Industrial man fights the good fight

     On Saturday March 11, 20-year-old Philip Page showed up to win his second Amateur MMA fight. Page fought in the Tap or Scrap promotional fight in Port Lavaca. Nightmare Striking Academy’s athlete, Page, earned a hard-fought three-round unanimous decision over Kung Jung Mu Sul’s athlete, Campbell Johnston, in the 145 featherweight. 

     Page has been training in mixed martial arts on and off for the last two years, but has recently become more consistent with it. There wasn’t anything in particular that sparked his interest in the sport. 

     “I wanted to do something that was good for my physical health that wasn’t just lifting weights,” Page said. “Self-defense was also a plus.” 

     Page had a rough start in his debut fight and fought hard to come back and win this one. He went two rounds before losing by TKO to Cole Knapp in another Tap or Scrap event on Friday June 10, 2022. “I lost my three bottom teeth in my first MMA fight, and had various ligament sprains.” That experience taught him a lot, and he worked vigorously to overcome it and was back in the gym as soon as he was healed. 

     Page says his coaches are responsible for his training routine, “they do all the thinking, I just do it.” On his own, he tends to do basic cardio outside of the gym. MMA fighters must stay in prime condition especially when they are in camp. Many say the hardest part about being a fighter is making the weight cut. Some fighters may need to lose up to 25 pounds in a matter of two weeks to make the cut.

     “I don’t fear the opponent, or what they’re capable of,” Page said, “I fear more of myself falling short or not performing to my abilities in the fight.”

     Page says it was a great feeling to win his recent fight, but he was left a little unsatisfied and wanted more. The athlete was back in the gym the following Monday working towards getting better for the next fight. 

     Tap or Scrap was established one year ago and holds eight shows a year. Peter Morales, formerly of Seadrift now of Victoria, holds the shows in Victoria and Calhoun county. In the future, Morales plans to branch out into San Antonio and will potentially have a show there by the end of the year. The next Tap or Scrap production will be on Friday, July 14 at the Victoria Community Center.