While intensity continued to rise through the night, so did the ring announcer’s excitement. Fight after fight, K.C. Lupp’s time on the microphone seemed to grow.
“Ladies and gentlemen, before I get to this, I want to thank you,” Lupp said from the center of the XFN cage before the main event. “My name is K.C. Lupp, your ring announcer for Xtreme Fight Night 367. It’s so good to be back. It’s so good to be at River Spirit Casino here in Tulsa, Oklahoma and thank you to everyone watching on UFC FIGHT PASS! Make some noise, Tulsa! And now we’ve reached it. The main event. Are you ready? For $10,000 let’s bring these kickboxers back to the cage.”
After the extended intros, both fighters were given their final introductions, and following a close up to the camera, a Ric Flair “Woo!” and a dramatically spaced out, “Here we go!” the cage doors were closed, and the fight was on.
Morrow and Dennis went the distance, giving everything that was left in the tank to secure their own Cinderella story. Would Morrow, the man who came into the tournament as an alternate, walk out victorious or would Dennis carry the redemption high from his finish in the quarterfinals all the way to the tournament championship? The two waited on the judges’ scorecards with the money and the title on the line when it happened.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I want you to make some noise for these kickboxers right here,” ring announcer K.C. Lupp said as the fighters and fans waited for the decision to be read. “An exhausting night of fighting all comes down to this. It goes to the judges’ table after three rounds. Judge Mike Bauer scores the bout 29-28, Rob Morrow. Judge Sarah Atwood scores the bout 29-28, Demoreo Dennis. Judge David Sutherland scores the bout 29-28 for your winner by split decision, the heavyweight tournament champion and winner of $10,000, out of the BLUE CORNER!”
Immediately Dennis threw both hands up in celebration and for about two seconds thought he was walking out a different man than he came in.
“No!” Lupp abruptly said on the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, we wrote blue. I’m sorry it says blue. But it is a split decision. It is out of the red corner. It is Rob “The Destroyer” Morrow.”
Disappointment set in for the Oklahoma native, but Dennis never hung his head. He simply congratulated Morrow and went back to the dressing room as it all hit him.
“I admit when I was backstage taking my stuff off it stung a little bit,” Dennis said. “I left with a good amount of money, but it could have been more.”
There was no embarrassment from Dennis. He even felt no ill will towards ring announcer K.C. Lupp for the missed call. Dennis was more annoyed with the judges’ scorecards than anybody else involved in making his Charlie Brown moment a viral video.
“I’m fine,” Dennis said. “I know I beat every person they put in front of me. From the looks of it, it just looks like a judge didn’t like me.”