The fight began with Courchaine trying to slug it out with Bristol with powerful strikes to the head, but Bristol’s defenses held up well. An early punch caught Bristol on the side of the head, but Bristol remained calm.

Bristol controlled the fight, and when Courchaine tried to kick, Bristol took him down and dominated him with strikes to the head and stomach in a north-south position. The fight ended quickly when Bristol locked his opponent’s arm in a painful Kimura.

Bristol’s game is better than ever. He’s deadly not only in his standup, but his technique in submissions has cobra-like effectiveness. You don’t want to get tied up with Bristol. His unusual strength and speed combined with his technique are paying off in the ring.

After the fight, Bristol reflected, “I felt really good, totally calm throughout this fight, and I had a really great corner helping me. God is good.”

Sequim has it’s own professional mixed martial arts fighter, cage fighter Bristol Marunde. You may have seen UFC or IFL fighting on TV or cable.

I took this photo at his Saturday night fight in Shelton, Washington, April 5, 2008, while three famous fighters, Matt Hume, Rich Franklin, and Frank Mir watched Bristol’s fight ringside. Bristol is my son.

It was an intense grueling two rounds as Bristol faced Noah Inhofer (Miletich Fighting Systems) , who took repeated punches from Bristol throughout the fight. Bristol has incredible power, speed, and technique, and Noah did extremely well facing a steady onslaught of punishment. Bristol clearly dominated the fight, but Noah did rock Bristol a couple of times with quick strikes to the face, a strong kick to the abdomen, and a solid kick to Bristol’s left leg.

Most of the fight Noah was in defensive mode, largely because Bristol’s attacks were intense and unrelenting for two rounds. They call it cage fighting, because both fighters are inside a cage from which there is no escape. Wherever Noah went, Bristol was there hammering, and when he wasn’t throwing vicious punches, he was slamming Noah to the mat and showing the hundreds of fight fans what grappling and submission fighting is all about.

As I watched the fight, it occurred to me that Noah was facing his worse nightmare by trading blows with Bristol, unless it was grappling on the mat with Bristol. Come to think of it, getting in the cage with Bristol was probably not the safest thing Noah has done.

Just before the starting bell rang for the third round, Noah’s corner announced that he could not come out.

I talked with Noah after the fight. He was very gracious and even apologetic for not being able to come out for the third round. He said he had been temporarily blinded in one of his eyes. We figured out that was because Noah had been hit so many times by Bristol’s deadly strikes to the temple area around the side of his head. Congratulations Bristol for a well earned victory, and an honorable mention to Noah who fought well under the circumstances.

For you fight fans, see more of Bristol Marunde cage fighter photos from the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Washington.

[While most of Chuck's writing focuses on his expertise in real estate, Chuck has also been a featured author and photographer for Ultimate Grappling Magazine.]