It took one kick for Daniel Samuel to win his MMA in Paradise 4 match on Saturday night at the Multi-purpose Sports Complex.
Shortly after the third round started, Mr. Samuel delivered a flying scissor kick to his opponent’s head, which not only ignited the crowd into wild celebration, but also gave him the victory.
Mr. Samuel, who works at a bakery, has only been doing mixed martial arts for about nine months and Saturday was his first time competing in a fight. He said he wasn’t worried about fighting his opponent, but admitted that he was “tough.”
“If I would have lost, I would have been fine,” Mr. Samuel said. “But I am happy that I won.”
After the fight, several fans took the opportunity to congratulate him and have their picture taken with the fighter. Although the crowd was very supportive during his match, Mr. Samuel said he was oblivious to all the cheering.
“Everything was tuned out,” he said. “All I could see was the fists flying towards my face.”
The VI’s Rashidi Rodriques lost his fight in 29 seconds in the first round on a knockout punch to the face from Duke Brooks of Trinidad and Tobago.
Despite losing the match, he was not disappointed about the outcome of the bout.
“I fight for the adrenaline rush and the whole fun of it,” Mr. Rodriques said. “I got my adrenaline rush. It felt like I got hit by a truck.”
All told, the mixed martial arts event featured seven matches with competitors from the VI, the USVI and Trinidad. Three of the fights consisted of three rounds, while others were exhibition matches, which featured boxing and Sambo — a martial art that is similar to grappling and judo. All of the events were held in a fenced circular arena.
In the only female match, Teia Edwards, 18, of Tortola, was competing in her first bout against an older and more experienced fighter, Sherisse Subero, of Trinidad.
“It was an amazing experience,” Ms. Edwards said.
She was knocked down early in the fight, but got back up to finish the one-round match.
Ms. Edwards has only been training for the past two weeks. She got into the sport because she lives across the street from the Iron Fist Boxing Gym in East End.
“I went over there and started boxing,” Ms. Edwards said.
She is now taking the sport and training more seriously and is considering competing at international events.
“It is a good sport,” Ms. Edwards said. “I want to continue it obviously. Maybe travel and fight people from different parts of the world.”
The last fight of the night featured Dwayne Donovan, of Jost Van Dyke, in a heavyweight bout against Jeremy Rudulfo of Trinidad.
Mr. Donovan said he had been recovering from a cold, while his opponent had to shed more than 10 pounds prior to the fight.
“I never underestimate anybody,” Mr. Donovan said. “From the time I seen him, I could tell he was hungry; that meant I would have to bring my appetite too.”
It was Mr. Donovan’s second MMA fight. In March, he won his first match in St. Thomas, but said his most recent opponent was “younger and had more energy.”
“Both of us put a lot of heart into it and gave the crowd some good entertainment,” said Mr. Donovan, who took a few blows to the face. “I was just trying to dodge him and keep moving.”
The match would go three rounds, but Mr. Donovan would pull off the victory on a unanimous decision from the judges.
He said having the MMA event here was a “ground breaking moment,” and he hopes to see more in the future.
Currently, Mr. Donovan, Julan Brown, who also competed in the event and runs the Iron Fist Boxing Gym, and Dominic Bufton have plans to recruit and train other fighters here. After the August Emancipation Festival, they hope to have weekly fights on Saturdays at the East End gym.
MMA in Paradise 4 organiser Rigo Rodriguez, of the USVI, was very happy with the event, which he said attracted around 600 people. He hopes to return to the territory in the near to future to host another event.
“There was no losses,” Mr. Rodriguez said. “As long as the bills are paid, we are happy with that. We will continue to showcase our local Caribbean talent so that the mainland can notice our talent, and who knows: Someday one of our own might reach to the top of the [Ultimate Fighting Championship.]
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