It took an enormous effort and a serious injury, but Derek Daku managed to get the win in a fight described as more of a war.
The Estevan mixed martial arts fighter took a fight in Shaunavon on May 25 on short notice and won the main event at Rumble in the Cage 47.
Daku defeated former Shaunavon resident Tyler Illerbrun by unanimous decision.
"It turned out to be quite a war, that's for sure," said the 47-year-old fighter.
Daku tore his bicep in the first round, but instead of withdrawing, fought another two rounds.
"It's amazing what adrenaline does in a fight. It felt like my arm was falling off. I knew I was hurt, but I just kept going."
He will need surgery, with an estimated seven to eight weeks of recovery time, and he has been told he can't fight again for at least five months.
Daku said he felt he won all three rounds against Illerbrun.
"I think I had a couple of pounds on him. The guy was around 26, a big muscular kid. I wanted to keep it standing, but his stand-up was pretty good. He caught me with a few in the first round. I ended up taking him down in the first. In the second round, I took him down and took it to him, and the third round, I had mount on him most of the round.
"My ground game was far superior to his and I could take him to the ground pretty much whenever I wanted to," Daku added.
With only two weeks' notice, Daku wasn't able to train as long as he would have liked, and he felt it after the fight.
"That's the most tired I've ever been in my life. After the fight, you go into the dressing room and sit down and I don't think I moved for 10 or 15 minutes. I was exhausted."
It was Daku's first fight since winning on Dec. 1 in the Virgin Islands.
He said he wants to do one more amateur fight, then he'll have a chance to get a pro fight in Las Vegas late this year or in early 2014.
Daku said the timing of the fight would be largely up to him, as the Tough Enough series in Las Vegas is always looking for heavyweights.
When he's not in the ring, Daku is the co-owner of Prestige Fight Club MMA, an organization that held its first card in April in Weyburn. Former Hard Knocks Fighting Club promoter Cord Crowthers is the other owner.
