Watch this video. This is an 18-minute video of the Omega BJJ no gi absolutes tournament which took place on Saturday, August 25th. If you want to watch the whole thing, have at it. If you just want to see my leg explode, fast forward to minute 18. That’s where the magic happens.
The first match is Omega competitor Jante vs. Josh Leduc. The next match is Omega competitor Mario vs. ?, At the six-minute mark, you’ll see my first round match against a fellow brown belt, Craig from New Port Richey BJJ. That was the highlight of my day as I won by Gogoplata. The next match is between two guys I don’t know, sorry. After that is a match between eventual tournament winner Brad from New Port Richey BJJ and Omega athlete Dylan. That brings us to the incident.
I did an entire podcast discussion the incident so if you’d like to check that out you can listen to it here. I’ll sum it up for you though… I really wanted to win this tournament. My buddy Tommy Carpenter runs this no-gi tournament each year at his school, where I train, Omega MMA in Clearwater, Florida. It’s a top-notch MMA and BJJ school. They also have an excellent youth Tae-Kwon-Do program. You should see some these kids kick. I’m talking 540 flipping wheel kicks, and I don’t even know if that’s a real thing! Anyway, everyone on the team was doing so well and I didn’t want to disappoint. I got second place in the absolutes last year and I was looking to win it this year.
Unfortunately, ego got the better of me. In the semifinals, I went against a badass brown belt who I’d seen already compete, Josh Leduc. I knew he was a leglock guy and I obviously didn’t respect that enough. As soon as he got a hold of my ankle, he went for an outside heel hook. He had it for a second but not secure. Then he adjusted and as he did he brought his weight down and applied pressure as I was trying to escape the leg upwards. It’s a very funky position to describe.
All of a sudden, SNAP! I went from feeling the torque in my ankle to everything giving way as my tibia and fibula snapped all at once. It wasn’t intentional and it wasn’t malicious. It was an accident. The only person to blame is me, as I should have tapped to the initial heel hook. Except I let ego and winning get in the way, and now I’m in a cast up to my waist for a month.
When it snapped, I felt the most intense pain I’d ever experienced but only for a brief few seconds. Then I must have gone into shock as I didn’t feel hardly anything. Luckily, this was a clean fracture and because my leg landed flat and I didn’t try and stand up or do anything, it kept the break more or less in place. It was a terrifying 10 minutes laying in wait for the ambulance. Yes, I took the pain medicine. I was trying to be a tough guy and hold out as long as possible, but as soon as we got to the hospital they dripped me with something that made it drop from a 9 to and 7, and that was as good as it got.
I spent the night in the hospital. It sucked, but really, it wasn’t that bad. None of this really is that bad.
The moral of the story is that you have to check your ego. I was out of control and arrogant. You can see it in the first match. I didn’t think Josh could get me, and he did. Big props to him. Even though he did not continue in the tournament after that happened, he’s the rightful winner.
Many and continued thanks to everyone who has reached out in any capacity. All of your kindness has not gone unnoticed. I am very appreciative of everything, including my health. Listen up, you’re not a superhero. Neither am I. Don’t be silly and let your ego stop you. Survive to fight another day. I’ll be back, but for now, time to heal. If you’d like to donate to help with some of my medical expenses, you can do that here.
