There are fights that feel like checkboxes and there are fights that feel like turning points. The Malique Lee fight at COGA 86 on May 17th 2025 was a turning point. A TKO finish in round two at the four minute and fifty four second mark. Going into that cage I had not finished a fight by strikes in a while and I had been doing a lot of intentional work specifically to change that. The finish felt earned in a way that is hard to explain if you have never experienced it.
I want to walk through this one thoroughly because I think the story behind the performance is just as important as the performance itself. Results do not come out of nowhere. They come out of specific decisions made over weeks and months before the lights turn on.
What Camp Looked Like
The Malique Lee fight camp was probably the most dialed in camp I have had in my career up to that point. We started eight weeks out and from week one Coach Stanly had a clear plan. We had watched film on Lee and identified that he liked to counter off the back foot. He was patient, disciplined, and waited for opponents to give him openings. He was not someone you could walk through. You had to create the conditions that made him make mistakes.
The answer to that puzzle was pressure. Not reckless pressure. Intelligent pressure. Staying in his face, not giving him room to breathe or reset, and making him feel like he was always being chased. When a counter fighter cannot find the distance he is comfortable in, his tools stop working. Our entire camp was built around suffocating his space.
We also spent a significant amount of time on combination finishing. Landing a single clean shot and then going back to guard was not going to be enough. We drilled finishing combinations over and over until throwing three and four shots after a clean hit became the default response. That drilling directly produced the finish in round two.
My cardio was also a priority heading into this fight. After three rounds in my previous fights I knew that if I was going to pressure a smart, technical fighter for fifteen minutes I needed my engine to be in exceptional shape. We added long morning runs, two a day sessions twice per week, and specific high intensity rounds in the final three weeks of camp. My body was ready.
What Round One Told Me
The first round against Lee was a chess match. He was exactly who the film said he was. Patient, well positioned, and waiting. I worked my jab and tried to find rhythms that would make him react. I was not throwing to land as much as I was throwing to learn. How does he move when I throw the jab? Where does his hand go? What does his head do? Every piece of information you collect in round one is something you can use in round two and three.
I also started body work early. I caught him with a clean left hook to the body midway through round one that he clearly felt. He moved his elbow down to protect it on the next exchange and that told me his attention was being pulled to protecting that side. When a fighter starts thinking about protecting a spot you have created a new option on the other side of his guard.
I came back to the corner after round one feeling calm. Coach Stanly kept the instruction simple. Keep the pressure, stay technical, and trust what we trained. That calm and specific feedback is something I appreciate deeply about working with him. He does not overload you with information between rounds. He gives you exactly what you need and sends you back out with a clear head.
The Finish in Round Two
Round two I came out with more aggression. I wanted him to feel a step change in my pace and intention. Within the first ninety seconds I had him against the cage twice and was landing to both the body and head at a good clip. You could feel the dynamic of the fight shifting. He was no longer patiently waiting. He was managing damage and trying to find a way to turn the fight around.
The finish came off a combination we had drilled literally hundreds of times in the gym. Jab to the body, right hand upstairs, left hook. I caught him clean with the right hand and his reaction told me he was hurt. This time I did not hesitate. I followed immediately with the left hook and more shots as he tried to cover and the referee came in and stopped it. Four minutes and fifty four seconds into round two.
When the referee waved it off I felt an enormous release. Not excitement in the wild way people might expect. More like relief. Deep relief. Proof that the work was real. Every early morning when I did not want to get up. Every hard sparring session. Every drill that felt repetitive. It all lives in those moments of execution under pressure and that night it all showed up.
The Bigger Picture
That finish was also important for me from a confidence standpoint. My three losses earlier in my career all came by stoppage and I think at some level that stayed with me longer than I admitted at the time. Getting a finish by strikes reminded me that I have those tools and the instincts to use them when the moment comes. It changed something in how I see myself as a fighter.
The work continues. Two wins in a row at that point and building toward what would become three. Every fight teaches me something. This one taught me that the pressure style works for me, that drilling finishing combinations pays off, and that the version of me who shows up prepared and focused is a dangerous fighter. I am still building toward the fighter I am going to be. But nights like COGA 86 show me I am on the right path.
