On February 4th 2011 SFC Marques Daniels of the US Army fought his for his first Professional MMA Championship against Gabriel Miglioli at Lou Neglia's Ring of Combat XXXIV in Atlantic City NJ. Before the fight Marques seemed very cool and calm. He said he was ready. At that moment I had no idea that this fight was going to be the most controversial of the night.
During the introductions both Marques and Gabriel looked nervous. But as soon as the bell rung these two quickly looked calm and focused. After a short feeling out process these two went to war. Quickly trading shots and trying to gain the upper hand against the fence. For every shot one landed the other responded. If one got dazed the other fought back to return the favor. At one point Marques looked in trouble from a kick to his head to only battle back and shoot for a takedown. However while his knee was down Gabriel landed a knee to Marques head. Keith Peterson (REF) quickly called time and let the judges know it was an illegal blow to the head.
At this point the doctors came in and look at the gash that had formed on Marques forehead. I thought they were going to call a no contest. But instead they Disqualify Gabriel and declare Marques Daniels the new Light weight Champion. He had a look of grim triumph on his face. Happy he won but disgusted at the way it happened.
After the fight he tells me “I got caught, I can’t believe I got caught like that.” Gabriel Miglioli then walks by and Marques insists on a rematch. He later told me that he wants to validate his title by winning his way and not having it end by a DQ. He didn’t want to win that way. This fight had all the makings of a great war between two gladiators that were not going to back down. Both looked ready and willing to leave it all in the cage. Hopefully we will still get that war in a rematch.Today Marques Daniels has to shake off any ill effects of the fight and get back to his job as an Active Duty soldier in the US Army. He is stationed at Ft Drum NY and it’s his job to find the very best soldiers to serve in the Army’s Special Forces program. This is no easy task. If you watched the fight and said how does this guy keep coming? Remember what he really does to make a living. As a soldier the cage is training. The job of keeping America free falls on him, and thousands like him all over the world. SFC Marques Daniels not only showed the heart of a champion but also the Army’s Warrior Ethos. He would not back down and he would not accept defeat. Win or lose he showed the heart of a warrior. He showed what the Army has to offer. The Best.
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