(Continued) "Are you ready for some action?" he announces.

The crowd's response is deafening. Cordeiro names the judges, referees and sponsors of the night's events. The main sponsor, Hitman Promotions, gets a lengthy introduction before the first fight is announced.

One of the F2 Arena teammates is up first. Braswell finds a spot from which to cheer.

The fighters await the starting bell as a ring girl, clad in a tight, revealing red dress, makes a single trip around the ring holding a "ROUND 1" sign. Cordeiro and the ring girl exit the cage and the door is fastened.

The referee dons a pair of surgical gloves-just in case there's blood. A few seconds later, the bell sounds. At first, both fighters are cautious, not wanting to make the first move or take the first hit.

A low kick is sent out and misses its target. Braswell's teammate lunges in and throws his opponent to the ground.

The crowd erupts with the first bit of excitement-nothing brings the crowd to its feet like a good slam.

The cage makes it hard to see and the F2 Arena team searches for signs that their man is getting the job done.

He is. It's a typical ground and pound-one fighter in a dominant position above the other, sending a volley of fists into his opponent's face. After a short struggle, the fight is over. F2 Arena has its first win.

Less than five minutes pass before the next fight begins. Braswell is behind a makeshift curtain focusing on his upcoming battle. His opponent arrives. They are going to be third from last on the fight card.

The night passes quickly as most of the fights end before the second round. Bad news comes as Braswell learns that one of his teammates has lost his match with a grappler. The team will be depending on their last fighter to make F2 Arena's night a 2-1.

After a 10-minute intermission, it's Braswell's turn to enter the cage.

The crowd awaits the entrance of the fighters as the dance music stops. A familiar whistle blares from the speakers. It's the theme from the classic Clint Eastwood western "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly." Braswell emerges from behind the curtain wearing only a cowboy hat, bicycle shorts and gloves especially suited for NHB fighting. He raises his arms high and gets a boisterous welcome from the crowd.

His theme stops as he enters the cage and removes the hat. Dance music introduces his opponent, Miguel Olmo, but Braswell pays little attention. He paces from one side of the cage to the other. A new ring girl, dressed in a black mini skirt and a mesh top that does nothing to hide her bra, makes a quick pass and is led out.

The cage door is sealed and the ref takes his spot between the fighters. He checks to see if they're ready and signals the officials. The fighters shift on the balls of their feet as all of the anxiety of the night boils into a single instant and… ding.

It starts. They approach slowly, circling each other and looking for an opening. Olmo fires a high kick that grazes Braswell's face, but overextends himself in the process.

Braswell lunges in and brings his opponent to the ground. Olmo struggles to get to his back and defend but isn't fast enough. Braswell has the mount. From above his opponent, he delivers punch after punch.

Olmo tries to escape, but instead makes another devastating mistake. While trying to crawl out from underneath his attacker, he turns too far. Braswell immediately shifts to work for a rear strangle, throwing occasional punches to soften up his prey.

Olmo covers up. The punching stops for an instant and he makes one last desperate attempt to escape. He releases his cover and puts his arm to the canvas, making his final mistake.

Braswell seizes the arm, wrapping it up and holding it tight to his torso. It almost gets away from him, but he pulls hard and extends it. His legs are in place around Olmo's head and torso, and all that is needed to finish the arm bar is to bridge.

Braswell arches his back, hyper-extending the arm at the elbow joint. It's a short struggle before the pain becomes unbearable. Olmo taps the mat, signaling his concession, and the ref pulls them apart.

The entire encounter is over in little more than a minute. Braswell leaps onto one side of the cage, raising his arms high and basking in the jubilant approval of the crowd.

He hops down and hugs his former opponent before making his way to the door. He steps out of the cage and into a sea of congratulations, most from his teammates and friends, some from complete strangers.

The tension is gone. All that is left is to celebrate.

Braswell has done his job and made his team proud. There is no talk of the next fight or the next training session, but soon enough the celebration will end. In just a few days he'll start training for his next fight, his next challenge, his next opportunity to conquer the fears that would keep him from victories like the one he earned tonight-in the cage.