By Chris Rockwell

Mark Twain famously wrote, “The coldest winter I ever experienced was the Summer I spent in San Francisco.” I used to think that was an exaggerated Twainism. But it finally made perfectly good sense, as the frigid salty air bit deep into my bones. In less than a three hour drive, due west, I went from 95 degrees in the Nor Cal foothills to a bone chilling 57 degrees and fog. What the fuck?? Only in California. Where else can you go snowboarding in Tahoe in the morning and then go diving in the Pacific Ocean in the afternoon with great white sharks? That’s why I love this crazy and amazing state. And that kind of diversity is why King Duce exists today.

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Anyway, I was on my way to a big Pay Per View MMA fight to watch our first sponsored fighter named “Bad Brad” fighting for a title belt against a fighter from Peru. I was stoked and curious because this was new territory for us. And like usual, I had no idea what to expect. Now, for those of you who know nothing about the fastest growing sport in the world, or have a predisposed idea of two men fighting like barbarians in a cage like gladiators in the debauched Roman days, just keep an open mind and follow our journey through this sport and give it a fair chance. These athletes possess amazing ability, heart and discipline beyond most anything I’ve been around. And I’m a former Division 1 college football player who had the opportunity to play with and against many Hall of Fame greats. I used to think MMA was just a bunch of meat head cave men that could barely write their names or speak. I have to thank my brother-in-law for showing me the inside of the sport years ago as MMA was just getting started. He was training local fighters and invited me to a fight one night and it changed my mind immediately.

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I showed up to Kezar Pavilion, on the UC San Francisco campus to meet up with the King Duce crew, Rob Pitman (project manager), Beiron Andersson and his son Christian (photography), Hayves Streeter (video), and of course our website guru Matthew David (I noticed the business card he gives to the ladies says “Director of Web Systems”). The first thing I noticed as I neared the building was the line of thousands waiting to get in. Rob quickly ushered me past the fans and into the pavilion like a secret service agent. We cruised around the still empty building studying the set up and meeting the promoters and guys working to set everything up. It was a big production. Within an hour the place was packed and the music exploded and the lights went down. I had decided to sit in the nose bleed seats up near the rafters with Rob and Matt so I could take everything in and not be distracted. Matt eventually disappeared and made his way down to the floor seats at ringside to sit next to a table full of girls. (They ended up inviting him to a VIP party and the rest is history.)

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We sat patiently through some good fights waiting to catch our first glimpse at our fighter “Bad Brad”. Finally he came marching down the walkway towards the ring and the music and lights gave him the appearance of a warrior heading into battle. It was intense and exciting to see him wearing one of our Red New Era King Duce hats with pride. Suddenly the bell rang and it was on. The two fighters battled, trading punches and kicks until they could barely hold their bodies up. After the final round the announcer claimed victory to “Bad Brad” and we all went crazy!

And keeping with King Duce tradition of having a little controversy with everything we do, a fight broke out over the decision and the other fighter’s bench cleared and a fight between managers almost ensued.

Immediately after the fight Rob and I quickly made our way to the locker room to see our newly crowned champion to celebrate and congratulate Brad for his performance. He was beat up, wearing his title belt and couldn’t stop smiling while Beiron and Hayves captured the moment. I stood in the shadows watching this young man feel the thrill of a hard fought victory. It’s something that I can’t describe unless you’ve given everything of yourself and came out on top against a worthy competitor. He deserved this moment fully and I was honored to witness the beginning of a new chapter for King Duce.