a trip takedown himself but Jolson didn't fall for it either. They separated from the clinch near the end of Round 1 and didn't get off a strike before the bell.

Round 2 saw Buster open up even more on the feet and throw some hurting one-twos, before replacing the two with a head kick that wobble-legged Jolson. Buster caught Jolson flush with a leaping right hook that scored the knockdown, and pounded away until the ref pulled him off 2 minutes into the round. East pumped up the crowd, who were firmly on the side of the prairie boy over the Quebecer and were happy with the win, comical as the end of the first round may have been.

Official Result: Buster East defeats Van 'Joltin'' Jolson (TKO (Strikes) in 2:07 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Good.

---

"Got the win boss!"

"Good stuff Buster. Why'd it take so long?"

"I was feeling him out 1st round, it was no biggie."

I laughed and patted Buster on the back. For whatever reason we clicked right away in the gym and became friends outside the cage. He always called me boss, even though I wasn't head trainer, and I liked the fact he didn't have an ego the size of Saskatchewan like some of these tough guy bros in MMA these days. It was good to hear he got the win.

"Rickard, you're up in 5 minutes, you ready?"

"Born ready Aidan."

"......."

The whole crew went out the door while Buster stayed for the medical checkup.

---

Rickard's entrance music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M

Moe's entrance music:

---

"Ladies and gentlemen.......this is the co-main event of the evening! This fight is sanctioned by the Athletics Commission of Saskatchewan, with ringside judges Alan Allen, Kevin Burns, and Donald Coward! When the action begins the referee will be Stanley Wright! This fight is sponsored by the Canadian Tough Team MMA gym, at 2142 Broad Street right here in Regina, Saskatchewan, and by Cory and Trevor's Firework Company: Our rockets will never go off prematurely...... Now, for all the fans here in attendance at the Turvey Convention Center in Regina..... ITS TIME! 3 5-minute rounds of fighting in the Classic Cage Combat Middleweight Division!"

"Introducing first.....fighting out of the blue corner! This man is a Wrestler, holding a professional record of 6 wins, 1 loss! He stands 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of Leaf Rapids, Manitoba! He is........

"Crushinnnnnnn" Mooooooe Muschiiiiinnnn!"

Muschin took some verbal abuse from the crowd, thats for sure. They were really hype for my entrance earlier, I'm starting to gain a local following and they're firmly behind me and against my opponent. It feels really good.

"And now introducing his opponent, fighting out of the red corner! This man is a Freestyle fighter, holding a professional record of 1 win, no losses! He stands 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weighed in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN! He is......"The Dragoon"....Rickaaaaaaard Pattersooooonnnn!"

Big cheers for me, as I rolled my arms around and popped off in front of the fans.

The ref gave us our instructions and went to the center.

"Are you ready? Are you ready? Lets go! Fight!"

---

Round 1

We touched gloves. I missed a jab, but Muschin dodged the wrong way and I caught him with a left hook. He fired a couple jabs that I slipped, and I returned fire with a one-two that hit gloves. We circled around for a while, feinting and faking, and I popped him with a one-two through a slight opening in his guard. He blocked another jab, so I changed levels and hit him with a good leg kick. He felt that, and rushed to get in the clinch. Big mistake, as I hooked the Thai plum easily and realized he either forgot about the Pilgrim fight, or didn't see the tape. I drove a knee to the sternum but couldn't generate enough power. Moe was trying to push out, but I had none of it. I worked a knee to the solar plexus that was blocked, and a knee to the ribs that wasn't. We grappled for a while as Muschin tried to power out, and while he was focused on doing so I blasted a knee full force into his jaw! He went down, and the ref tackled me before I could follow up, waving the fight off! Win number two!

Official Result: 'The Dragoon' Rickard Patterson defeats 'Crushin'' Moe Muschin (Knock Out (Knee) in 3:50 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Good.

---

After celebrating atop the cage and the post-fight announcements, I got interviewed again by the company owner and ring announcer Chris Penn.

"Alright Rickard, big knock out win over a tough fighter in Moe Muschin. Everything went to plan didn't it?"

"Yeah, I was aiming for a standup battle like I did against Jason Pilgrim, and if he clinched me I was gonna be ready for it all the way. You can't clinch a Muay Thai striker kids! It doesn't work! But seriously, respect for Moe, he did a good job fending me off for a bit. He'll be back!"

"This was the co-main event tonight, the biggest fight of your career, but you didn't seem nervous at all?"

"I was nervous man! Its like my trainer Aidan says, its good to be nervous, cause that means you aren't stupid. I knew Moe had good wrestling and wasn't just a tomato can waiting to be crushed. If he was easy I wouldn't be nervous, and I'd fight like a stupid show-off. Thats not me, *laughs* not yet anyway!"

"Well, with two big wins, you're on the rise in the Middleweight division, anyone you'd like for your next fight?"

"Like I said man, I'll fight anyone. But you know, theres a lot of prospects like me on the way up. Guys who are 2 and 0, 4 and 0, 5 and 0, I'll take on some of those guys, and we'll see who deserves to be the future star. How about Nate Dawes? Been watching some tape of him, he'd be an interesting fight if he wins his next match."

"So you're calling him out then?"

"Sure, why not?"

"There you have it folks, the gauntlet's been thrown down for a future fight! Anyone you want to give a shout out to before the main event starts?"

"I'd like to thank the hometown fans for all the support, it always feels good to hear those cheers guys! I'd also like to thank Big Green Threads in the Northgate Mall for the fight gear, they make some good stuff and I'll be calling them again sometime, y'all should too. I'd like to thank the other sponsors I had lined up for me by Aidan Ryland, and I'd like to thank Aidan and the rest of the Canadian Tough Team for helping me with this camp! Nobody does it better baby! You guys help me win every time!"

"There you have it, Rickard Patterson everybody!

The crowd cheered, and I soaked it all in. 2 and 0........ it felt nice.

White Dolphin · March 7, 2018

Sunday Week 4 June, 2002

-No damage again, so after a quick exam the doctor just told me to take it easy for a week then resume training.

-Made about $1600 from that last fight after Aidan's take. My contract has come up for negotiation, and Aidan says they've offered $2000 a fight, standard double win bonus, 5% raise for each win, some increased bonuses all around, and $550 up front, which will be $400 and change after Aidan's cut. I told him to take it, and he did, it'll be official by next week.

-Aidan asked why I called out Nate Dawes. I didn't really have a pattern for any call-out, I just wanted to get some hype going and not always offer the answer of "I'll fight anybody". Dawes is a pretty interesting opponent for me though, as hes a heavy-handed wrestler with good physical attributes and a chin made out of titanium. It'd be a stern test, thats for sure. Aidan seemed happy about the Muschin fight, but was a little apprehensive about Dawes for some reason.

-GAMMA cut Sutton Ripley. Again with this lose once after you win and get cut stuff! Ripley still has a bit of name value, just let him fight! Aidan says CCC is giving him an offer and that'll change things dramatically in the Middleweight division. It was alledgedly going to be Reed Howlett vs Tuck Durdell for a future title shot but now I don't know what they'll do if they sign Ripley.

-Aidan also tells me Wade LeCavalier vs Chaz Babish is basically confirmed at this point, they're just not sure if its August or September. I might be fighting again in the fall depending on how things go.

---

Monday Week 2 July, 2002

-Emiko Shikuk had her match against Helena Broderick, and it was a disastrous outing, as Shikuk ate punches and couldn't get a rhythm going. In Round 2 a pair of right hooks dropped Shikuk and Broderick pounded away for the win.

Official Result: Helena Broderick defeats Emiko Shikuk (TKO (Strikes) in 4:11 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Good.

-Shikuk retired after the fight. We offered to keep her on as a coach, but she said its time to step back from the fighting game and see if she can start anew doing something else.

---

Wednesday Week 2 July, 2002

-New fighters for the Canadian Tough Team: Roy Arnett is a 7-2 Kickboxer in the CCC Lightweight division, who we know well, he beat Jeffrey Foxworthy and sent him packing from our gym. No hard feelings to Roy though, who had a good gameplan and was the better man that night. He says he'll stick around long-term, and hopefully we can teach him actual TDD in case his suppressive striking doesn't work.

-Catalina Vinicios is a 7-0 female Flyweight Muay Thai striker, who moved here from Brazil a few weeks ago. Her record would indicate shes on the rise, but in reality shes a fairly pedestrian striker with no ground game that hasn't been tested yet by a good grappler. Shes with us short-term to try and land a contract with WEFF and from there, who knows.

-Passed my drug test for CCC 5, as did everyone else on the card. I have to wait and see how CCC 6 shakes down before finding out my next opponent according to Aidan. Nate Dawes is on that card against Jackson Goode. I could also end up facing the winner of a prospect matchup between Derren Barton and Mortimer Greenfell. I could also be put against Tom Essy, who won a prelim fight at CCC 5.

-Sutton Ripley did indeed sign with CCC and he'll be getting a fight in the fall. I told Aidan to throw my name in the ring for that but Aidan's said he's likely facing a contender and hes not sure they'd sanction a match anyways because of inexperience on my part. Ripley is DEFINITELY a future goal of mine though.

-As is the winner of Wade LeCavalier and Chaz Babish, who are headlining CCC 7 in August. I'll be backstage watching that fight closely.

-I'm ranked #16 out of 21 and will probably fall to #17 cause of Ripley's signing. The climb continues......

---

Monday Week 4 July, 2002

-Kirsten Page left the Canadian Tough Team. Shes said she appreciated what we did for her but she needed to move on. That KO loss to Cameron was a rough one and it might take her a while to come back mentally, so hopefully she finds success again. We told her shes welcome back any time, as she was a nice enough person to have in the camp.

-BCF swiped Alberto Basora. ALPHA-1 was rumoured to be putting out feelers, so this was a good pickup by BCF. The counter raids are gonna be something fierce though......

---

Friday Week 4 July, 2002

-Was backstage handing out business cards and taking in the action at CCC 6. The Middleweight opener between Mortimer Greenfell and Derren Barton was a win for Greenfell via decision, but he didn't impress me much. Barton's subpar TDD meant Greenfell should've kept the fight on the ground, but he only went for one takedown Round 1 then passed on the ground game, his greatest strength against his opponent's weakness, for the rest of the match. He won the standup battle for at least 2 rounds and looked decent, but if he tries that gameplan against me, he will lose. Barton, for his part, was not terrible, but hes got a ways to go.

-Nate Dawes took on Jackson Goode and won a unanimous decision. Dawes didn't throw bombs like I was expecting, and jabbed his way to vctory in the first two rounds, before getting taken down in the 3rd. However, he managed to survive Goode's onslaught of light ground and pound and a bad kimura attempt to get the victory. Like Greenfell, if he decides to make it a boxing match, he will lose. The power is threatening, but the technique, hand speed, and defense just isn't there. Goode was an inferior wrestler and also managed a takedown against him. Could've been an off night for Dawes, but he doesn't intimidate me in this form.

-Main event saw Sly Twinge score a TKO early in Round 2 on Nate MacReary. Twinge cut him open Round 1, but got taken down in a close round. Round 2 Twinge fired a one-two that put MacReary down and followed up with strikes for the title. A pretty solid main event from them. The event drew nearly 400 people and was a critical success. Crowds have been going up every show so hopefully this keeps up.

---

Sunday Week 4 July, 2002

-Well I'm not facing Tom Essy soon, thats for sure, as hes booked against Bernard Blue at CCC 8 in September. Main event is Sutton Ripley against Pip Mercurial, and another important Middleweight clash sees Tuck Durdell against Reed Howlett after all. Someone from that card is getting a title shot at some point.

-Ethan LeGrange is booked at CCC 8 against Zeke Eliot, a 7-1 Wrestler ranked #14 in the Welterweight division. Classic striker v grappler matchup. Eliot has decent standup, but is more likely to go for takedowns and work top control. LeGrange still isn't progressing quickly enough at learning TDD so he could be in rough shape in this matchup.

-Aidan's said that I'm likely facing either Nate Dawes or Mortimer Greenfell in October or November. A longer wait than usual, but I'll manage.

White Dolphin · March 8, 2018

Sunday Week 1 August, 2002

-New teammates this week: Trish Biel is a 10-0 female Flyweight wrestler. Shes coming in short term to work on her striking, which would supplement her world-class wrestling game quite nicely. Even though shes fought exclusively in Europe, shes worked her way up to #17 in the world rankings at Flyweight, and now that shes in Canada shes likely a win away from a WEFF contract. No fight booked yet but I think Aidan might help her there.

-Another new teammate is Aljur Paras, a dangerous 5-0 Heavyweight Muay Thai striker. He moved from the Phillippines to Canada and earned a KO win over a local fighter on a show in Alberta recently. He got one of our business cards at that show and is stepping in long-term to work on rounding out his skillset. He lacks technique and a ground game, but has some power and is a great natural athlete. He also has a pretty good chin. Hes raw, but he'll go far with more experience. Hes unemployed, but might be brought in if CCC cuts a Heavyweight at some point. He also doesn't have a fight booked right now.

---

Saturday Week 3 August, 2002

-Christine Jameson is booked against 8-6 grappler Maggie Martin at a local show in September. Martin is a subpar wrestler with no real skill anywhere so this should be easy if a motivated Jameson shows up, as Martin shouldn't have the submission defense to cope.

-Chad Zoff is booked at CCC 9 in October, in a prelim match against 6-2 Jeffrey Foxworthy. This should be easy enough for Zoff, who's had to wait a long time to recover for another shot. If he demolishes Foxworthy he'll be right back in the thick of things.

-Matthew Dean outworked Buddy Garner to make defence number 10 of his GAMMA Middleweight title, a company record for title defenses. Garner deserves credit for taking a round with a busted up nose at least. Luckily, the fight wasn't terrible and Dean managed to thumb his nose at the online critics who insist hes a lay and pray fanatic. Where the hell did this come from? Hasn't Dean had two of the most exciting fights in the history of MMA against Napier and Ripley? Somehow, I'm guessing its the Braulio Moura fanboys. Dunno why MMA fans in the internet love Brazillians and insist they're superior so much but hey, its an anonymous mob of people with no knowledge, what can ya do.

---

Friday Week 4 August, 2002

-Was backstage for CCC 7, handing out cards and keeping the hustle going for the gym as usual, and I got to see Wade LeCavalier vs Chaz Babish for the CCC Middleweight title. Babish gameplanned perfectly, not intending to box LeCavalier at a reach disadvantage and going for nothing but takedowns, which were followed up by light ground and pound designed to stay active and win points. Eventually Babish got a trip takedown from the clinch in the 3rd round that decided it. He went to side control and tried an armbar, LeCavalier somehow escaped, but couldn't get back to the feet in time. Babish regained side control and cinched in an americana lock for the tapout halfway through Round 3. Excellent fight from Babish, he got to show more than he did against Glenn Pimm and he'll be a hard nut to crack as champion. I think I can take him though.

-LeCavalier retired, which wasn't much of a surprise, he had hung on til he was 43 and got a couple final paydays out of it. Much respect to the Mantis. Babish says he intends to be champion for a long time. We'll see about that.......

---

Monday Week 1 September, 2002

-Tadamasa Yamada got cut after his 3rd straight loss, the most recent one to Zvonimir Asanovic in a rematch from an early Light Heavyweight title clash. This ones a shock, as he was still one of the top name draws in the entire company. If he wins a couple fights and rebuilds, you gotta wonder if we'll see him head to GAMMA.

-Speaking of GAMMA, they've put a big money offer on the table to Heiji Endo as everyone who cares about backroom MMA contract dealings grabs their popcorn. This silent war between the two companies is slowly reaching the boiling point.

-Jeffrey Foxworthy talked some smack to Chad Zoff online. Have fun with that fight Jeff! Zoff's not having the greatest of camps but he'll still wipe the floor with him as long as he shows up.

---

Saturday Week 1 September, 2002

-Another short-term visitor coming in for training: Owen Hyde, an 8-1 Middleweight kickboxer in CCC's Middleweight division. He lost the first ever CCC Middleweight title match to Wade LeCavalier by split decision, and now has another tough fight against 8-2 wrestler Ed Burridge at CCC 9 in October. Striker with no TDD v Grappler is a song and dance we're all familiar with, and Hyde's going to need a big effort to get a win and avoid possibly being cut.

-Endo signed for ALPHA-1 over GAMMA, as Matt Tripp probably threw his hat on the ground and stomped on it in rage like those old-timey movie villains. It'll be interesting to see if ALPHA-1 hits back when a GAMMA contract comes due.

-CCC made new signings to replace two retirements and one cut, and one of those signings was at Middleweight for a rookie Jiu Jitsu fighter named Royal Carrier. He could be my next opponent, Aidan's still not sure on the details of my next fight, but I know its not October unless someone gets injured or something.

-Nate Dawes apparently accepted my callout earlier on Blurcat. I still don't care that much either way if I fight him or not, but he is on a list of 3 prospective opponents, so I am looking at his tapes, among others.

-Ethan LeGrange made a big breakthrough working with our Jiu Jitsu coaches, and now has some ability off his back. Hopefully that helps him out against Zeke Eliot, if he can't defend the takedown, maybe he can break top control, which would be huge.

---

Monday Week 2 September, 2002

-Christine Jameson had her fight against Maggie Martin at a local show. Jameson got a trip takedown within 30 seconds and began the slow process of firing punches and cutting the guard. Eventually Martin made the classic error of giving up the back rather than getting mounted, and Jameson went right to work, getting the surprise ground and pound TKO in a little over 3 and a half minutes.

Official Result: Christine 'Miss Kimura' Jameson defeats Maggie Martin (TKO (Strikes) in 3:46 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Great.

-Main event of the local show was an interesting one: GAMMA vet Kendall Tracey vs a Thai Kung Fu fighter named Datsakorn Pratoomwong. Tracey won round 1 easily, Pratoomwong scored a big knockdown won round 2, but broke his hand halfway through. He landed one on a bad part of the jaw and I knew right away. Pratoomwong seemed to take some real psychological damage from that, as he gassed and Tracey managed to control the remaining 3 rounds and win. But man, had he not broken his fist, we would've had a big upset. Pratoomwong's got promise if he comes back from this.

---

Saturday Week 2 September, 2002

-CCC 10 is booked for Saturday Week 1 November, 5 days after my 19th birthday, and I'm facing Nate Dawes in the main event. (For real this time, I'm not going to be shifted to the co-main) The gameplan is simple enough: If he stands, beat him, if he clinches, beat him, if he manages to get a takedown, work submissions from the bottom. We've watched a fair bit of tape on Dawes and I have a good sparring partner for the bout in Allen LeFleur. Aidan is worried, but I feel I've got this.

-Two teammates will be on the undercard. Roy Arnett is taking on 8-2 wrestler Brock Youdale in a Lightweight showdown. Striker v grappler, but Youdale's a pretty solid fighter with good takedowns so Arnett will need a flash KO to win.

-The opener on the main card will be Richie Stiller fighting 6-2 Featherweight boxer Joshua Goldberg. Goldberg's boxing is skillful, although he doesn't have knockout threat. He aims mostly to counter-strike and win points. Goldberg's rumoured to have a glass jaw though, so it gives Stiller an avenue for the KO win even if hes behind.

---

(OOC: Since its getting complex for me to follow, I figured at the end of some journal logs, I'll provide a list of the current team members, and what fights the team has coming up.

Tempted to cut down on talking about the other teammates overall but I figured its an important enough aspect of the story.)

CANADIAN TOUGH TEAM CURRENT ROSTER

Leaders:

Aidan Ryland (trainer/owner/agent)

Rickard Patterson (2-0)

Special Long-Term Members:

Piper Evergood (9-2)

Long-Term Members:

Aljur Paras (5-0)

Buster East (6-0)

Christine Jameson (5-3)

French Dancer (7-5)

Richie Stiller (7-3)

Roy Arnett (7-2)

Sue Eccleston (7-4)

Visitors:

Allen LeFleur (8-0)

Catalina Vinicios (7-0)

Chad Zoff (7-1)

Ethan LeGrange (8-1)

Owen Hyde (8-1)

Rose Nessa (8-1)

Trish Biel (10-0)

Upcoming Fights:

Ethan LeGrange v Zeke Eliot (CCC 8, September 2002)

Chad Zoff v Jeffrey Foxworthy (CCC 9, October 2002)

Owen Hyde v Ed Burridge (CCC 9, September 2002)

Rickard Patterson v Nate Dawes (CCC 10, November 2002)

Richie Stiller v Joshua Goldberg (CCC 10, November 2002)

Roy Arnett v Brock Youdale (CCC 10, November 2002)

Cyclops · March 9, 2018

Really like this diary keep it up!

I think some of the focus should stay on the "main" guys and gals at the camp. Those that do well and well and are staying long term. I also like the split viewpoints of having Rickard and Piper for the respective sexes.

White Dolphin · March 10, 2018

(OOC: Thanks for the comment Cyclops. I may do that again in future if WEFF and CCC double book again. Piper will get her chances to occasionally share her perspective on things later. I may even do a full fight writeup if she gets a title shot, not sure yet.

Nate Dawes fight to come next update.)

---

Monday Week 3 September, 2002

-Two of my teammates are booked for a local show in Canada in three weeks. Catalina Vinicios is booked against 6-5 Flyweight kickboxer Alyssa Taylor. I feel Vinicios needs to shift the fight to the clinch to have a better chance of victory, as they're close to equal standing and trading.

-Aljur Paras is booked against the intrepid journeyman battler known as Local Fighter. Local Fighter is rumoured to be a Muay Thai brawler with about half of Aljur's ability, maybe slightly more than that on the defensive side. This should be an easy enough match to get Aljur's rep up for a CCC contract once someone gets cut.

-Speaking of local shows, I was at another one today in BC, passing out cards and watching the rookies go at it as usual. Some promising talents angling for a shot at CCC or WEFF, its good to see the Canadian scene growing.

---

Wednesday Week 3 September, 2002

-Piper's booked again! She'll be battling against 9-3 Featherweight kickboxer Haley Croft at WEFF 31 in October. Croft was the first winner of the WEFF Featherweight title and is still a dangerous fighter, even though shes starting to decline a bit over 30. Piper had a fair bit of trouble with Kelly Andrews, but we're a gym that has no shortage of knowledge on the art of kickboxing, so we can polish her defense. Croft's chin and conditioning are only getting worse so Piper could spring a round 3 KO from behind yet again. I have faith.

-Mal Phe Roby retired from active competition. His last fight against Heiji Endo wasn't implied to be his last one so this came out of nowhere. He was a real trail-blazer for the Middleweight division and I always liked his fights.

---

Saturday Week 3 September, 2002

-CCC 8 happened last night and I was there, cornering for Ethan LeGrange and then watching the Middleweight fights.

-Ethan LeGrange fought Zeke Eliot. LeGrange won Round 1 with a knockdown, although Eliot got his wits about him and had top position at the end of the round. Round 2 started badly with LeGrange getting a spin kick caught and getting taken down as a reward. LeGrange got back to his feet but was smothered against the fence with grappling and couldn't get much going. The decisive round saw LeGrange outstrike Eliot cleanly, only to concede takedown number 2 with a minute left. LeGrange used his defense off his back to hang on though, and that was that. 29-28 decision win on all cards for LeGrange!

Official Result: Ethan LeGrange defeats Zeke Eliot (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Good.

-The 3 big matches at Middleweight were spread out on the main card. The opener saw Tom Essy brutally outstrike Bernard Blue, knocking him down twice. Blue managed to get back up towards the end of the 3rd but got hammered against the fence and the ref stopped it with over a minute left in the round. Credit to Blue for hanging in there for a while, he took some serious damage in that fight. Essy's power is no joke, but his boxing lacks technique and speed, and I don't see him as the best wrestler in the division. A good prospect, but right now I think I can take him.

-Reed Howlett had a good scrap with Tuck Durdell. Durdell won round 1 with a late takedown and some nasty ground and pound, and opened up a cut as well. Howlett controlled Round 2 though and knocked Durdell down with a one-two, before following up with strikes to get the win. Howlett's boxing is dangerous, but his TDD still needs work.

-The main event saw a total shock result. Pip Mercurial upset Sutton Ripley via unanimous decision. Nothing close either, 50-45, 50-45, 49-46. Pip had a gameplan and he stuck to it, get him against the fence and throw enough to win the round. Nothing of any substance except a couple good knees, but the strikes landed, sapped stamina, and took points. Mercurial had to wade through power punches from Ripley, who caught him good 4 or 5 times, but it was worth it. Ripley looked flummoxed and gassed in the laster rounds and was never close to winning. He had shown some vulnerabilities in clinch against JJ Reid and Braulio Moura, but nothing like this.

-This really changes things in the Middleweight division. Mercurial looks like the sure-fire favourite to take the belt right now. He did look that impressive against Ed Burridge earlier, working mostly takedowns, and I'm wondering if thats a gameplan Ripley expected him to follow. Instead Mercurial loks like a serious threat standing, and has enough cardio to follow the gameplan for 5 rounds. He'll be tough.

-Mercurial didn't call out the champ though, instead calling out Reed Howlett. It would be a logical #1 contender match, but I think one of them is getting the next title shot instead, so we'll see how that develops.

---

Monday Week 1 October, 2002

-Simon Vine got cut from ALPHA-1 after a KO loss to Ikku Funaki and will land on his feet in CCC. Thats a big pickup for the company, although he'll be recovering from injuries for a few months and likely won't debut until spring.

---

Thursday Week 1 October, 2002

-A local show took place in Calgary with a couple members of my team on it, and I was there to corner for them. Catalina Vinicios was up first against Alyssa Taylor in the prelims. Round 1 was a bit of a tentative striking battle that could've gone either way. Round 2 was much of the same until Vinicios staggered Taylor with a head kick. Vinicios secured the Thai plum and delivered a vicious knee strike to the jaw and that did it. Good win for Vinicios.

Official Result: Catalina Vinicios defeats Alyssa 'The Viper' Taylor (Knock Out (Knee) in 3:04 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Great.

-Aljur Paras faced Local Fighter on the 3rd match in the main card. Both men came out swinging, but only Paras was landing reliably. 90 seconds in Paras got tagged with a left hook, but shrugged it off and unleashed a jab to head kick combo that knocked Fighter out cold and moved him to 6-0. Hopefully this gets Paras a CCC offer.

Official Result: Aljur Paras defeats Local Fighter (Knock Out (Kick) in 1:29 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Good.

---

Sunday Week 1 October, 2002

-Matt Tripp continues the fine tradition of poor cutting decisions we've seen this year and gave Nathan Chambers the heave-ho after he lost an entertaining main event to Bobby Brubaker. Once again, a nonsensical cut after one loss. On the card Petey Mack beat Patrick Thomas in the notable Middleweight showdown, and Stuart Strange got a decision win over Ethan Sutton.

-The real talk of the show came in the prelims however, as Big Magic claimed Upset of the Forever with a stunning KO win over Lawrence Herringbone. Herringbone suicidally elected for a pure standup fight, Magic's only chance to win, and got clobbered early in round 2 with a random right hook that caught him flush. Herringbone was something like a -1200 favourite, and had he taken Magic down he would've justified that line. What a shocker that was.

-Chisaki Gojo joined our team for at least her next fight. Shes an 8-2 Flyweight Judoka with good submissions, particularly the armbars, and a solid ground game otherwise, but lacks standup and has slightly questionable cardio. We can help fix both of those weaknesses, and we'll see if she lands a job with WEFF.

---

Friday Week 2 October, 2002

-Another CCC show, another two Tough Team fighters on the card.

-Owen Hyde unfortunately could not cope with the wrestling skill of Ed Burridge and took a unanimous decision loss followed by a pink slip after the match. Hyde got taken down once every round and took light ground and pound, and couldn't get any rythym going. Sad, but predictable.

Official Result: 'Mr. Fantastic' Ed Burridge defeats 'Young Gun' Owen Hyde (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Good.

-Chad Zoff didn't have a great camp leading into it, but he did enough to fend off Jeffrey Foxworthy via a unanimous decision. Foxworthy got a late flurry of ground and pound in Round 3 after gaining top position from a scramble, but it wasn't nearly enough and Zoff secured the win.

Official Result: Chad 'Easy Z' Zoff defeats Jeffrey Foxworthy (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Good.

-Zoff still seems a bit unmotivated and lazy despite being the most well-rounded guy in the division and the one with the best chance to succeed, and I don't know if we can get through to him to change him in that regard. Nonetheless hes probably sticking around for at least his next fight so thats helpful to the lighter guys that need a sparring partner.

-There was a triple main event for this show, with 3 title matches. Jon Silvers won a close fight vs Trevor Murray via knock out late in Round 5. Murray retired afterwards. Marvin Stevens and Frank Sheedy settled a blood feud via a lay and pray fest won by Stevens via unanimous decision. Rich Robinson won the main event and the CCC Welterweight title from Joshua Ziegler via rear naked choke in Round 5, having largely controlled the fight up til then. Card drew almost 500 and was okay overall, although Marvin Stevens is having some bad fights as champion and will probably be co-maining for his entire reign.

-CCC owner Chris Penn met us backstage after the show and told us he's planning on giving Aljur Paras an offer. A retirement at Heavyweight led to an open roster spot which Paras is going to be filling, they hope. Good opportunity for Paras and we'll see what he can do with it against a wrestler-heavy division.

---

Sunday Week 2 October, 2002

-2 Tough Team bookings: Allen LeFleur is booked for a fight at CCC 11 against Joshua Hope. This was rumoured to be a thing for quite some time but it took a while for their turn to come up. Both are good wrestlers with decent striking, but LeFleur might be slightly overmatched here. His overall skillset is coming along nicely, but I think Hope's more likely to get the takedown and control the fight, and with a good chin and submission defense the only real way for LeFleur to win is by decision. All that coupled with Hope being a fantastic athlete that has good cardio and body strength. This'll be very interesting.

-Trish Biel is booked against 9-1 Flyweight Sambo fighter Tatjana Vinick at a show in Victoria, the same day as CCC 10. Biel should do well: Vinick is the inferior grappler and similar to Biel as a striker, in that she isn't much of one. Biel also has the edge in cardio and strength.

-MMA is fully regulated in Japan now. Interesting to see if this affects ALPHA-1 at some point.

-Owen Hyde left the gym, said it was nothing personal but he needed to rebuild and retool elsewhere.

---

Saturday Week 3 October, 2002

-Piper had her fight against Haley Croft. Round 1 was tentative, both fighters feeling each other out, but Croft edged it by landing a great head kick near the bell. Round 2 was still a bit tentative, but eventually Croft lunged in with a right hook, and Piper popped her with a jab followed by a left hook and knocked Croft down! Piper followed up with strikes, and that was it! TKO win for Piper!

Official Result: 'The Sniper' Piper Evergood defeats Haley Croft (TKO (Strikes) in 3:49 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Great.

-Post-fight Croft retired, and Piper called out Rachel McGuinness because reasons. While we were watching the main event, Aidan got a call from Aljur saying he got an offer from CCC, Aidan advised him to take it and told him this was his first big shot to make it.

---

Monday Week 1 November, 2002

-19th birthday today! Celebrated at home playing video games with Buster East and Allen LeFleur, and mopped the floor with them in Street Fighter Alpha 3 using the god that is Dan Hibiki. If I ever make it big I'm busting out that pink gi for an entrance, bet on it. There will be a better birthday celebration after my fight if I win.

---

Friday Week 1 November, 2002

-Everyone from the Tough Team weighed in successfully, including me. I had a great camp leading up to this, tapping out LeFleur earlier in a serious spar Aidan demanded we have. Aidan was anxious about this fight at first, but has become more confident in the buildup. The gameplan is ready, and I know how I can win. Lets see how this goes!

White Dolphin · March 12, 2018

Saturday Week 1 November, 2002

CCC 10: Patterson vs. Dawes

"Remember the plan Richie! The guy's got a glass jaw and he ain't ready for those kicks! You've got this!"

Richie nodded and headed out the door with Aidan and the other cornermen. It was the main card for my main event, and my teammate was opening it up for me. I was even more nervous than my first fight, but it was a good kind of nervous.

I decided to lay down, stretch, and listen to music instead of watching the monitor. No sense getting pent up about things, I'd just hear the results and watch the tape afterwards to help them out. The outcome of both the fights were pretty obvious anyways: Stiller via KO, Arnett loses via getting grounded. If everything went to plan, I'd make it 2 for 3.......

---

Stiller wasn't getting the KO, but he was winning the fight anyways. In terms of numbers, Goldberg was outlanding Stiller, but Stiller was the aggressor and was getting in power shots, and Aidan knew thats what the judges wanted these days. 2nd round, Stiller opened a cut, and that caused some grief amongst Goldberg's cornermen between rounds. 3rd round Stiller finally got to open up a little and land more strikes, even trying a couple takedowns that were blocked. Goldberg survived to read a decision, which was against the plan, but Aidan thought Stiller might've done enough to take it despite not getting a knockdown.......

......And he did. Two 30-27s and a 29-28!

Official Result: Richie 'The Killer' Stiller defeats Joshua 'Golden Gloves' Goldberg (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Good.

---

Arnett's fight did go according to plan, unfortunately for Arnett, who was taken down twice in the first round and took heavy damage from ground and pound. The suppressive striking Arnett used against Jeffrey Foxworthy was not working here. 2nd round, Youdale got another takedown and unleashed bombs until the ref stopped it, ruling that Arnett was not adequately defending himself. Tough loss for Arnett, but at least Roy didn't get stopped round 1 and hung in there for a little while.

Official Result: Brock 'The Spark Plug' Youdale defeats Roy 'Trigger' Arnett (TKO (Strikes) in 4:16 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Decent.

---

Roy came in covered with bruises and I pretty much knew right away. Only so much you can do as a striker with average TDD against a grappler. We talked with him for a bit, he vowed to comeback soon and come back stronger. Hes not a quitter, and even if he only turns out to be a journeyman, hes our journeyman damnit, and we'll help him as long as hes training with us.

Me and Aidan went over the gameplan like a mantra. This was different from any match I ever had, even the national championship wrestling match I lost as a teen. Dawes was a high level wrestler, but we both knew he was not unbeatable in every facet of the game. If we stuck with the plan and if I worked the best I could in every area of the fight, I'd have a path for victory. I can do this. I WILL do this.

Both of us looked up from the monitor as the same time to see Evan Pizzarro's hand being raised in his fight against Craig Hulme. Right on cue, a flunky knocked on our door and let us know we were up soon.

Game on.

---

Nate's music:

Rickard's music: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M</a>

---

"Ladies and gentlemen.......this is the MAIN EVENT of the evening! This fight is officially sanctioned by the Athletics Commission of Saskatchewan, with the ringside judges Edward Wilde, Ian Rivers, and Stewart Morecambe! When the action begins the referee in charge..... Kyle Crisp! This fight is sponsored by the Canadian Tough Team MMA gym, at 2142 Broad Street right here in Regina, Saskatchewan, and by Cory and Trevor's Body Shop and Auto Repair: We'll take care of the rear ends...... Now, for all the fans here in attendance at the Turvey Convention Center in Regina, its the moment you've all been waiting for..... IIIIIIIIIITS TIIIIIIIMMMMMMEEEEEE! 5 5-minute rounds of fighting in the Classic Cage Combat Middleweight Division!"

"Introducing first.....fighting out of the red corner! This man is a Wrestler, holding a professional record of 5 wins, no losses! He stands 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of Lincoln, Nebraska, USA! He is........ NATE.....DAWWWWWWWWEEESSSS!!!!!!"

Nate was booed mercilessly for not being the hometown favourite. I almost feel sorry for my opponents sometimes. Almost.

"And now introducing his opponent, fighting out of the blue corner! This man is a Freestyle fighter, holding a professional record of 2 wins, no losses! He stands 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weighed in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN! He is......"THE DRAGOOOOOONNNNN"....RICKAAAAAAAAARRRD PATTERSOOOONNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!"

Ref gave us our instructions and went to the center.

"You ready? Are you ready? Lets get it on, come on!"

---

Round 1

We touched gloves and circled a bit, before I confidently stepped into the pocket and started throwing. I hit a one, but missed the two and he backed off. He came in to approach, but I cut him off, fired a jab to get him to dodge one way, then hit a nice kick to the ribs. Dawes came into the clinch. He tried to push me back, but I was ready for a power battle and got under him to take a better position in the clinch. I secured the Thai plum. The same winning pattern of my previous two fights. I fired a couple knees, but both were partially blocked. I fired a third and got him right in the stomach. I went for the head, but he blocked the knee strike and shoved me out of the clinch. I hit a jab, but missed a low kick. I decided to change levels, and I fired a jab, ducked low, and caught him with a nice shot to the ribs. Dawes dashed into the clinch, but I was ready. He tried muscling me back again, and I stood my ground and got into a better position in the clinch again. Another Thai plum hooked, and I hit a partially blocked knee right before the horn sounded. First Round 2 of my MMA career.

Aidan came out and led me back to my corner.

"Alright, don't talk, focus on breathing. In and out, kid, in and out....... You feeling fine? You're not punching yourself out?"

I shook my head.

"Alright, this is going perfectly to plan. You aren't losing the shoving match, you're outworking him in the standup and the clinch. Watch for the takedowns, and if you do get taken down look for the submissions. Don't gas yourself out, this could be a long fight, so as long as you keep taking points and making him work and take damage, you're golden kid. You hearing this?"

I nodded. The bell sounded and the corner vacated. I saw Dawes get up and he was favouring his ribs. He was mine.

Round 2

My instincts told me that I had a winning pattern here. One habit I noticed rookie fighters had sometimes was trying to catch a kick and then take me down, leaving their neck exposed. A typical amateur error, but Dawes wasn't rumoured to have great submission defense, and right away I had the idea. I threw a combo, then I telegraphed a body kick, and he caught it and tried to drive me back for a single leg. He left his neck open, I hooked a guillotine, and although he got the takedown, he had nowhere to go and nothing to do with it! I cranked it hard, and finally he tapped! Win number three!!!!

Official Result: 'The Dragoon' Rickard Patterson defeats Nate Dawes (Submission (Guillotine) in 1:13 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Decent.

---

"Was that planned?"

"Damn right!"

"Don't try that on anyone good, it won't work. This isn't 1994 kid."

"It worked today, thats what mattered."

Aidan smirked. It was a good win, it got me to 3-0 past a potentially dangerous opponent, and now I was ready for the next fight. But he had to worry, because I was his prized client and it was his job to worry. It worked on Dawes, but it wouldn't work on an elite. A guy like Matthew Dean.

.......Am I seriously thinking about fighting a world champion?

My goal was to be a fighter. I had achieved it 5 times, twice as an amateur, three as a professional. I'm a fighter and everyone in this building accepts that. Now what?

I guess......I keep building on the dream. I test my limits. I see if I can go....... to the World......

I'm The Dragoon, Rickard Patterson. Its time to soar.

---

"Alright I'm back again with the victorious hometown boy, Rickard Patterson! Rickard, we all thought it was going to be another one of those signature Muay Thai knees doing the trick tonight if you won, but this time it was a flash guillotine chokehold out of nowhere to take out a dangerous fighter in Nate Dawes. How'd you do it?"

"Its pretty simple Chris..... Its a bit of a rookie mistake to leave your neck open when you shoot for a takedown. He didn't try one in the first round, so I just came up with a plan on the fly to throw a body kick, bait him out a little. He went for it, left his neck open, and I got the choke in! Straight out of 1994 baby! ......For real though, I respect Dawes, we talked some trash a bit on the internet but I know hes a tough wrestler and once he gets some more experience he'll be a top contender. It just wasn't his night tonight."

"So you've got your 3rd win here in Classic Cage Combat, you're rising in the rankings, you're the best rookie fighter in Canada, in my opinion...... Whats next for The Dragoon? Whats the next plan?"

"The next plan? Well, I just turned 19 on Monday but didn't get to really celebrate cause I was in training for the fight, I just played video games with my friends, so the next plan is heading down to the Empire Hotel and having a party tonight. You're all invited fight fans!"

".....You're kidding, right? The Empire Hotel? Did I just hear you say that?"

The crowd laughed at that one. The Empire Hotel is our local bar in the rough section of town where the fights take place, and I'm not talking about MMA. Theres an online review that gives it five stars and just says "Its all good as long as you do the stabbing." Pretty much sums it up.

"Yeah I'm kidding, I'm actually going to do a crawl in the warehouse district starting with Bushwakker's tonight, you're all invited if you want! Come on down! Chris, feel free to call me in a couple days for the next fight, looking forward to the opportunity."

"I'll give you a ring for sure Rickard....... Now before we close down for the night, who's getting a shout out from you this time?"

"I'd like to thank everyone who came out tonight, it was good hearing all the crowd support, you guys are the best people I've fought in front of! I'd also like to thank all my sponsors, and Big Green Threads for hooking me up with the fight gear. Also I'd like to thank Aidan and the rest of the Canadian Tough Team for helping me train for this fight. Nobody does it better baby!"

"There you have it! Rickard Patterson ladies and gentlemen!"

---

I didn't drink (and ideally never will), but a lot of other people in the team did. I got congrats from everyone, free appetizers in lieu of the traditional free drinks, and got to dance with a few of the girls that didn't go with Trish to watch her fight. They weren't Piper, but they'll do......

Eventually after herding a group of drunks across 3 bars I tapped out, told everyone to show some goddamned sense and call a cab, and drove a few people home. I dropped off Aidan last, and we rode the kilometer or so to his house in quiet satisfaction over the job we did tonight.

"Rickard?"

"Yeah?"

"........Very, very well done lad........"

I smiled.

White Dolphin · March 14, 2018

Sunday Week 1 November, 2002

-In addition to beating Nate Dawes I picked up a submission of the night bonus, and when the pay all came together I had over 4 grand before Aidan's take, which left me with $3200 or so. Thats close to five or six weeks pay working for the Tough Team. I make decent money, live in an apartment paid for by someone else, and have no trouble paying the bills. Not bad for a 19 year old.

-Trish Biel had her fight yesterday with Tatjana Vinick, but we only got to find out the results today, as the staff sent with her couldn't get a cell signal and couldn't get a hold of a slightly drunk Aidan Ryland. Trish won via unanimous decision, outlanding Vinick in every round and securing a takedown Round 1. This fight might get her an offer with WEFF, so hopefully we can bring up her striking game in time.

Official Result: 'The Real Deal' Trish Biel defeats Tatjana Vinick (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Average.

---

Monday Week 1 November, 2002

-New pro fighter in the Tough Team: Vicki Summers, a 9-4 Bantamweight wrestler. She was formerly in WEFF, but got cut after a loss to Hester MacLean. Recently she beat Diana Marr on a local show and is trying to rebuild for another go at WEFF. She relies on low risk lay and pray or wall and stall tactics most times, although she did finish her last fight via guillotine choke. Shes here short term to work on striking, so maybe adding some dirty boxing to her skillset would work out well.

-About a half dozen fighters left CCC after the last card, due to either cuts, retirement, or in the case of Evan Pizzaro a contract offer from GAMMA. New blood is coming in including a couple Middleweight rookies I might be facing. I'll have to wait until my drug tests clear and CCC 11 for me to find out who my next opponent is though.

-Somehow I didn't get wind of this until now, but CCC 11 is taking place in Brandon, Manitoba, and is main evented by a Manitoba showdown between Zachary Gilert and Deacon Stawford. Allen's in the co-main and is still against Joshua Hope. Interesting to see if CCC makes a go of it in the new market. Rumour has it they're heading to Alberta at some point as well. As far as I know I'll still be the hometown draw in Saskatchewan, but its good to see the company as a whole expanding their horizons.

---

Monday Week 2 November, 2002

-Rose Nessa finally has a fight booked again, as she faces 10-5 Featherweight striker Lula Baker at a WEFF TV show. Nessa is superior standing up and theres no worry about either fighter going to ground unless its a desperation tactic. Nessa also has the chin to withstand a desperation shot, so this should be clear sailing.

-Christine Jameson is also booked, this one for a local show in December against 7-3 Flyweight kickboxer Mao Fukada. Fukada is a striker who aims to throw barrages of light blows and win via decision, but has no ground game to speak of. Christine has to secure the takedown early and work as fast as possible to get off the submission before she loses too many points to suppressive striking.

---

Saturday Week 3 November, 2002

-Drug test came back clean and I'm ready to fight again at some point. Aidan's waiting on the call. It will not be at CCC 13, however, as that was partially booked today for January. Two people from the Tough Team got calls to fight......

-Buster East is taking on 2-0 Mixed Martial Artist Marcus Rimmer in a Welterweight tilt on the main card. Rimmer has decent boxing and wrestling, as well as a bit of a submission game. East's ground game hasn't really come along, so we'll work him hard over a two month camp and hopefully he can fix that to help him exploit his superior stand-up game.

-French Dancer is booked against 7-3 wrestler Ronnie Allen Teller in a Middleweight prelim fight. Dancer's progressed a little bit over the past few months but Teller is a superior grappler and striker. Teller prefers dirty boxing near the fence and I doubt Dancer can do much to stop it. If he has a miracle camp, maybe we can work something out.

-The card is headlined by a double title main event: Chaz Babish taking on Pip Mercurial for the CCC Middleweight title, with Wink Deschanel taking on MacGregor Dare in the co-main for the vacant CCC Light Heavyweight title. Theres also a prelim Middleweight scrap between Eric Dartmouth and Todd D'Abruzzo and the loser of that is likely getting cut.

---

Saturday Week 4 November, 2002

-Shock result on a TV GAMMA card: Bud Brockett defeated Fiyero Lermontov for the GAMMA Lightweight title. Lermontov's reign, which was expected to last as long as Sean Morrison's, ended at the first hurdle. Brockett took down Lermontov 6 times and didn't take a single standing strike all match. This dramatically changes thing in the Lightweight division.

---

Monday Week 1 December, 2002

-ALPHA-1 put together a big money offer to Sean Morrison as the war between the Big 2 continues. I feel both companies should extend big money offers to anyone even resembling a draw for the other side, but so far its just the stars.

---

Friday Week 1 December, 2002

-Made the drive down to Brandon, Manitoba with the team for Allen's weigh-in and fight against Joshua Hope at CCC 11. Allen made weight successfully. He had a good camp leading into this, but this is a real tough fight for him. I feel Allen has the edge striking, and might have the edge in the clinch due to more power, bulk, and arguably better grappling. Taking down Hope is going to be a tall order though, and resisting the takedown from Hope is also going to be tough. Hope has a better ground game all around than LeFleur does, and a really good chin, and is also the better pure athlete. So LeFleur can't realistically hope for a KO, and might lose a battle for a decision. This is a big fight for both men as its likely a title eliminator, but I don't know if Allen can take this. We're friends and I want to see him succeed, but it is a real tight spot, this.

-Tucked away in the CCC prelims is a Middleweight fight. Its a former victim of mine, Jason Pilgrim, fighting for his spot against Derren Barton, who lost to Mortimer Greenfell. Loser will get cut from the roster as Chris Penn seems to have a hard "2 strikes and you're out" policy so far. I wish GAMMA had the same policy......

---

CANADIAN TOUGH TEAM CURRENT ROSTER

Leaders:

Aidan Ryland (trainer/owner/agent)

Rickard Patterson (3-0)

Special Long-Term Members:

Piper Evergood (10-2)

Long-Term Members:

Aljur Paras (6-0)

Buster East (6-0)

Christine Jameson (5-3)

French Dancer (7-5)

Richie Stiller (8-3)

Roy Arnett (7-3)

Sue Eccleston (7-4)

Visitors:

Allen LeFleur (8-0)

Catalina Vinicios (8-0)

Chad Zoff (8-1)

Chisaki Gojo (8-2)

Ethan LeGrange (9-1)

Rose Nessa (8-1)

Trish Biel (11-0)

Vicki Summers (9-4)

Upcoming Fights:

Allen LeFleur vs Joshua Hope (CCC 11, December 2002)

Christine Jameson vs Mao Fukuda (Canadian Local Show, December 2002)

Rose Nessa vs Lula Baker (WEFF Unmissable 2, December 2002)

Buster East vs Marcus Rimmer (CCC 13, January 2003)

French Dancer vs Ronnie Allen Teller (CCC 13, January 2003)

White Dolphin · March 15, 2018

Saturday Week 1 December, 2002

-CCC 11 went down in Brandon, Manitoba. Prelim Middleweight bout of interest saw Derren Barton score a TKO over Jason Pilgrim halfway through the first round. Barton blitzed Pilgrim and he had no chance, getting staggered by two head kicks then going down to a third. Barton pounded away and that was that. Pilgrim will have to head back to the local scene to rebuild his career.

-Allen LeFleur took on Joshua Hope. He tried, but it was ultimately a clean decision win for Hope. LeFleur tried to work the clinch Round 1 but Hope was ready and it was a stalemate, but Hope had enough aggression to take the round. Round 2 LeFleur went back to the clinch but Hope threw him with a big belly-to-belly suplex and landed some decent ground and pound before they were stood up. Hope then opened up a cut with a one-two and I knew that was it. It was near the end the round and LeFleur survived, but two rounds lost and LeFleur getting outclassed on the feet spelled disaster for us. We closed the cut and sent our man out for Round 3, and LeFleur got a bit more offense in as they both started to tire a bit, throwing shots to the ribs in the clinch, but Hope separated and landed a big right cross near the horn and that took the round, as they were even otherwise. Judges gave it to Hope 30-27 on all cards. LeFleur was disappointed with himself and said he should've swung for the fences Round 3, but I'm not sure he could've gotten anything on that iron jaw of Hope's, and Hope was equal to him on the standup. Tough loss for Allen.

Official Result: 'Glorious' Joshua Hope defeats 'The Chunky Monkey' Allen LeFleur (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Decent.

-Hope praised LeFleur afterwards for a tough fight. Aidan and LeFleur went backstage for a medical exam while I decided to stick around for the provincial draw main event between Zachary Gilbert and Deacon Stawford. Gilbert essentially played with his food for 2 rounds, letting Stawford tire out, before cinching the Rear Naked Choke in Round 3 for the decisive tapout victory. A decent night of action for the Manitoba debut, and they drew 400 or so, which is pretty good.

Monday Week 2 December, 2002

-New Tough Team member: Natassia Potocnik, a 7-3 Bantamweight Ground and Pound fighter from Russia who now fights in Canada. She started her year with 3 straight wins in European local shows, but lost a Canadian debut to Suzanne Elder, and is looking to retool for a WEFF contract offer. Shes got a decent top game and some good powerful takedowns, but her cardio is mediocre and her striking and clinch games need work. We'll see what we can do for her.

-GAMMA's sent out contract offers to several CCC talents, including the Heavyweight champ Sly Twinge and the Super Heavyweight champ Marvin Stevens. Luckily theres some Canadian rookies with drawing power to fill the holes for CCC, but I'm optimistic that a Middleweight hiring spree might get me on their radar too.

Thursday Week 2 December, 2002

-Found out Wink Deschanel and Jericho Stewart are also getting offers. Stewart was rumoured to be headlining a card against Kendall Tracey at some point, and Wink Deschanel was competing for a Light Heavyweight title vacated by Jon Silvers, whos also in GAMMA.

-Aidan reminded me that I can't be a part of this hiring spree til the new year due to my 6 month contract clause. I signed in early July so if I get an offer its early January. Aidan doubts I'll get one then though cause he hasn't heard anything about an offer and I'm only 3-0.

-CCC did sign H.M. Menzel though, and several other prospects rumoured to be on the radar of GAMMA.

Sunday Week 2 December, 2002

-Christine Jameson took on Mao Fukada in her fight at a show in Fredericton, so me and a few others flew down to be in her corner. Jameson started the fight according to plan, going right in for a single leg. Fukada fight it well, but Jameson kept hold of the leg and pushed her against the cage. After a fierce exchange of punches against the fence, Jameson got a trip takedown, passed easily to mount, and got an armbar in for the tapout halfway through the first round. Good win for Jameson.

Official Result: Christine 'Miss Kimura' Jameson defeats Mao Fukada (Submission (Armbar) in 2:58 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Great.

Monday Week 2 December, 2002

-We made it back to Regina late, and a couple trainers were waiting for Aidan at the entrance. They couldn't get a hold of Aidan on his cell, and they told him a few things happened while we were out.....

-First of all, Buster East broke his wrist training yesterday. This puts a real damper on his preparation for the Rimmer fight, as the doctors said he'd likely be fine in time for the fight but would need to take it easy til then. Aidan managed to get a hold of Buster and then Chris Penn and got the fight moved to to a future unannounced event in February. Luckily Penn could plug the gap in the January card with a contenders match between Gideon Navarro and Gus Fitzpatrick. Aidan wasn't technically Buster's agent, but he did this as a favour to keep Buster happy because Buster still wanted to fight and didn't want to miss a big break. I suspect Aidan really did it cause me and Buster are friends and he wanted to keep me happy, but the gesture was good either way.

-Second of all, 3 fights were offered by a local promoter to various members of our camp for a card in January, as well as another potential commentary gig for Aidan, whos had 5 or 6 commentary jobs this year and has done well with all of them. Aidan said he'd deal with all that later.

Tuesday Week 2 December, 2002

-We didn't get into talking fights yesterday, so we did today. Theres 3 Tough Team girls on a January local show in Ontario, so we broke down the gameplans.

-Catalina Vinicios is taking on 8-7 Flyweight wrestler Maggie Martin. We're familiar with her as she fought Christine Jameson earlier. This fight is a bit different due to Cat being a striker, not a superior grappler, but Martin isn't really any good and is only getting older. Vinicios might get taken down, but should eventually score the KO.

-Chisaki Gojo is taking on 10-2 American Flyweight Shannon Palmer. It'll be Judo vs Jiu Jitsu here. I think Gojo has the superior ground game, and at worst case should be able to stall out in top position for a win. Palmer is the slightly better striker and has fewer mental lapses, but on pure ground talent she's outclassed and in trouble. Fingers crossed that Gojo shows up ready for battle.

-Vicki Summers is fighting 6-4 Bantamweight striker Debra Everett. Everett's a game fighter who shows up ready to throw leather, but she lacks TDD, a ground game, and physical power. Assuming Summers doesn't take too much of a beating before securing the takedowns, she should be able to take this on points with her lay and pray tactics.

-After me and Aidan finished our meeting, Allen LeFleur came into the office and told us he was leaving the Tough Team. He thanked us for everything we did for him, and explained it was nothing personal, he just wanted to head home to Quebec and change things up. He said he might come back some time. We wished him well, and I'll miss him, we were good friends and he was an excellent sparring partner who always helped me get ready for the wrestlers I've faced so far.

Saturday Week 3 December, 2002

-Rose Nessa made weight for her fight against Lula Baker. A few of the girls and Aidan are handling that one, I'm at home celebrating Christmas with my foster family's relatives. Aidan called in with the update, and dropped a couple other pieces of news.......

-My next fight is booked for CCC 14 in February, and I'm facing 9-2 wrestler "Mr. Fantastic" Ed Burridge in the main event. Burridge has gone 1-1 with the company so far, losing to Pip Mercurial but then beating our former teammate Owen Hyde to send him packing. Hes a decent boxer with good wrestling skills, but hes not that different from the 3 pro opponents I've faced so far. Still, underestimating him and losing would hurt, so I'll train hard for this and earn the win.

-Aljur Paras is also booked, he'll be making his CCC debut against 7-0 Filipino countryman Bienvenido Romulo. Fairly standard striker v grappler battle, so the hope is Paras lands enough before the takedowns happen to get the win on the scorecards. I do feel Paras has more power and bulk that could give him an edge in this fight.

-Buster East's fight was moved to this card after all, so he'll still be in action against Marcus Rimmer in the prelim main event.

---

CANADIAN TOUGH TEAM CURRENT ROSTER

Leaders:

Aidan Ryland (trainer/owner/agent)

Rickard Patterson (3-0)

Special Long-Term Members:

Piper Evergood (10-2)

Long-Term Members:

Aljur Paras (6-0)

Buster East (6-0)

Christine Jameson (6-3)

French Dancer (7-5)

Richie Stiller (8-3)

Roy Arnett (7-3)

Sue Eccleston (7-4)

Visitors:

Catalina Vinicios (8-0)

Chad Zoff (8-1)

Chisaki Gojo (8-2)

Ethan LeGrange (9-1)

Natassia Potocnik (7-3)

Rose Nessa (8-1)

Trish Biel (11-0)

Vicki Summers (9-4)

Upcoming Fights:

Rose Nessa vs Lula Baker (WEFF Unmissable 2, December 2002)

French Dancer vs Ronnie Allen Teller (CCC 13, January 2003)

Catalina Vinicios vs Maggie Martin (Canadian Local Show, January 2003)

Chisaki Gojo vs Shannon Palmer (Canadian Local Show, January 2003)

Vicki Summers vs Debra Everett (Canadian Local Show, January 2003)

Aljur Paras v Bienvenido Romulo (CCC 14, February 2003)

Buster East vs Marcus Rimmer (CCC 14, February 2003)

Rickard Patterson vs Ed Burridge (CCC 14, February 2003)

White Dolphin · March 16, 2018

Sunday Week 3 December, 2002

-Rose Nessa won her fight against Lula Baker with ease. From what I heard, Baker went in early and had a cross countered with a jab to right hook combo that staggered her and a chopping right that put her down. Nessa followed up with strikes and got the win. Good job for her.

Official Result: Rose Nessa defeats Lula 'Bone Shaker' Baker (Knock Out (Punch) in 1:12 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Good.

-Hope Lehane won a main event tilt with Tabitha Cameron to retain her Featherweight title. Piper's gunning for that belt, and probably just needs a couple more wins.

Saturday Week 4 December, 2002

-Was backstage at CCC 12, handing out cards and taking in the fights as usual. No one from our camp or the Middleweight division were on the card, but there was a title match at Lightweight, where Duane Weatherly knocked out Cory Brewer to retain in the best of the fights that night. Successful title defenses have been fairly rare, but we got one here. Chad Zoff could conceivably win a rematch if he just had the motivation to succeed and get better. The show did well critically and commercially, drawing around 450.

Sunday Week 4 December, 2002

-HAPPY NEW YEAR! Had a small New Year's party in the gym to celebrate a successful first year of business. The Tough Teams gone from just me and Aidan to a gym with close to 20 pro fighters with almost 200 fights worth of experience. We even have a pound for pound ranker in the Blurcat World Rankings (Piper Evergood is #14 P4P amongst women, and a couple other ladies might be joining her soon.). We're starting to get a few youth classes going, and we've had a few adults join for the fitness and self-defense aspects of MMA, rather than the actual fighting in front of a crowd part.

-In the middle of the party, right in the midst of me doing a Charlie's Angels dance with Piper and a another girl who wasn't Piper.....

(Aidan sez: Actually it was two girls who weren't Piper, Rickard tried to ask Piper to dance but is still tongue-tied around his crush despite being in the same gym with her several times a week for a year.)

-.....BLATANT LIES I TELL YOU! BLATANT LIES! Anyways, as I was about to invite Piper to my apartment for the evening, one of the staffers let me know that he checked out Blurcat and found out I took the Blurcat Rookie of the Year award! They wrote up a profile and everything saying how I was the fighter to watch The gym gave me a standing O for that, and Piper gave me a kiss, right before taking my arm and leading me upstai

(Aidan sez: What actually happened was Piper gave you a kiss on the cheek and you blushed redder than a tomato while we all laughed at you before resuming the party like normal.)

-Goddamnit Aidan, quit hacking my journal! Thats not what happened! MY version is the truth! Anyways, it was a good New Year's Eve for us to cap off a successful year of business. Lets hope 2003 takes us even further.

Monday Week 1 January, 2003

-While everyone else was hung over or plotting behind closed doors to hack my journal again, I was checking the New Year's awards further. I was indeed Rookie of the Year. Fighter of the Year was Hassan Fezzik, no surprise there. ALPHA-1 was Company of the Year. Upset of the Year was shockingly some random fight in Mexico and not Big Magic over Lawrence Herringbone, which defies all logic. CCC won both Best Fight of the Year and Worst Fight of the Year, both were Heavyweight tilts (Taye Burnett defeated Damien Jones and John Fitzwallace ground out an awful win over Lachlan Bowen, respectively.)

-The end of year awards were lost in the shuffle however, as there was a massive bidding war going down between GAMMA and ALPHA-1 again for Hassan Fezzik. Popcorn sales amongst the MMA fanbase are rumoured to be at an all-time high.

-BCF is rumoured to be stepping up their show schedules, making a big push to be accepted as a National-level company after a relatively slow 2002. If they succeed, I wonder if Aidan could work some connections over there to get me an offer......

Monday Week 2 January, 2003

-An arrival and a departure from the Tough Team. The arrival is Suzanne Elder, an 8-2 Bantamweight wrestler from New York who moved to Canada to chase a WEFF contract like many others in our gym, and she got it a few days ago, getting signed just after New Year's, following a win over her new teammate Natassia Potocnik. Shes a decent wrestler with a lot of physical strength. Her striking game is subpar though and she'll be here for a fight or two to try and fix that.

-The departure is Sue Eccleston, who let Aidan know she's decided to retire. WEFF was not giving her a fight offer and she felt there was no point in hanging on for another few months or so waiting for the call when she wasn't getting any younger. We wished her well.

Saturday Week 2 January, 2003

-Another Tough Team booking. Ethan LeGrange is taking on 3-1 Mixed Martial Artist Alec Owlett in a Welterweight showdown at CCC 15. Owlett offers a little bit of threat on the ground, but LeGrange is continuing to build off the excellent camp he had against Zeke Eliot that saved his job, and he should evenutally get enough chances to utilize his superior standup and win that match. The wild card though is that this fight is in Alberta in front of what will be a partisan crowd for Alec, so he might overcome all that and steal a win. I have faith in LeGrange to take home the W however.

-CCC 15 is quite the loaded card for the Alberta debut. Featherweight and Super Heavyweight title matches, Sutton Ripley's return against Bernard Blue, and a title eliminator between Reed Howlett and Tom Essy that should be great. The card also features the debut of GAMMA cut Tyler Lass, a perpetually underrated fighter whos got a tough match against hometown favourite Blaze Micheau, a rookie Submission Wrestler with some striking skill.

-Word on the street is there might be an attempt to run a big show in BC. CCC is still based in Saskatchewan though, and I'm still fighting as the hometown draw for the forseeable future.

Monday Week 3 January, 2003

-Flew over to Thunder Bay for the Local show that 3 Tough Team girls were fighting at.....

-Catalina Vinicios took on Maggie Martin and was undone by a spirited performance from the journeywoman. Martin went for single legs, Vinicios defended, but Martin kept hold of the leg and shoved her against the fence for her real aim, dirty boxing against the fence. Cat couldn't get a clinch game going, and ended up taking a lot of body shots against the fence that piled up. Between rounds we stressed the importance of winning the stirking battle and letting fly, but Martin manged to get in without getting outlanded and won the dirty boxing wars against the fence, except for stretches of Round 2. Judges decision was 29-28, 29-28 and 30-27 for Maggie Martin. Post-match Martin announced her retirement. After the card was done I congratulated her backstage for an excellent performance and wished her well. Her fight was an important lesson: Never underestimate anyone with the courage to step into that cage, regardless of how skilled they are or how checkered their career may be.

Official Result: Maggie Martin defeats Catalina Vinicios (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Decent.

-Chisaki Gojo faced Shannon Palmer in the co-main event of the card. Palmer tried to keep the fight standing, but was unsuccessful. Gojo scored a takedown every round, traded mostly evenly on the feet when they were there, and did enough from the top position to take the unanimous 30-27 decision win. Gojo didn't risk submissions and kept it simple, but I feel she'll need to do better to crack the WEFF elite. A win is a win though.

Official Result: Chisaki Gojo defeats Shannon 'The Rash' Palmer (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Decent.

-Vicki Summers took on Debra Everett in the main event. Everett had the crowd on her side, cheering for the provincial gal over the American, but that and her decent fight nickname couldn't stop the takedown onslaught from Summers. Summers almost had the win in Round 1, unloading on Everett until she kindly gave up the back, but the horn sounded before Summers could finish. Second round Summers was content to sit in top control to the crowd's displeasure. Third verse, same as the second. I told Vicki in between rounds to just end this, and Vicki obliged, scoring a takedown, getting side control after a scramble, gaining mount, then teeing off until the ref stopped it. Everett was certainly game and landed a few good shots throughout, but Summers was comfortably in control and will hopefully get a WEFF contract out of this.

Official Result: Vicki 'The Heart Breaker' Summers defeats 'Here Comes Trouble' Debra Everett (TKO (Strikes) in 3:00 of round 4). The fight was rated as being Decent.

-2 for 3 on the day, but it could've been 3 for 3. Still a good outing for the Tough Team, and Cat's got time to turn things around, although she was only here short term and may be gone after this loss......

White Dolphin · March 19, 2018

Tuesday Week 3 January, 2003

-Came back to Regina and Trish Biel told us she had a fight booked. She'll be facing 3-1 Flyweight Taekwondo striker Catherine Davis at a local show. Davis is a competent striker with a bit of takedown and submission defense, but shouldn't be a match for the wrestling ability and physical power of Biel. Biel shouldn't play around on the feet too long though, as Davis has knockout kicks and some unorthodox strike patterns that can throw her for a loop if she's not careful.

Friday Week 3 January, 2003

-Everyone made weight for CCC 13. French Dancer had an ok camp but is still pretty much a can hoping for an upset. The double main event is pretty important: Wink Deschanel is leaving for GAMMA so the company probably wants MacGregor Dare to win to avoid an awkward title scenario in the spring, and Chaz Babish is in tough for his first Middleweight title defense against Pip Mercurial.

-Catalina Vinicios left the Tough Team, she's looking to retool elsewhere for a WEFF payday. We wished her well.

Saturday Week 3 January, 2003

-French Dancer fought Ronnie Allen Teller and was completely overmatched. Teller got the takedown, eventually managed to get side control, then applied the finishing armbar to win with about 30 seconds left in the 1st round. Dancer will have to head to the local scene to rebuild.

Official Result: 'The Sewer Rat' Ronnie Allen Teller defeats French 'Private' Dancer (Submission (Armbar) in 4:25 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Good.

-Teller called me out after the fight. I'd answer that call out if I weren't busy with the Ed Burridge fight. Teller's barking up the wrong tree if he thinks his normal fightplan could work against me, considering who I've beaten so far.

-The other prelim Middleweight bout saw Eric Dartmouth win via doctor stoppage due to a cut over Todd D'Abruzzo. Tough break for D'Abruzzo, but he wouldn't have lasted much longer anyways. Middleweight division has some scary prospects in the rear-view mirror.......

-The double main event went off well. MacGregor Dare sent Wink Deschanel to GAMMA with a loss, knocking him out in Round 2 after losing a Round 1 striking battle. Pip Mercurial looked dominant against Chaz Babish, taking a decision win despite arguably losing the first round. It was bloody, with both fighters getting cut open, but Pip controlled it well enough and even scored two takedowns on Babish. Round 5 was a one-sided affair, with Babish not getting a single strike and Mercurial passing his guard and getting mount. Some strikes forced Babish to give up his back, but he fended off the choke attempts and a final flurry of ground and pound to survive. Mercurial got two 50-45s and a 49-46 to get the title. Mercurial looks like a solid champion and a good goal to strive for.

-Mercurial renewed his challenge to Reed Howlett, but hes in a title eliminator against a tough customer in Tom Essy, so I'm not holding my breath.

Friday Week 4 January, 2003

-Big signing for CCC, as Ashley Ballard steps into the Middleweight division. He was cut after back-to-back losses to Tora Mizwar, the first via split decision and the second via rear naked choke. Hes someone to be dealt with in this division.

-Camp for Ed Burridge is going fine so far, although not having Allen LeFleur for sparring really sucks. I have a bit more weight to cut going into this fight, as I'm up to 193 on a normal day due to my workout regimen, but I should be fine

Saturday Week 1 February, 2003

-CCC 16 was booked and we've got another Tough Team member on the card. Chad Zoff is main eventing the prelims against Urlington Rogers. Rogers pulled off a turnaround upset in his company debut, defeating Nik Minear with a full power right hook out of nowhere after being taken down 5 times in the fight. Urlington then lost to Malcolm O'Hearn via TKO, despite winning Round 1 with a takedown and some heavy ground and pound. Hes a battling veteran who can't be underestimated, but he was up against two very overrated fighters and I think a full-form Zoff will crush this can.

-CCC 16 is ridiculously stacked, with a main event of Simon Vine and Zachary Gilbert and an undercard flush with the Canadian prospects that are making waves in the flourishing regional scene.

Sunday Week 1 February, 2003

-GAMMA had a card last night, with a notbale Middleweight scrap between Petey Mack and Osmosis Benn. Mack lost, and despite winning 2 straight beforehand, he got cut. Outrageous decision by GAMMA. Mack might end up in CCC but hes a bit too big of a draw for them I'd wager.

-Anthony LeToussier got cut, although at least this one was after 2 straight losses. Granted, the losses were to Mike Watson and Raul Hughes so it was an iffy decision, but LeToussier didn't get screwed nearly as bad as some others.

-On a positive note, two new members for the Tough Team! Roger Bean is an 8-1 Featherweight kickboxer for XCC in America. Hes got decent enough striking, pretty good takedown defense, and passable submission defense. His main weakness is being bullied in the clinch and the fact his standup isn't elite-level quality. He doesn't have a fight booked, but is here long-term and we'll see what we can do with him.

-The other newcomer is Tyler Aldi, a 9-1 Jiu Jitsu fighter in CCC's Featherweight division. Hes booked against 7-2 Judoka Clifton Curry in a prelim bout at CCC 16. Aldi's a decent grappler, but is lacking any meaningful striking threat, and is up against a similar competitor in Curry who might have him beat on the ground. We'll work with Aldi and see what happens, but unless he makes a breakthrough in his striking game he might be a one-and-done member of the Tough Team.

Monday Week 2 February, 2003

-Trish Biel took on Catherine Davis at a local show in Saskatoon. Some of the girls and a corner/cutman went to handle that, while Aidan stayed back with me to help out my camp. Biel dominated round 1 completely, scoring a takedown and getting dirty boxing against the fence. Round 2 went to Davis for slightly outlanding Biel, but Biel came back to take Round 3 with 2 takedowns and suffocating, time-killing top control. Good effort from both fighters, and hopefully Biel gets a WEFF offer out of this and sticks around.

Official Result: 'The Real Deal' Trish Biel defeats Catherine Davis (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Decent.

Friday Week 2 February, 2003

-Made weight successfully, as did my teammates Aljur Paras and Buster East. Weight cut was a bit rougher than usual and I didn't have Allen LeFleur sparring with me to prepare for the bout, but I still had a fairly good camp.

-Buster and Aljur had fairly good camps too, and hopefully they'll win the striker vs grappler battles and surprise people a little. Lets hope the Tough Team goes 3 for 3 tomorrow.......

CANADIAN TOUGH TEAM CURRENT ROSTER

Leaders:

Aidan Ryland (trainer/owner/agent)

Rickard Patterson (3-0)

Special Long-Term Members:

Piper Evergood (10-2)

Long-Term Members:

Aljur Paras (6-0)

Buster East (6-0)

Christine Jameson (6-3)

French Dancer (7-6)

Richie Stiller (8-3)

Roger Bean (8-1)

Roy Arnett (7-3)

Visitors:

Chad Zoff (8-1)

Chisaki Gojo (8-2)

Ethan LeGrange (9-1)

Natassia Potocnik (7-3)

Rose Nessa (8-1)

Suzanne Elder (8-2)

Trish Biel (12-0)

Tyler Aldi (9-1)

Vicki Summers (9-4)

Upcoming Fights:

Aljur Paras v Bienvenido Romulo (CCC 14, February 2003)

Buster East vs Marcus Rimmer (CCC 14, February 2003)

Rickard Patterson vs Ed Burridge (CCC 14, February 2003)

Ethan LeGrange vs Alec Owlett (CCC 15, March 2003)

Tyler Aldi vs Clifton Curry (CCC 16, March 2003)

Chad Zoff vs Urlington Rogers (CCC 16, March 2003)

White Dolphin · March 20, 2018

Saturday Week 2 February, 2002

CCC 15: Patterson vs Burridge

"Good luck Buster, knock em out, you got this!"

Buster fistbumped me, nodded, then headed out the dressing room door for his match. I stretched out on the bench as usual instead of watching the monitor, and went over the fight plan in my head like a mantra. No sense watching the monitors and getting pent up, either my teammates had it or they didn't.

---

Buster had it for the first round at least, outstriking Rimmer before conceding a takedown right at the end of the round. Second round East was winning on the feet again, but had a kick caught and got taken down. Rimmer worked to gain side control, then eventually finished East with a Kimura halfway through Round 2. Harsh loss for Buster, but Rimmer was the favourite going in.

Official Result: Marcus Rimmer defeats Buster East (Submission (Kimura) in 2:43 of round 2). The fight was rated as being Great.

---

Aljur Paras was up next and got a bit luckier with his match than East did. His opponent, Bienvenido Romulo, adpoted a suicidal stand and bang strategy instead of his usual ground and pound tactics. Round 1 saw Paras get a knockdown with an early combo into a head kick, but Romulo grabbed a soccer kick followup and pulled Paras into his guard so that Paras could hit him in the face. Rounds 2 and 3 didn't see a knockdown, but Paras did enough standing to take both rounds for a straight 30-27 decision on all cards. Big win for Paras to move up the rankings, although Romulo's zero takedown attempts raised some question marks.

Official Result: Aljur Paras defeats Bienvenido Romulo (Unanimous Decision in 5:00 of round 3). The fight was rated as being Average.

---

Aljur came into the dressing room and celebrated, while Aidan watched the monitors for the next fight between two talented Middleweight prospects from the regional scene. Canadian National finalist wrestler Michel Tourville took on Roy Mouzon, who had a background in Muay Thai kickboxing and European-style Grappling. Tourville controlled all 3 rounds, mostly with dirty boxing although he did get a takedown late in round 1 and smothered him until the bell. Judges decision was a straight 30-27. Aidan looked worried about Tourville, but there were a few sharks in the lower part of the rankings so I wasn't overly concerned.

I stretched out on the bench again and waited for the fight. Burridge could be tough, but the plan was similar to the other three fights: Dominate the standup or the clinch, try not to get taken down, and if you do, work submissions from the bottom. Realistically I could take down Burridge myself and tap him if I wanted, but no point chancing it. I had the plan, it was time to execute.

A flunky knocked on the door and let us know the co-main was over and we were up. Go time!

---

Ed's music: <a href="https://vimeo.com/115917481" rel="external nofollow">https://vimeo.com/115917481</a>

Rickard's music: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbQyqX9iu_M</a>

---

"Ladies and gentlemen.......this is the MAIN EVENT of the evening! This fight is officially sanctioned by the Athletics Commission of Saskatchewan, with ringside judges Reginald Wodehouse, Millhouse Twain, and Benjamin Milligan III! When the action begins the referee in charge..... Leo Behan! This fight is sponsored by the Canadian Tough Team MMA gym, at 2142 Broad Street right here in Regina, Saskatchewan, and by Cory and Trevor's Bakery: There's plenty of love inside these buns....... Now, for all the fight fans here in attendance here at the Turvey Convention Center in Regina, its the moment you've all been waiting for..... IIIIIIIIIITS TIIIIIIIMMMMMMEEEEEE! 5 5-minute rounds of fighting in the Classic Cage Combat Middleweight Division!"

"Introducing first.........fighting out of the red corner! This man is a Wrestler, holding a professional record of 9 wins, 2 losses! He stands 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of Kailua, Hawaii, USA! He is........

"MISTER FANTASTIC!"......ED....BUUUUURRRRRIDGE!!!!"

Crowd gave it to him pretty good, even though his entrance music was a hit with them. He was American, after all.

"And now introducing his opponent, fighting out of the blue corner! This man is a Freestyle fighter, holding a professional record of 3 wins, no losses! He stands 6 feet 2 inches tall, and weighed in at 185 pounds. Fighting out of REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN! He is......"THE DRAGOOOOOONNNNN"....RICKAAAAAAAAARRRD PATTERSOOOONNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!"

Good strong cheer from the crowd. This was bigger than the previous main event, and they all paid to see me. Time to give them a show.

Ref gave us our instructions and went to the center.

"You ready? Are you ready? Lets do this, come on!"

---

Round 1

We touched gloves. Burridge stepped in immediately, which surprised me, and fired a one-two that I took on the gloves. He got too close though, and we went into the clinch. After a bit of grappling for position, I managed to hook the Thai plum. I got a couple knees to the body that were partially blocked, before blasting him with a knee strike that bloodied him up! A second knee hit him in the face and he was out cold! Win number 4!

Official Result: 'The Dragoon' Rickard Patterson defeats 'Mr. Fantastic' Ed Burridge (Knock Out (Knee) in 2:24 of round 1). The fight was rated as being Great.

---

"Alright, we're here with the hometown boy, Rickard Patterson! Win number four, and a second main event win, how are you feeling?"

"Pretty good man! I had a rough camp since I was missing my boy Allen LeFleur, and I had to cut a little more weight, but I felt fine when I walked into this cage. This is where I do business boys, and business is good!"

"It certainly is! Third knock out of your professional career, all 3 by knee strike....... could you go over what happened for us? How do you keep doing this?"

"Well how you do this is, you find the craziest Thai dude in the city, my boy Adul just off Albert Street, and you ask to train with him. Or come on down to the Canadian Tough Team! 2142 Broad! But for real, the reason why I got it was cause Burridge came in aggressively. He might've thought it would surprise me, but he stepped into the pocket, and I was ready for him. I wanted to keep him off-balance so I went to the body first, but the instant I hooked that plum you all knew what was coming. So I gave him the knee to the head, and he saw red. You know how it goes! I'm proud of these Muay Thai skills, I trained hard to have them, and without all that hard work and all those good coaches telling me how to work, I wouldn't be able to do this, thanks guys!"

"Now speaking of hard work, we had Ronnie Allen Teller win by submission on the last show, he worked hard to come up with a big performance and avoid getting cut, and then he called you out for a match. What do you think about that?"

"Look, I'll fight anyone you put in front of me. Thats what I do. I'll fight Teller if he wants it. He can step up to the main card and get that main card money. But seriously, I think hes just trying to do this to be a jerk and get attention. He knows he can't win, he knows hes not better than the 4 pros I've beat so far. Hes just a sewer rat from New York...... I'm not even kidding, c'mon, his nickname is actually the Sewer Rat? Is he a bad guy from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or something? I used to like that show!"

Crowd laughed a bit at that one.

"For real though Ronnie, you can fight me, you can get paid, but money is all you'll win. You won't win this. Put me down for the next show against him, I'm ready for it!"

"You heard it here first folks! The hometown boy Rickard Patterson against Ronnie Allen Teller! I'll talk to him and make sure he knows! Now before we end the evening, anything else you want to say? Anyone you want to thank?"

"I'd like to thank the Tough Team, obviously. They always take good care of me and get me prepared for the fights. No one does it better baby! I'd like to thank all my sponsors, and I'd like to thank Big Green Threads for doing a great job with my fight apparel. Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who came out tonight for cheering me on and giving me the energy to succeed, and anyone who wants to can head down to the Warehouse District, starting with Bushwakker's, for my victory celebration!"

"After a night like this, I bet you'll get a lot of people joining in that victory party......Rickard Patterson everybody!"

---

Post-match pub crawl was the usual debauchery and mayhem. Aidan had a couple pints and watched the party. He noticed Rickard was mostly talking in the corner with Buster, who was a bit down in the dumps over the loss to Marcus Rimmer. Eventually Rickard got forcibly dragged into a dance with Piper, where he was nervous and awkward like every white guy ever, before morphing into a confident dance god when around different girls while we all laughed at him for the usual reasons.

Good grief, just ask her out already Rickard.

Overall, Aidan was happy with the evening. Buster losing was a minus, but Rickard looked great against Burridge and Teller could be a fairly easy fight. If Rickard could push to 6-0 or 7-0 then he'd start getting some serious attention from big orgs, or at the very least a title shot and a chance at a world ranking. There were some really good fighters on the come up too though, like Mortimer Greenfell and the new kid Michel Tourville. Roy Mouzon was also decent, and Tom Essy and Reed Howlett were already in title eliminators. Not to mention the top end talent in Ashley Ballard, Sutton Ripley, and now this Pip Mercurial rise.

Rickard could beat them though, and if he did, then the next door would lead to the world stage.......

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Soar To The Limit: The Story of Rickard Patterson and the Canadian Tough Team

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