On January 7, 2023 Zion Fairley of Team Hurricane Awesome (San Diego 10th Planet) fought at 135lbs in SSP52 (Star Spar Promotions) and won with a round 2 TKO advancing his record to 1-0-0.
When Zion was walking out I got chills and a real good feeling, shortly afterwards one of the commentators (I was streaming the fight on YouTube) might have been feeling the same way when it sounded like he said "He's coming out to a real clean energy" and "this walkout song gets my approval." The song of choice for Zion? "Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting." This felt right, and good.
The fight started with some back and forth striking, Justice opening with a leg kick and both fighters landing shots before Zion stuffing and reversing the take down and dropping a few shots to the side of Justice's head in the process. With both fighters landing throughout the it was close, but overall Zion landed more shots and closed out with a few knee strikes to the body giving him the edge.
When the fighters came out in round 2 both looked more settled and ready to go. They exchanged shots, both of them finding a home, but there was a noticable difference as Zion seemed to be unphased by what hit him while Justice had strong reactions each time he was touched. With 33 seconds remaining in the second round Zion threw a straight right which pushed Justice back and it was just a matter of time now. With Justice covering up and Zion marching forward picking his shots, Justice fell back against the fence and Zion pounced landing a few more strikes to the head before the referee jumped in to stop the fight. TKO.
It was an incredible fight and what a way to enter in to your MMA career, as Zion looked every bit the part of someone who belongs in the cage, poised, focused, skilled and having fun.
On a side note, 10th Planet San Diego under the guidance of head MMA Coach Manolo Hurricane Hernandez (IG) went 3-0 for the night with all 3 of their fighters winning their debut fights. (Natasha Kai's Fight - Click Here / membership required)
For Zion's Full Fight Click Here To Watch on YouTube - https://youtu.be/uo8joX8jAaw?t=5238 (Start time h:27m)
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Photos property of Spar Stars MMA (www.sspmma.com )