A calm man paced back and forth as he poured water over his head and shadow boxed. There didn't seem to be any emotions at first, but then it became apparent . this man was uneasy looking.Not like he wanted to win, but like he had to win the match. the match in question was the heavyweight bout that was held off until after the main event(due to time constraints on the broadcast). The fighter I am talking about is Masaru Maeda, and tonight he was to face off with experienced striker Zhane Hamilton.
It has been an interesting ride for the man they call "The Monster" who some say began when he won a verbal war with Roy nelson and his managment team. Since his public shredding of the nelson camp he has been viewed as one of the most outspoken members of the BUSHIDO roster,at one point becoming part of a verbal war with Fight Force President Ele , but on this night it was nearly impossible to catch him saying a word to anyone as he paced beside the water fountain.
The Doctor came by and finished up making sure Maeda was ready for the upcoming fight. His camp, Friends, and Family were all backstage buzzing about....but Maeda wasn't amongst them. He had taken the moments before his final fight to pace and contemplate what it meant to him.
"ok, we're ready" came from the hallway and was the only sound that any voice had been able to get him to register for the past hour. The proud native of Yamagata City stood up silently and began to walk toward the cage for what was to be his final bout.
looking at the man you wouldn't be able to tell that this was his last fight. He went into the cage with the same intensity as his first fight at BUSHIDO 3 where he bested Heavyweight Reggie Ray. I was taken back watching him in the ring to a moment earlier after his first fight where he was quoted saying,"I hope to fight for the belt soon." It didn't happen for the veteran, but That didn't seem to be what was on his mind either.
Zhane Hamilton had his game face on and was ready to put the kibosh on Maeda's retirement plans, He glared and did some shadow boxing in his corner. Hamilton is no joke himself, and was an interesting choice by matchmakers seeing as how you would think they weren't going to throw the book at the guy on his last fight... but once again I didn't think this was what was bothering him either.
The bell rang, and the two men met in the center and proceeded to bang it out. This wasn't the first time that he was in the ring with an accomplished striker as he had pulled out a big victory over Mike Bernardo at BUSHIDO 4. After a few moments of feeling things out Maeda shoots in and achieved a takedown and was starting to pound. Hamilton reacted quickly by getting Maeda off of him. The two exchanged looks , and then Hamilton hit Maeda with a Flurry that sent him to the canvas. The crowd looked on almost silent as Hamilton pounded away at Maeda. Finally after a few seconds that took years apiece, Maeda was able to trap Hamiltons leg and keep him in the Half Guard. Hamilton is able to etch out and get the fight standing again. Maeda looks like he has finally been woke up as well, he shoots in, gets the takedown, and now he's climbing....and if there is one thing you don't want, it's a monster climbing into your mount.
The panic was taking hold on Hamilton as Maeda was throwing bombs down on him, this is a panic that was familiar to Maeda as he had been stopped by Terrence silva in his last fight ,in what was his only loss to this point. Maeda kept his hooks in the flailing Hamilton and continued to throw huge rights and lefts around the head of his opponent.Finally Zhane hamilton went limp with Maeda on his back. The crowd roared in approval an Maeda rose to his feet and looked up at the ceiling and then directly into the audience... I looked to where he was motioning to , and that's when I saw it. I saw what was on the mind of "The Monster" all night.....It wasn't a belt , his training, or even a fight bonus that was on the mind of Masaru Maeda.
There was a large family about 15-20 of them with tears in their eyes and a giant banner that read "The Monster is coming back home". This man was worried about his legacy and putting in one more great fight for his fans, his friends, and most importantly for that family of his, that had traveled to see the family warrior go out and do battle one last time.
I was fortunate enough to catch up with both combatants after the fight and Zhane Hamilton offered up these comments...
"he fought great and just got the best of me nuff said"
I asked him how he felt about the fight on a personal level and he replied, "we will see each other again some day but we will all miss him greatly here"
Isn't that the mark of a mans legacy?How his peers remember him? For a man that was once ranked #1 Heavyweight in BUSHIDO and is going out at press time at #8 in the pound-4-pound rankings I'd Expect nothing less. When I was able to talk to Maeda he was surrounded by his family and students.
how does it feel to hang the gloves up for the last time with a win?
That's exactly what I wanted. Go out with a bang!
thoughts on your final opponent?
Strong stand up, lots of hooks.
does it bother you that you weren't able to compete for a championship?
I had those ambitions when I came here, but I soon realised that the game has passed me by. You cannot compete at this level if you are not a complete MMA-fighter. My stand up was always my weakness and I never really could fix that hole. I payed the price for that when I got knocked out terrible, in my third fight at Bushido. I would continue to fight, but here at OMMA only 2 fighters from the same camp can compete at the same time. So I will make room for the younger and hungrier fighters from my camp - the new generation. They're good on the ground and also in the stand up.
what do you feel your legacy in OMMA will be?
I didn't accomplished much, but you know what? OMMA is the future and I'm happy that I was a part of it so early. At one point I was the #1 ranked HW at Bushido.
What's next for Mr. Maeda?
Training the new generation.
after he was so kind as to give an interview after such an important moment in his life, i was kind enough to keep it brief and let him get back to what was REALLY important.... let it be known that we here at OMMA and all of the people who have kept up with us are all eternally grateful for your dedication to the fight game Mr. Maeda and wish you nothing but the best as you enter the next stage of your life and leave the competing behind. I'm not sure how to send someone off , this is a first...so in the words of the immortal Bas ...God speed and Party on!
It has been an interesting ride for the man they call "The Monster" who some say began when he won a verbal war with Roy nelson and his managment team. Since his public shredding of the nelson camp he has been viewed as one of the most outspoken members of the BUSHIDO roster,at one point becoming part of a verbal war with Fight Force President Ele , but on this night it was nearly impossible to catch him saying a word to anyone as he paced beside the water fountain.
The Doctor came by and finished up making sure Maeda was ready for the upcoming fight. His camp, Friends, and Family were all backstage buzzing about....but Maeda wasn't amongst them. He had taken the moments before his final fight to pace and contemplate what it meant to him.
"ok, we're ready" came from the hallway and was the only sound that any voice had been able to get him to register for the past hour. The proud native of Yamagata City stood up silently and began to walk toward the cage for what was to be his final bout.
looking at the man you wouldn't be able to tell that this was his last fight. He went into the cage with the same intensity as his first fight at BUSHIDO 3 where he bested Heavyweight Reggie Ray. I was taken back watching him in the ring to a moment earlier after his first fight where he was quoted saying,"I hope to fight for the belt soon." It didn't happen for the veteran, but That didn't seem to be what was on his mind either.
Zhane Hamilton had his game face on and was ready to put the kibosh on Maeda's retirement plans, He glared and did some shadow boxing in his corner. Hamilton is no joke himself, and was an interesting choice by matchmakers seeing as how you would think they weren't going to throw the book at the guy on his last fight... but once again I didn't think this was what was bothering him either.
The bell rang, and the two men met in the center and proceeded to bang it out. This wasn't the first time that he was in the ring with an accomplished striker as he had pulled out a big victory over Mike Bernardo at BUSHIDO 4. After a few moments of feeling things out Maeda shoots in and achieved a takedown and was starting to pound. Hamilton reacted quickly by getting Maeda off of him. The two exchanged looks , and then Hamilton hit Maeda with a Flurry that sent him to the canvas. The crowd looked on almost silent as Hamilton pounded away at Maeda. Finally after a few seconds that took years apiece, Maeda was able to trap Hamiltons leg and keep him in the Half Guard. Hamilton is able to etch out and get the fight standing again. Maeda looks like he has finally been woke up as well, he shoots in, gets the takedown, and now he's climbing....and if there is one thing you don't want, it's a monster climbing into your mount.
The panic was taking hold on Hamilton as Maeda was throwing bombs down on him, this is a panic that was familiar to Maeda as he had been stopped by Terrence silva in his last fight ,in what was his only loss to this point. Maeda kept his hooks in the flailing Hamilton and continued to throw huge rights and lefts around the head of his opponent.Finally Zhane hamilton went limp with Maeda on his back. The crowd roared in approval an Maeda rose to his feet and looked up at the ceiling and then directly into the audience... I looked to where he was motioning to , and that's when I saw it. I saw what was on the mind of "The Monster" all night.....It wasn't a belt , his training, or even a fight bonus that was on the mind of Masaru Maeda.
There was a large family about 15-20 of them with tears in their eyes and a giant banner that read "The Monster is coming back home". This man was worried about his legacy and putting in one more great fight for his fans, his friends, and most importantly for that family of his, that had traveled to see the family warrior go out and do battle one last time.
I was fortunate enough to catch up with both combatants after the fight and Zhane Hamilton offered up these comments...
"he fought great and just got the best of me nuff said"
I asked him how he felt about the fight on a personal level and he replied, "we will see each other again some day but we will all miss him greatly here"
Isn't that the mark of a mans legacy?How his peers remember him? For a man that was once ranked #1 Heavyweight in BUSHIDO and is going out at press time at #8 in the pound-4-pound rankings I'd Expect nothing less. When I was able to talk to Maeda he was surrounded by his family and students.
how does it feel to hang the gloves up for the last time with a win?
That's exactly what I wanted. Go out with a bang!
thoughts on your final opponent?
Strong stand up, lots of hooks.
does it bother you that you weren't able to compete for a championship?
I had those ambitions when I came here, but I soon realised that the game has passed me by. You cannot compete at this level if you are not a complete MMA-fighter. My stand up was always my weakness and I never really could fix that hole. I payed the price for that when I got knocked out terrible, in my third fight at Bushido. I would continue to fight, but here at OMMA only 2 fighters from the same camp can compete at the same time. So I will make room for the younger and hungrier fighters from my camp - the new generation. They're good on the ground and also in the stand up.
what do you feel your legacy in OMMA will be?
I didn't accomplished much, but you know what? OMMA is the future and I'm happy that I was a part of it so early. At one point I was the #1 ranked HW at Bushido.
What's next for Mr. Maeda?
Training the new generation.
after he was so kind as to give an interview after such an important moment in his life, i was kind enough to keep it brief and let him get back to what was REALLY important.... let it be known that we here at OMMA and all of the people who have kept up with us are all eternally grateful for your dedication to the fight game Mr. Maeda and wish you nothing but the best as you enter the next stage of your life and leave the competing behind. I'm not sure how to send someone off , this is a first...so in the words of the immortal Bas ...God speed and Party on!
