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There was yelling and screaming, punching and kicking, and then, there was blood, as 24 fighters went head-to-head in the Extreme Fight Championships' professional mixed martial arts cage fighting Saturday in the AT&T Center.
For Joseph Kadilis, a computer networking sophomore at St. Philip's College, it was his first professional fight against Doug "The Carthage Killer" Williams, a four-time championship fighter.
"It's you and the other guy, and that's all that matters," Kadilis said.
Six years ago, Kadilis, his brother and some friends tried the art of jiujitsu and got hooked. They watched the Gracie brothers and Frank Shamrock beat fighters to a pulp on ultimate fighting and always played around by sparring with each other.
"My brother and I have been fighting since I was old enough to jump on his back and take him down," Kadilis said. "We have a sister, but we don't fight with her."
In the last two years, Kadilis got more serious and decided he wanted to be a fighter.
"I started taking it seriously and hitting the gym at least six to eight hours a day," he said.
Kadilis practices everything from jiujitsu to kickboxing, and works on technical moves such as the one-two kick or wrapping his legs around his opponent's neck in a chokehold. He also practices the art of meditation.
"I do a lot of concentration and self-reflection ... and listen to hard rock and metal," Kadilis said.
Three weeks ago, Kadilis got a phone call from the fight card organizer asking if he wanted to fight. He said yes.
"Win, lose or draw, I'll keep going at him and, hopefully, keep standing," Kadilis said.
On the night of the fight, the announcer stepped into the caged ring and read the rules: anything goes, until a fighter is knocked out or submits. Fighters will be judged on performance, skill and aggression.
Drum roll please, the fight is about to begin.
Williams, 5-feet-10 inches tall and weighing 205 pounds, stepped into the ring and punched Kadilis, 6-feet-2 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds, with a right, then a left. Kadilis punched back with a hard left while trying to kick Williams, but it was no use. They got themselves into headlocks a couple of times as more than 3,000 screaming fans yelled "elbow - elbow - elbow" or "kick 'em where it hurts," antagonizing the fighters. Suddenly, Williams just seemed to connect in the right place as he threw a left punch into Kadilis' face, knocking him out cold.
In 1:09, the fight was over.
Kadilis made it through his professional debut as a fighter, a little roughed up, but now he had a fight under his belt.
"It's my first fight, and it was a good learning experience," Kadilis said.
Would he do it again?
"Other than all that training and conditioning, you have to have the heart of a fighter and know this is what you love doing," Kadilis said.
Kadilis survived his first fight, and Deborah Garcia, a San Antonio native, made her professional debut as the first female cage fighter the sport has seen.
"I feel like I have to represent San Antonio," Garcia said.
Garcia, who trains with San Antonio's own Powerteam, is into boxing, grappling, jiujitsu and the Spartan Pit, which focuses on overall conditioning by sparring against other fighters.
"Ever since I started training, my energy level has gone way up," Garcia said.
Garcia, 134 pounds, entered the ring, ready to fight Deborah Wofford, 138 pounds, and in less than a minute, Wofford was in a head lock on the ground. Garcia repeatedly punched Wofford in the head, until finally, Wofford couldn't take it anymore and submitted.
Garcia had just won her first fight and the crowd went wild with applause for one of San Antonio's own.
"I urge more females to come into this sport," Garcia said. "Don't be afraid to go out there and try something."
On that particular night, the crowd witnessed history in the making as Kadilis made his professional debut as a fighter, and Garcia made a place for herself in the world of professional mixed martial arts cage fighting.
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