As he stepped into the ring at Coquitlam's Hard Rock Casino and made first contact with his opponent, one thought entered the mind of 麻豆社国产mixed martial artist Cole Smith.
"As soon as we grabbed each other, I basically knew I was winning this fight," Smith told The Chief in a post-match interview. "I was too physically strong for him. I was the bigger guy."
And the 28-year-old's assessment appeared to be accurate.
Smith weighed in at 135 pounds for his fight but fought at about 152. He's big for his weight class, and it showed.
At the 3:13 mark of the first round, Smith had his opponent, Tyler Dolby, trapped in an armbar.
For Smith, it marked the first time he'd been forced to defend his professional Battlefield Fight League bantamweight title, something which he appeared to have accomplished with relative ease.
"You're not the real champion until you defend the belt," he said. "It's nice to kind of solidify my spot as the main guy, the top dog."
This isn't a small feat. The BFL is arguably the biggest mixed martial arts organization in B.C., and many consider it to be a local stepping stone on the way to major fight leagues like the UFC.
Video clips of the fight show Smith catching a kick thrown by Dolby within the first few moments of the round. The two fighters follow up with a flurry of strikes. Both of them wind up pushing each other against the cage, with Smith throwing in knees and foot-stomps once he manages to pin Dolby against the chainlink wall.
Eventually, Dolby breaks free and the two briefly showcase their standup fighting abilities before Dolby takes Smith to the ground.
Initially, it appears as if Dolby has the upper hand 鈥� he manages to get on top of the 麻豆社国产fighter.
But the tables quickly turn.
While on the bottom, Smith manages to lock himself into guard position, which involves wrapping his legs around his opponent in order to control his adversary's hip movement.
Then, from underneath, Smith manages to reposition his legs and clinch Dolby's arm until the opposing fighter has no choice but to tap out.
It was perhaps an unforeseen consequence for the opposing camp.
Mike Nasu, a coach at Smith's home gym, The Sound Martial Arts, said it appeared as if Dolby's team had him attempt a ground fighting game against Smith, who's known to be a strong standup fighter.
"This guy [Dolby] was known as the wrestler," said Nasu. "They didn't want to stand up with Cole because they know how good Cole is with his muay thai. So, I think their strategy was to take him down, and then he got Cole down 鈥� and Cole arm barred him."
As with many sports, the quick and decisive timing of the win masks the tremendous amount of effort that goes into preparing for the match.
In Smith's case, it was about two months of hard training that, in some cases, made him question himself.
He said he went through a period of time where things seemed to feel a little bit off.
"I had a lot of mental battles," Smith said.
"This one was just tough on me," he recalled. "It was a real grind for me mentally and physically. I had a lot of injuries 鈥� I hurt my rib real bad. I didn't think I was going to be able to fight."
To top it off, Smith also hurt his knee the week before the fight.
Smith said this was the first time he felt he could lose.
But in the end, he said that fighting through his doubts will make him a better athlete in the long term.
"It's good that I did feel like that and I overcame it," said Smith. "That's just another experience and barrier that I had to overcome in the fight game, so if that ever happens again, I know I can just be like, 鈥楬ey you've experienced this before, it's no big deal 鈥� shake it off.'"
However, luckily for Smith, he didn't have to go it alone.
He credited much of his success to his brother Kasey, who acts as his coach and manager.
Smith also clocked in time training with Bibiano Fernandes, who holds the bantamweight title at the ONE Championship, a Singapore-based mixed martial arts league.
But despite the win, Smith doesn't appear to be keen sitting on his laurels. He's contemplating stepping onto the world stage.
The UFC has just put out a call for athletes to try out for its reality TV show, The Ultimate Fighter.
They're asking for undefeated 145, 155 and 170-pound fighters, and Smith just so happens to fit that description.
"My brother just phoned me, saying we might be sending you to Las Vegas," he said.
"It'll be a good opportunity."
