It all started out fairly worrying, when less than half the seats in the new arena had asses on them. You could see a different type of tension brewing, but this time it was on the faces of the sponsors, organizers and anyone else that had a stake in ticket sales. Action was always going to be guaranteed but it just needed an audience to unfold to.

The event kicked off rather late with rap artist Francis M doing an excellent rendition of our national anthem. Despite a thin crowd, he continued with some high energy hits and introduced the line up of fighters. There were 10 matches in all, with 6 titles up for grabs.

The first six bouts, although very good, only managed to solicit sporadic outbursts from the crowd. This was going to be a long night and they seemed to be conserving their energy.

Fight 8, between Philip Yeung and Caloy Baduria was the first to turn the tide and set the stage for the main event by producing the most outstanding fight of the night up until that point. They had the crowd up onto their feet from the first sound of the bell and kept the action on the boil for almost two breathtaking minutes of spectacular striking action. Caloy eventually got the better of his opponent with a flurry of punches, the last of which knocking the wind out of Philip, causing him to surrender. Kudos to both fighters. They were amazing.

Next it was TJ time, and although the undefeated heavyweight URCC champion made light work of his opponent, he shocked the crowd with an unexpected announcement that this would be his last tournament. He would retire with another victory and a perfect record. As tough as his opponent, Adolf Gannaban, proved to be, you almost thought that TJ was just playing around. His corner kept yelling out, "stop playing, and finish it. Put some power into the punches."

As soon as the referee called of the fight, (I'm not sure if Adolf tapped out or not) TJ, began cradling him and was seemingly apologizing for any pain he may have caused. It really was an incredible sight to see. The undefeated champion really lived up to his name, 'The Gentle Giant'

But nothing came close to the energy of the main event. The San Juan gymnasium shook with the chorus of the fans that chanted out the names of their heroes. Mayor JV Ejercito had supported this event and was on hand to witness the mayhem that was about to break loose. All of a sudden, it felt like the crowd had tripled in size. Whatever they lacked in numbers, they over compensated for in participation and excitement.

Lasprilla and Tagle delivered exactly as advertised.

Both fighters came out swinging. Their adrenaline was contagious. It looked as though Tagle had the advantage during the opening, but Lasprilla reversed the punishment towards the end. By this stage, the crowd were not just on their feet - they were on each other's feet, climbing over one another trying to steal a glance at what was undoubtedly the most amazing bout I've ever seen in my life.

Most would agree that if it were a scored match, Lasprilla would have won. But that’s not how it works. After 2 incredible, 10 minute rounds, both fighters remained standing, which by the rules, declared it a draw - ending the 8th installment of URCC: Undisputed, with more questions than answers and another stab at irony.