Prologue: Tale Of A Champion

*Huphhh* "whuu man what a rush" I mumble to myself as I look out into the sold-out stadium packed to the brim and full of excitement and vigor. The roaring and cheers of the crowd are nearly deafening and as I raise my fist up in victory it only gets louder.

Basking in the excitement of the electric atmosphere I think to myself 'I DID IT!!! all that hard work, all the grueling training, all the time dedicated to this.... I really pulled it off'. Thinking back it truly hasn't been an easy road but it was worth it, though admittedly I couldn't have done it alone. I look at my team as they rush into the cage full of smiles so big it's likely to split their face, they surround me hugging and congratulating me as they celebrate the victory as well as it is just as much theirs as mine.

I see my coach David Steins approach me with words full of praise for my performance and I can see a lone tear fall from his misty eyes which shocks me as I have never seen the normally stoic man so emotional. He quickly wipes it away as he sees my raised eyebrows and gives me a "light" (not so light) smack upside my head with an annoyed look.

I give him a wronged look in return as I rub my head in the spot he hit as we look at each other for a moment before both cracking a smile and breaking out in laughter. The two of us etch this moment in our hearts as a triumphant conclusion to the more than two decade long road to the peak of the MMA world we have traveled.

The two of us have been together so long that he is basically a second father to me and each step of my journey he has been there to guide me and teach me what it truly means to be a warrior and a man.

The next person I see coming to congratulate me is my best friend Colby. Seeing him I think back to everything we have been through together, and to call him just my best friend would be an understatement and a bit insulting as we consider each other nothing less than brothers.

We have known each other since kindergarten and he has been the one constant through all my best and worst moments. When I got my first girlfriend he was there to wing-man for me, and when I got my first detention for dropping a water balloon on the mean teacher that no one likes (you know who I'm talking about lol every school has at least one) he was right there next to me laughing his ass off with me.

And when I was 10 he was there with me when we were spending the night at his house and I got the call from the police informing me that my parents were in a car crash as they were coming home from there date night. As the groundsmen were lowering their caskets into the ground and I stood there crying my eyes out and feeling as though my world was shattering around me he was there with his hand gripping my shoulder letting me know I wasn't alone.

My brother is the best person I know, he helped me find the motivation to dry my eyes, straighten my back, step forward and not give up. So I steeled myself promising to live my life in a way they would be proud of. I pushed myself to excel in everything I did and even if I wasn't the best at something I was sure to give 110% effort.

I was born in 1995 and at a young age, I found I enjoyed martial art movies and wanted to learn how to do all those cool looking moves I saw on the TV. I begged my parents to let me learn martial arts and my father, thinking it to be a good hobby, took me to sign up at a local taekwondo dojang at the age of 5.

Quickly finding that I have a talent for it my instructor encouraged me to compete and as I got better and better and rose through the ranks I discovered that I really liked the thrill of competition and pushing myself to defeat my opponent. After the death of my parents, I almost quit, not finding the same enjoyment I used to, but something stopped me. I remembered what my father said to me after my first day of training...

*Flashback*

"Dad I think I changed my mind, I don't want to do this anymore I'm so tired and my whole body hurts" I whimper as I haul myself into the back seat of my dad's truck "Son I know you're tired and if you truly don't enjoy it you can stop and try something else but listen here Michael if you want to quit just because something is difficult I'd be very disappointed as giving up on a pursuit just because of a bit of adversity will lead to nothing but a life of regrets. Do you understand what I'm telling you, Michael?"

Even to my 5 year old self, it was obvious that these words he was telling me were serious as I could hear the severity in his voice. "I understand dad" I replied looking into his eyes with a serious look of my own, which my father probably thought was adorable as I saw him crack a smile, and he opened his mouth to say something that I will never forget as long as I live. "Remember Michael, Richards never quit."

*End Flashback*

Richards never quit ah? Alright then.. I pulled myself together and pushed myself and worked to the brink of exhaustion, remembering another lesson my father taught me, telling me no success comes without hard work. I made sure I gave everything I had to excel and every victory I gained I dedicated to him and the words he told me.. Richards never quit. a year after he and my mom passed, at the age of 11, I gained my first-degree black belt and a few weeks after my 12th birthday I won my first National championship.

I tried to get Colby to join with me and to his credit, he did give it a go but found he didn't enjoy it all that much and as he had always had a bad case of asthma any prolonged physical exertion would bring on an attack. None of that stopped him from always having my back though as he was at every match cheering me on.

Being an only child with no other family to speak of Colby's parents agreed to adopt me after my parent's death and because I was left with a sizable chunk of money form my parent's savings and life insurance payouts we didn't need to worry about money too much.

They were hesitant to agree at first since money would have been an issue for them being a lower middle-class family that is currently putting two older kids through college. Taking care of their third and youngest needs as well as saving for his college already had them at their limit.

I tried to help out as much as I can and since I still had my parents house I stayed there more often than not, as no matter how many time they told me they were happy having me be apart of the family I couldn't help feeling like a burden in the back of my mind.

And so like this the years passed on.. I kept training and competing, becoming a decorated champion in youth taekwondo in many different leagues even traveling to different countries to compete. When I was 14 I decided to make a change and joined a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Maui Thai kickboxing gyms. The instructors at both gyms had heard of me and were excited to see how far I could go in their respective arts. Kickboxing came naturally and I excelled quickly, jiu-jitsu, on the other hand, took a bit more to get down which excited me and I craved the challenge.

I vowed to master these arts as I have taekwondo and dove in head first dedicating all my free time outside of school. I was a freshman in high school this year and rumors of me being a black belt had started to circulate the school and at first not many believed it and one particularly large kid known for being a bit of a bully took it upon himself to prove me a fraud... well that didn't go so well for him and earned me a week of in-house suspension and a 2-hour long lecture from Colby's mom.

The only reason I didn't get expelled is that it was clearly caught on the schools security cameras showing him as the aggressor and that I tried to walk away several times.. till he threw a punch at me which I deflected on instinct and returned a beautifully executed(if I may say so myself) roundhouse kick to the dome. Well, there are a lot more believers now. I do feel a bit bad.. that is until I remember some of the nasty shit he was spewing then I feel less bad. Life went on. Junior year came along and I was encouraged to try out for the school wrestling team, the coach telling me it would be a good way to get a scholarship and I agreed. I mean, hey why pay for it myself if I can get it for free?

So I tried out and I dominated. I made the seniors look like they were made of paper mache, I felt a little bad but hey its a dog eat dog world out there and none of them were my friends, to begin with. I found that balancing bbj, kickboxing, the wrestling team, and all my school work to be just too much so I made the choice to stop kickboxing for the time being. When graduation time came, I ended up winning the state championship both in my junior and senior years and secured a full ride to Iowa U to wrestle.

I didn't have to worry about my grades much as even though I'm no genius by any stretch of the imagination I still have a good head on my shoulders and even with all my extracurricular activities I still managed to maintain an A average. Colby though is an everyday boy genus and graduated valedictorian and secured his own academic scholarship to IU's engineering program. I myself majored in business with a minor in mechanical engineering. During my college career, I placed in 3rd at the NCAA national championship and 6th in the world championship during my freshman year.

After that, I went on to win first place in the NCAA national championship and 2nd for the world championship during my sophomore year and then the next two years I won first place in both the national and world championships. By the time a got my bachelor's degree, I was a bit of a legend on campus. I just about finished growing with me now standing at 6 foot 3 inches and a comfortable 240lbs (with very well defined muscles) I can safely say that when I had some free time when I wasn't training or studying I was able to quite enjoy myself if you know what I mean...

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

So now 21 years old and with my freshly acquired degree in hand and no longer eligible to compete in the NCAA I turned my attention a higher stage, the Olympics. I had already acquired the qualifications to join the US team for the 2016 Rio summer games for 2 sports. I would be officially competing in both taekwondo as well as wrestling since during college I was also competing in the martial art I feel in love with as a child when I was able to.

After all the blood sweat and tears I dedicated to training during this time the games finally arrived. I was heavily favored to medal in both sports as I have beaten much of my competition at previous world championships. The time for the competition arrived and honestly, it was a little anticlimactic, I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge.

Afterward, I was watching the report of the events on the news and they brought on several experts to analyze the performance of the athletes and when they got to me they just looked at each other with rueful smiles and came to a consensus that it was the most dominant display they have ever seen in the Olympics. I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that..

After the games had concluded it was safe to say that I was now a household name and it didn't take too long for a certain bald-headed fight fanatic to come knocking on my door with an enticing offer. That was the first time I had met Dana White and I gotta say, I was interested in what he was talking about.

One thing, in particular, he said really struck me, he told me how up until this point I have been a competitor but he's giving me the opportunity to become a warrior. I signed the dotted line and joined the ufc and thus "The Reaper" was born. I later through Dana met my coach who got me going in a full camp polishing my strengths and shoring up my weaknesses. Training in MMA is a novel experience compared to all the other training I've done, it is hard and challenging and I really enjoyed it.

My first fight in the UFC came with huge press coverage, the whole angle of 'the 2 time Olympic gold medalist steps into the octagon' really captivated the public and promised huge numbers in ticket sales. I loved everything about it, he media tour, the weigh-ins, and all the shit-talking in between. I was having a blast. The guy they put me against is the former heavyweight champ and he enjoyed talking about how the cage was a completely different world.. yadda yadda yadda... I wasn't impressed.

Fight day came and I was ready. I was in the best shape of my life, it felt like I was a lean, mean, ass beating machine. When we finally got in the cage and the ref did his thing and called a start to the fight, the bell rang and the battle began. I came out testing the waters a bit, trading probing shots with my opponent sending some jabs and leg kicks.

I could tell that the leg kicks were bothering him already so I laid them on till he came with an overhand right that clipped my chin and staggered me back a step. He tried coming in to press the advantage but I was able to steady myself in an instant. I planted my back leg and, using all my strength, propelled myself forward into a vicious front kick straight to his diaphragm launching him straight into the cage. It was my turn to press forward and now..

I was pissed.. how could I let myself be tagged by this chump has-been. I go in raining down blows and I can see them getting through, his nose was crunched by a heavy cross and is bleeding heavily. He goes to tie my up in a clinch and starts bringing up knees into my gut and thighs, well I didn't like that so when next raised his knee I sweep out his other leg and bring him down to the mat.... now he's in my world. I go from threatening one submission to another well he struggles to get out from under me.

I end up in full mount and start dishing out nasty ground'n'pound and I can see the ref out of the corner of my eye inching closer in preparation to stop the fight so I ease up a bit as I'm not ready for my first fight to end so soon. This keeps up until the bell rings for the end of the first round a few moments later. I smile as I see him struggle to get up and to his corner. The bell rang for the next round and I can see my opponent has gotten his composure back somewhat but for some reason, as we come to the center of the cage he goes for a spinning back fist.

I can see it coming so I square up lean back out of the way of his incoming fist and as his momentum carries him around I snap up my leg for my signature roundhouse to the dome (I bet when that high school bully sees this he'll have night sweats from PTSD lol) and I can feel my shin connect with his head. he goes down.. goes down real hard and as his body hits the mat the crowd goes silent for a moment until the ref calls a stoppage and then the whole crowd goes nuts.

And so begins the reign of The Reaper. I am up against the heavyweight champ in my second UFC fight and end it in the first round with a kneebar submission securing the title of the UFC heavyweight champion of the world. It's a title that I have defended for 37 times in a row leaving me with a staggering 39-0 record in MMA.

Between then and now I have also done many things outside of MMA like starting my own gaming company with Colby and a few friends from college once they all graduated. We designed a portable console that was a hit with consumers along with many games that became quite popular. Our company became quite successful and grew like a weed quickly reaching a net worth in the billions with thousands of employees working under us.

In my thirties, with my win record rising along with my popularity with the masses I started dreaming of bringing MMA to a globally recognized stage, the Olympics. I dreamt of bringing all the best fighters the world has to offer to one place for one single goal, to know who is truly the best in the world. Just thinking about such an event gets my blood boiling.

So I made a call and hired a jet, traveling with Dana White around the globe to speak to various leaders of the Global Association Of International Sports Federations, or the GAISF for short, about the UFC becoming a member and rallying for approval by the International Olympic Committee to add MMA to the program for the next summer Olympics.

After months and months of back and forth and lobbying to different parties, it was finally done and MMA was officially an Olympic sport. The next summer games are in three years so there is plenty of time to prepare the placements for the Olympic tournament with the 16 highest rated fighters in the world for each weight class fighting it out for those three coveted medals.

With all that looming in the future I decide to put my work at the company on hold till after the games and of course Colby being the amazing person that he is picks up the slack without complaint. I trained harder than I ever have to be ready for the war that was the upcoming games.

With single-minded dedication, I honed my craft, while my coach brought in some of the best experts in the world to help me prepare. Whether it was the stand-up game or down on the mat I pushed myself every day to conquer my opponent in every way possible.

Four fights, four rounds of a single-elimination tournament. That's all that stood in my way of achieving that ultimate glory in the new world of mixed martial arts, the Olympic gold medal. With that in mind, I went to war, and fought with all my heart and soul and made it to the finals.

The last opponent before me was a huge bear of a man right at the upper weight limit of 260lbs and easily at a height of 6'4", just a huge Russian bear that is who I'm fighting. To add the cherry on top I learn that the man is a bona fide Spetsnaz with confirmed field combat experience. While this might have intimidated some, knowing this only made me more excited. I felt like it was my first time stepping into the cage once again as I shook with nervous excitement. Looking at him there across the cage I knew this was going to be my hardest fought battle yet, and he truly didn't disappoint.

The championship fight is 5 rounds of 5 minutes apiece and this war went back and forth all the way into the 5 round. At the start of the last round we were both bloody, battered and breathing hard, looking into each other's eyes we can see in the other a fiery rage and a warrior's iron will to never give up and the determination to end the other before it is allowed to go to the judges.

The bell rings and we clash, two titans in human form giving everything to end the other. Fists, kicks, grappling, takedowns, I throw everything I have at this guy but he is just walking through it and giving his own in return both going back and forth with time running down with it looking like it will go to the judges until it happens...

As I throw a body kick to his kidney he responds the same way he has the last couple of times, with a left cross that feels like it has the weight of a mountain behind it, but this time instead of stepping out to dodge to hit I step in. Stepping into his guard with my right fist cocked and ready to deliver a devastating uppercut that connects right under his chin snapping his head back so hard a normal person would have had a severe concussion and a bad case of whiplash.

But this man is not normal and I want to make sure this fight is over so immediately after landing the uppercut I bend my legs and coil all my muscles and deliver the finisher. A jumping back kick that lands square on his nose with a disturbing crunch just as his head was coming forward from the rebound of the previous uppercut sending off his feet and onto his back with a resounding thump that has a ring of finality to it.

I hold my breath waiting to see if the mountain made flesh will rise again or stay and after a moment of no movement the referee waves his hands calling a stoppage to the fight that has shaken the world. As I stand looking blankly at my fallen opponent, half expecting him to still get back up and continue the fight, I hear the spectating crowd roar into a frenzy of excitement at the spectacle they had just witnessed. It's not till I hear they crowd that it starts to sink in that I did it, I actually won the gold at the first Olympic MMA event in history.

And that brings us to the current moment as I stand here at the center of the octagon, my own personal field of battle, my field of victory, surrounded by friends.. no. my family, that is truly what they are to me. Looking back at all that's brought me here, it's truly a surreal feeling unlike any I have ever felt.

The rest of the night is a blur of camera flashes and media interviews after getting any injuries patched up and by the time I finally got back home after completing all my obligations, it was evening the following day. As I lean out on the railing of my second-floor balcony watching the sunset my mind starts to wander, thinking about where I go from here and what I should do next.

I think it's about time I retire from the fighting game as I've accomplished just about everything I can and my body certainly isn't getting any younger.. Perhaps I'll focus on further developing the company, lord knows how much I've pushed off on to Colby. Though I can't help feeling sad at the thought of never fighting again as it's pretty much all I've ever known..

"huhhh I wish there was.. more.. I wish.." what's.. what's happening.. to me.. I think as my vision starts to blur.. I feel something wet on my lip and when I reach up to check I see my fingers red with blood... "Well.. shit." my vision blackens and I feel myself collapse before all turns to oblivion.

These are the last thoughts and words spoken by the legendary champion of the cage the so called Reaper of MMA, in the end, snatched by his namesake into the cold unfeeling embrace of death.

"Ugghhh my head.. what the hell happened... *opens eyes and looks around* ...ummmm.... .... ..... WHAT THE FUCK!?!??!! WHERE AM I??" all I see is a red barren rocky plateau as for as my eyes can see. and all I can think of is...

"Well, Shit...."