{"id":1667,"date":"2014-08-22T16:55:29","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T16:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.levelupgym.com\/staging\/2031\/?p=1667"},"modified":"2014-10-02T00:41:30","modified_gmt":"2014-10-02T00:41:30","slug":"1667","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.levelupgym.com\/staging\/2031\/1667\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Fighters 2 Victories At Lion Fight 17"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had to take a couple weeks to get my thoughts together for this blog. The events that took place, and the road to get there still seem surreal. My journey as a Martial Artist began 28 years ago. Although I\u2019m nowhere near where I would want to end my journey, if I was hit by a bus tomorrow I\u2019d have no regrets. I\u2019m so proud of what my team has done in this first year. My ambition to be a major part of the growth of Muay Thai and Kickboxing here in America drives me to take on more than I probably should. Knowing that I have the Level Up Team behind me every step of the way makes it all possible. I\u2019m honored they put their faith in me to lead them into all the craziness I seem to get us into.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Taking<\/a>
Taking It All In<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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I joined an MMA gym in 2006. MMA and BJJ were the programs that got the most attention. It always felt like the Muay Thai program was like the step kids in the family (haha) So I decided that I would help to lead the way for Muay Thai here in Maryland. In 2008 I was given the opportunity to Teach Muay Thai at two gyms. I spent 5 years building those programs to the best of my ability. In the end I still felt like I wasn\u2019t able to push the program forward the way I wanted. So in July of 2013, I started running classes in my hometown of Bowie, MD. August 1st became our official opening of Level Up. In that time we have had over 30 fights, won 3 National Titles, and had 3 fights on Lion Fight, and on our 1 Year Anniversary, August 1st 2014, Jared and Pat fought and won on Lion Fight 17.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Your<\/a>
Your Winners<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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We drove down the night before weigh ins so we could wake up in Connecticut Thursday morning and cut any weight that needed to be shed. We checked out of our hotel and headed over to the Foxwoods Spa. Around 1pm we went down to check the guys weight on the official scale. Both fighters were on so we went to check into our room at the Two Trees Hotel. Weigh Ins went pretty quickly, after you could find all the fighters munching on whatever they had with them until they saw the doctor.<\/span><\/p>\n