No I will not retire!!

Been on the road a few days, and with the lost luggage thanx to Qatar airways, I haven’t really had time to sit at the computer lately.

With my recent injury…Doctor’s told me that I would more then likely have to retire from active competition, due to the chance of re-injury…to say this mildly, the news was almost too much to hear.

While I am starting to realize my goals of fighting for the UFC are slipping away, I still feel I have a lot of things to accomplish, and still feel like I’m improving as a fighter and a martial artist daily.

Last weekend, with the support of the Legacy Gym, I competed in the 2013 Philippines International Open.  Only 3 months from my injury, I had no real expectations for the competition.

Truth be told, when you compete in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu you are not allowed to wear a ”cup” (groin supporter)—however, I spoke to each one of my matches prior to competing, explaining to them my need to be careful, and they all agreed to let me play with the protection. While my matches were less than exciting, and I was understandably rusty…it felt good to get back on the mats!!!

To my excitement I added a couple new medals to the collection taking the Gold medals in the Black Belt over 80 KG and Black Belt open weight class division.  The medals meant more to me than simply adding something on the resume however,….mentally it was an important step for me and I’m excited to see where my career is headed in the future.

I want to thank everyone for their continued support.  While I think 2013 might be a bit early to return to the ”Cage”—I am looking at rehabbing my injury this year, competing in some additional grappling tournaments, and hopefully making a return to the cage in 2014.