This was my first professional fight. We approached it very well with a smart game plan. I focused much more on pad work and less on sparring, and that worked better for me. It was also my first weight cut. It was a bit difficult, but overall it went very smoothly. This experience will definitely help me in the future. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to do a face-off, which is the only thing missing from the full professional experience. I won the fight, and afterward, my opponent and I made peace behind the scenes. We talked with the trainer over there and discussed some future plans. From where I stand now, the future of my fighting career looks to be in very good hands. OSU

After an entire day of waiting.. And waiting.. And getting nervous... And then some warning up... And then some more waiting... And then some more nerves.. They announced a ten minute break 😫 And then the fight began. Professional card. Tatsujin Rules. Clinch, throw, ground and pound. Clinch, throw, ground and pound. Clinch, throw, ground and pound. T-K-O! Brent Dupuis won his pro debut match against an experienced Taiga Striker! And can now call himself a professional fighter. Flawless fight camp. Flawless weight cut. Flawless victory. Now, we feast! And Brent didn't event use the calf kicks we trained on the calf pad. Two weeks after our last pad session my leg still hurts...

So today was probably the hardest day for Brent until now. We borrowed an electric scale from the gym which was 300 - 500grams off. Then we weighed him on it before the weigh in at the gym and took the safety margin. He was at 69,4kgs zo he decided to take two sips of water and some yoghurt. Getting him back to 70kg on the electric scale. Then we waited until the time for the weigh in. Brent made a good impression with his build and passing the weigh-in flawlessly at 69.1kg. But he also got some laughs because he didn't only eat two onigiri 🍙, but also two butaman. And because he tried to tie his belt while walking up to the stage and in the haste didn't check the way his belt was tied. So far he left a mixed impression, very kind text on him in the booklet, where he's being described as someone who already fought opponents 20kg heavier than him and having flown in from Belgium just for this fight. A very professional fighter with good muscles and a strong work ethic regarding the weight. But then also eating fatty pork and tying his belt like a brute. 😅 When we saw Shuta enter, he looked like a corpse. His weigh-in didn't go as smoothly... 100 grams too much, back to running (and almost dying). When he came back during the rules for his second weigh-in he passed and out of relief he clapped his hands really hard, only to then realize that he f*cked up. Jukuchou found it funny and was relieved for him also. We didn't eat together as planned, as Shuta had to rest up a bit before moving. Meanwhile Brent got his servings of shoyu udon, each portion bigger than the last, until he was full. Then he ate some salted potato chips to get his sodium back up. Then we decided on some doughnuts to get some fast sugars and calories in. And he bought four more butaman to be sure. Clocking out today at 73kgs. OSU

It was a normal Wednesday night in Leuven, around 9 p.m. My three friends and I headed to the Oude Markt. One of them knew the owner of a small café there, so we grabbed a quiet table in the corner. It was the kind of spot that was hard to get out of quickly if things went south. We were just chilling. Drinking beer, talking about life, swapping old stories and laughing. Everything felt calm and good. Then a guy we call Jan showed up with his girlfriend. They seemed fine. But his friend Rick was a different story drunk and wired on coke. He’d just gotten out of jail, and everyone in Leuven knew his reputation: robbing people, threatening them, attacking them. Some said it was even worse. We tried to ignore him. That didn’t sit well with Rick. He stormed over to our table, slammed both hands down, and started acting tough, getting right in our faces. We stayed calm and kept ignoring him. That only made him angrier. He turned on one of my drunk friends and started threatening him. My other friend froze. Couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. I stood up and said calmly, “Yo, chill out.” Rick lost it. He grabbed me hard by the back of the neck. Without thinking, I shoved him off with my left arm while covering my head with my right. He flew backwards. He jumped up fast and reached into his pocket. Two of my friends were useless one too drunk, the other still frozen. Rick came at me again. That’s when a huge rush of adrenaline hit me. I planted my foot, twisted my hip, and landed a perfect front kick. He crashed hard onto the stone pavement. His head smacked the cobblestones with a loud crack. The second I saw the knife in his right hand, I flew straight at him. I slammed my body into his with a full body slam, landing in full mount on his chest. I immediately grabbed his right wrist with my right hand, slid my left hand under his elbow, and locked my left hand on top of my own right wrist. I started cranking hard ready to snap his arm if he didn’t drop the knife. Jan jumped in fast. He snatched the knife away from Rick and pulled us apart. My friend Jef wanted to call the police, but Jan begged us not to. “I’ll handle it,” he said. “He’ll leave.” Jan dragged everyone away and broke up the fight.

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