CHAPTER 768: CHAPTER 768: VOICES BEYOND THE CAGE

Chirper had its opinions, and they were loud.

Over the past week, everything from the training camp to the chaos inside the house to the back-to-back fights had been under a microscope.

Fans, analysts, ex-fighters, and even verified accounts who had no business talking about MMA all had something to say.

Some posted clips of Ronny’s sharp performance, praising his calm under pressure and flashy striking.

Others argued Elias had been robbed, slowing down the footage of the final exchange with Zulu, circling where they believed the ref stepped in too early.

A few trending hashtags started to appear.

#TeamCross

#ZuluTrain

#IvanStyleVsCrossDiscipline

#CollideOrCrumble

One post with over 80,000 likes read:

"Ronny looks like a future champ. Dude moves like he’s been built in a lab. #TeamCross"

Another chirp said

"Zulu’s a problem. Wild, unpredictable, and strong as hell. If he learns to breathe between flurries, he might win the whole damn thing. #ZuluTrain"

And then there were the ones aimed directly at Damon

"Cross is too emotionally tied to his team. How’s he gonna coach both his guys when they fight each other? Man’s about to break down."

"Ivan’s team is coming back. Don’t sleep."

"Damon Cross vs his own corner. That’s the fight I wanna see."

There were debates in the comments. Fight footage reposted with arrows, slow-motion breakdowns, and comments like "right here, look, Zulu was OUT on his feet," or "Ronny’s pull counter needs to be illegal."

Some casual fans didn’t even care about the fights.

They posted memes from the house, using clips of fighters reacting to morning drills or arguing in the kitchen.

Others kept reposting footage of Damon pacing outside, headphones in, focused but tired.

It didn’t matter if people loved them or hated them. The camp had attention.

And with attention came pressure.

The next fight was already lined up.

The fans already knew what was coming.

Now they were waiting to see how he would handle it.

Only two fights remained before the semi-finals. Every fighter knew what was at stake.

The board was nearly full, and the tension in camp was clear. Nobody joked anymore. The days of casual training were over.

From Damon’s middleweight team, José Alvarez had already done his part. His clean striking and timing earned him a win and a spot in the next round. He was focused, rested, and already back in light drills.

Theo Brunner, on the other hand, still had to fight. Strong and athletic, but still raw. Damon had worked hard sharpening his basics, but the real test would come against Arman.

Ivan’s team had three middleweights, and two were already through.

Chase Dunham had handled his matchup well. Solid defense and discipline. Nothing flashy, but effective.

Thami Zulu fought wild, but got the job done. It wasn’t clean, but it worked. Ivan didn’t care about style, only results. That made Zulu a win for his side.

Arman Petrov still had to fight. Damon had seen his tape, basic but tough. He pressured forward, used short combinations, and liked to clinch and grind.

In the lightweight bracket, things were just as close.

From Damon’s camp, both Ronny McGregor and Max Taylor had already advanced.

Ronny had looked sharp and composed in his win. Max had done enough to secure victory, though Damon still felt there was more to develop.

Kenji Sato, quiet and technical, had also moved on. He stuck to point-based striking and clean footwork. It wasn’t exciting, but it worked.

Only two lightweights hadn’t fought.

Leo Varga, Ivan’s last lightweight, was one of them. He wrestled well and kept opponents stuck on the fence. Not flashy, but reliable. His whole game was control.

His opponent would be Ayo Fasusi from Nigeria. Ayo was powerful and dangerous in bursts.

He hadn’t fought yet, but in training, he was aggressive and unorthodox. Damon had warned his guys to stay sharp around him.

Ayo didn’t move like a regular striker, his angles were wide, but they came fast.

That was the lineup.

Fighters

Ronny McGregor (Ireland)●

Max Taylor (USA)●

Ayo Fasusi (Nigeria)○

Kenji Sato (Japan)●

Ivan’s lightweight team:

Leo Varga (Hungary)○

.

.

Damon’s middleweight team:

José Alvarez (Brazil)●

Theo Brunner (Germany)○

Ivan’s middleweight picks:

Arman Petrov (Russia)○

Chase Dunham (USA)●

Thami Zulu (South Africa)●

Only four hadn’t fought yet. Theo, Ayo, Arman, and Leo.

Everyone else had earned their place or been eliminated.

Damon stood near the cage, checking the board. Fournames left. Two fights remaining.

The semifinals were waiting.

He was about to enter the semifinals with possibly 4 lightweights being from his team.

That meant teammates were going to fight. Two men he had trained from the start. Two he had prepared, guided, and developed. Now he had to pick how to split himself in half.

Damon knew their strengths. He knew their flaws even better. Not just from watching them train but from the data he had fed into his system.

Every movement, every reaction, it all went into the simulations. And the system gave him insights no one else had.

Since the camp began, he had used that knowledge to shape their training. He always built a fighter’s plan around countering their specific opponent.

He hid weaknesses, sharpened tools, and taught them exactly how to shut down threats.

But this time, he’d be the one creating both plans.

If he trained one man to win, he would also be building a plan for the other to lose. There was no way around it.

One idea crossed his mind, splitting the coaching. Let another coach take over one of them. Let someone handle it to keep things clean. But even that felt wrong.

Damon’s edge came from his system. From the quiet help no one else knew about. And that was the real problem.

If he trained one fighter with full effort, system included, then the other was going in at a disadvantage. If he didn’t use the system at all, then both were fighting blind.

He sighed, rubbing his face.

No matter what he chose, it would feel like favoritism. The system had given him an edge this entire tournament, but now that edge threatened the fairness he’d promised to uphold.

He looked up at the cage again.

There was no neutral ground anymore. Not for him.