CHAPTER 828: CHAPTER 828: STANDING TALL

Damon didn’t linger over Ivan. He gave the referee and medics space as they knelt beside the interim champion.

Then, with a burst of adrenaline, he sprinted toward the cage wall, gripping the top and hauling himself up in one smooth motion.

The crowd erupted as he stood tall above them, pounding his chest with one glove, a wide grin splitting his face.

Cameras flashed from every direction, fans screaming his name, phones raised to capture the moment.

He had eaten some clean shots tonight, Ivan’s counters had tested him, but nothing had left lasting damage.

No swelling worth mentioning, no cut to remember. Just proof of a fight that never broke him.

Damon raised both arms, nodding at the chanting crowd. "Da-mon! Da-mon!" roared through the arena, a thunder that rattled the rafters.

One of the officials rushed over beneath him, waving his hands upward. "Damon, down off the cage. Come on, champ, down now."

Another stepped close, tugging lightly at his ankle. "Easy, Damon. Save it for the post-fight, let’s go."

Damon grinned down at them, giving one last thump to his chest before hopping back down into the Octagon. The officials patted his arms as if to herd him back toward the center.

"Good show, champ, but stay in the cage," one of them muttered, half stern, half respectful.

Damon nodded, bouncing lightly on his toes, still grinning as he looked out at the roaring fans.

The Irish Ronin was still undefeated. Still the king.

Jim Logan’s voice cut in as the crowd still thundered. "Only seconds left in the round, but Ivan couldn’t take that pressure anymore. Those body strikes... man, Damon just broke him down."

Damian Kormier leaned forward. "Yeah, and it wasn’t just the power. It was the way Damon was deciphering everything Ivan threw at him. He was reading him like a book, anticipating, and then punishing the body until it folded him."

Nix added steadily. "That’s the scary part. Ivan Novak is undefeated for a reason, he’s never been dominated like this. And yet, Damon made him look like he didn’t belong in there by the end."

Inside the cage, Ivan was still on one knee, his face twisted with frustration as the referee crouched beside him.

"I can fight," Ivan barked, shaking his head, shoving the medic’s hand away. He pushed up onto both feet, his gloves raised in protest. "I was defending! I was fine!"

The referee raised his palms, staying calm but firm. "You went down, Ivan. You stayed down. You weren’t responding. I had to stop it."

Ivan cursed under his breath in Russian, pacing in a tight circle before pointing at Damon across the cage. "This is not over!" he shouted, chest heaving. "He didn’t finish me, you stopped it!"

The ref stood his ground. "Protect yourself at all times, Ivan. You dropped to a knee holding your body, and you were taking shots, i can’t let it go on."

Ivan smacked his gloves together, still heated, as his corner tried to usher him back. His face was a mix of anger and disbelief, not at Damon, but at the official who ended it.

Jim Logan’s tone shifted as the cameras cut to Ivan pacing and arguing with the referee. "It seems Ivan isn’t happy with the stoppage. He’s still exchanging words with the official, you can see the frustration all over him."

The broadcast rolled into the replay, the slow-motion angle filling the big screens.

"Here’s the clip," Jim continued. "You can see Damon pouring it on, just berating him with strikes against the fence. And watch this, right here, he lands that last body shot, clean to the midsection, and that’s what sends Ivan to one knee."

The replay froze on the moment Ivan dropped, his glove pressing against his ribs.

Damian Kormier chimed in. "Yeah, and look closely. Damon doesn’t even pause, he follows up, and you can clearly hear the referee yelling, ’Fight back!’ That’s his warning. Ivan doesn’t respond, he’s just covering up."

The clip rolled again in real time, showing the ref waving his arms.

Nix picked it up. "And that’s the key. Seeing no action, no intelligent defense, the referee had to step in and end it. That’s his job, to protect the fighter."

The cameras cut back to Ivan, still doubled over slightly, his team trying to calm him down.

Jim spoke again. "Even after the stoppage, Ivan drops fully down, still clutching his body instead of standing up right away. That says it all to me."

Damian nodded. "I mean, in the heat of the moment, of course a fighter’s going to protest. Nobody ever wants a fight stopped on them. But looking at this, it’s a good call."

Nix finished it off. "Especially when you realize, after the horn, after the referee stepped in, Ivan still didn’t get back up. That tells you he was done. The body shots broke him."

Damian Kormier leaned back in his chair, his voice carrying more weight now. "Yeah, I understand, it’s his first loss. And against someone where words had been exchanged for months, a rivalry built up, only to end like this. I can speak from experience, it’s disappointing and it’s frustrating."

Inside the cage, Ivan had finally cooled down, his corner huddled around him, speaking firmly but quietly.

His coach’s hand rested on his shoulder, calming him, reminding him to keep his head high even in defeat.

Ivan nodded slowly, jaw tight, still wincing from the body shots as he listened.

Across the cage, Damon leaned against the fence, gloves resting on the padding. Victor stepped in, giving him a firm pat on the shoulder.

"Beautiful work," Victor said over the noise. "Smart fight. You closed it exactly how you needed to."

Damon gave a small grin, nodding, still breathing steady. The rivalry, the words, the months of tension, it was all done now. He’d proven his point inside the cage.

Soon enough, both fighters were brought to the center of the cage.

Damon stood on one side of the referee, Ivan on the other. Sweat still glistened on their skin under the bright lights.

Ivan’s expression was stone, his jaw locked tight, while Damon looked calm, his chest rising steady as he bounced lightly on his toes.