Saturday night was tough. I was bummed that Demico lost his pro-debut. I wasn’t disappointed because a fighter we sponsor lost. Part of our mission with Fight Pastor is to be a support to guys win, lose, or draw. Being a pastor, I figured I would be needed more after a defeat than a victory. I was bummed because I like Demico. He is a quality human being. He is the type of athlete you are glad to know. Professional athletics is full of competitors that are an embarrassment to their sport. Demico is easy to like. He is a family man. He is educated and articulate. He is polite and respectful. He is just an all around great guy. He is the type of athlete you root for! When he lost on Saturday night, I hurt for him because I like him! I don’t have a desire to be an agent or a manager, I like being a pastor but for a moment I understood Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Mcguire. He was unique because he was an agent that cared about his client. Saturday night I realized what being a fight chaplain/ fight sponsor is all about for us. We care!

Demico is going to be fine. In MMA every fighter loses (except maybe Anderson Silva). Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell are the poster boys for MMA in America and their careers are marked by (almost) as many shocking defeats as victories. You really see the quality and character of a person not when they win but how they respond to defeat. Demico is a man. He will pick himself back up, dust himself off, and get back in the cage. (I feel sorry for the next guy he will fight.) Even in defeat he showed class. He showed great character. It sounds cliche but this loss will probably make him an even better fighter in the future.

Professional fighting is a lot like life, it isn’t how you start it is how you finish that matters. Demico will end up with many more victories in his career than he will defeats. But what makes a champ is how he handles the defeats. He handled this like a champ. I was proud of him.

Saturday still stunk though!

Praying with Demico before the fight!

Trevor Wittman of Grudge Sports corned Demico.

Corry cheering on her man!

Before the fight.

The fight.

Justin Wren encouraging his friend.