Unlikely success - Zane Peltier"s rise to Syn.

Editorial by Jolon Williams

Zane Peltier

22 - 6 - 0

If anyone had said early on in Peltier's career, that he would be destined for greatness, that person would have probably been met with, in the least, a rather skeptical gaze. An unremarkable fighter under the management of an unremarkable and then barely known Jolon Williams, Peltier didn't have a lot going for him. With Williams' stable still in the dawn of it's creation, and the world's economy being a far weaker one that it is now, the fighters in his care could not afford the private training that Williams stable fighters enjoy today. Peltier spent the majority of his youth in a dirty, ill equipped and cramped public gym for his training purposes, and despite his eagerness to learn, simply was unable to reach any true potential.

''It was terrible, absolutely terrible. This absolutely rundown gym in the middle of nowhere, even for Rio. But it was the only place available at the time, the only place we could afford. I had to make the best of it, but always in the back of my mind, I kept thinking. What if? What if this is why I lose? Because I simply didn't have access to the same kind of training as I knew other fighters did?''

His professional career as a fighter kicked off to an unremarkable start as well. Participating in a local organisation's featherweight tournament, Peltier would manage to push through to the finals with his submission prowess after two consecutive victories, only to be defeated on the mat after an ill advised game plan and poor execution of an already poor gameplan. There was no triumph, no celebrations to be had that day, as Peltier lay morose in the wake of his first professional loss.

But where an unremarkable career may have simply ended there and then, on a less than satisfying note, Peltier instead felt a flame light beneath him, and he began training with a renewed vigor.

''It was as though a light suddenly went off in my head. I realised, that was my first loss out of the way. The pressure was off. My thoughts were suddenly clear. I put the gloves back on and hit the gym again. Only this time, I wasn't afraid of that loss anymore. Just anticipating the wins to come.''

And the wins did come. The wins came rolling in. After scoring an upset victory over one of the organisation's forefront featherweights, the company would go defunct. Peltier would not have to wait long for a contract though, signing with Hilo organisation TDCL, making the jump from featherweight to lightweight. This is where he would truly start coming into his own.

''I'm pretty sure I was brought in as a can, if I'm being completely honest with you. I was this completely unremarkable fighter. 3-1, decent grappling skills but nothing amazing. And immediately upon signing, I was locked in to fight this undefeated prospect from the QFC circuits. Funny thing is, he didn't even manage to make it out of the first round. I guess the brass was impressed by that, because I was granted a title shot immediately following that.''

And a title shot was precisely what he received. In an effort to crown their first lightweight champion, Peltier was pitted against notorious striker specialist, Frank Mac.

''I remember that fight well, and the lead-up to it. See, this was a time when the grappling aspect of MMA was less utilised than it is today. The whole MMA game was based around who could hit harder. Everyone was telling me it was a mismatch, that I didn't stand a chance. That I was only being used as a hype springboard to launch this guy back to the top after what was apparently a bit of a hiatus. I almost believed them. Almost. Turns out, he didn't make it out the first either.''

Any critics ceased their naysaying of Peltier's potential following the victory over a highly favoured Frank Mac. Indeed, Peltier would go on to defend the championship five times, holding it for nearly two whole years of his career, before dropping it to Donnie Jackson in the competitor's second bid for Peltier's title.

''To be honest with you, by that point, I'd been getting a bit bored, and was suffering from lack of motivation. I was being pitted against either guys I'd already defeated only a couple fights ago, or guys who had no business being in the cage with me, from both a hype and skill standpoint. Donnie Jackson being a prime case. I'd only just defeated him one fight before my last, and he was already being put into contendership again? I just was losing interest. I even told the owner that, or rather, had my management do so. That fight was my last in the organisation, win or lose, take the title or no. I just lacked the motivation to actually keep the gold. Guess you could say I intentionally threw the fight, so really, that loss doesn't even count.''

Whether one agrees with Peltier's opinion on this or not, his dominance whilst reigning as champion in TDCL was undeniable, and it wasn't long before he was repeating his success in his next stop ... SPFT, based in St. Petersburg. Here, Peltier would notch his first victory before once again being placed into title contendership. It seemed as though, wherever he went, Peltier was simply destined to dominate, the doubts from so long ago, all but forgotten to all who followed him.

''Honestly, it felt good. My waist had gotten used to accommodating the extra weight that comes with championship gold, not really sure what I'd do without it. Luckily, I never really had to find out. Even after they pitted me against this highly favoured Finn guy, where I was once again told I stood no chance. And where, once again, the fight never left the first round. I'm starting to see a pattern there, actually.''

After dropping the title, once again due to boredom, as Peltier would so proclaim, and annoyance at having to fight the same fighters, fighters who 'had no business being in the cage with him', Peltier would make the drop back to his natural weightclass, signing on for the UPG Vegas featherweight division. Here, he would suffer a minor setback. Suffering two consecutive losses, it seemed already as though Peltier's star was fading. Harsh, perhaps, yet sometimes in the MMA world, a couple losses is the only thing between stardom and complete irrelevance. Peltier would manage to bounce back following the two losses, however, scoring two consecutive wins before nevertheless leaving the organisation with an unimpressive record of 2 and 2, making it the only organisation he had ever competed in since his debut where he had not held a title.

''Honestly? I think it was the drop in weight. I'd made my name in the lightweight division, I was used to fighting there at the time. So suddenly jumping in there with guys who were a lot smaller, and a lot quicker, it threw me. I mean, that fight with Sawa in particular still really gnaws at me. It was my fault for letting him get into such a position where the referee might mistakenly think I had tapped. I didn't, mind you. That was a complete misunderstanding. I never tapped. But it must have looked like I did, somehow, and I guess that was my fault.''

Peltier was at a crossroads here. He could either move on to the next organisation, recover and dominate like he always had previously, or fall back into a downward spiral and become that flash in a pan that almost made it, but never quite did. As it turns out, Peltier is no flash in the pan. Signing on with SPNY, Peltier would re-impose himself upon the lightweight division rankings, crushing his opposition and quickly obtaining yet another title shot. Indeed, Peltier would go on to remain undefeated throughout his stay at SPNY, even defeating Swan Song camp prospect Teddy Westside twice whilst doing so, a factor which he claimed contributed to his leaving the organisation.

''It was just boredom striking again, you know? I mean, they had nobody for me. Nobody. Westside was easily the most dangerous guy in that division. If I could beat him twice, what was the point in me staying? I even took a superfight at Vicious Fights in the meanwhile, hoping they'd find someone new. But no, all they did was offer me Westside a second time. That's when I knew I was going to leave. I took the fight, I won it and I left.''

Whilst no longer a part of the organisation, Peltier does still remain to this day, the official lightweight champion of the organisation, even after signing with one of the premiere organisations in the world, Synchronicity, after a failed bid at the Icon project.

''It did suck to lose against Cid, but I guess some things aren't meant to be. I mean, if I'd won against him, then I never would have signed with Syn! And if I hadn't signed with Syn, I'd never be where I am now, never would have known if I was truly capable of competing with the greats or not. Hey, I still think the scoring in that fight was way off, alright? No way Cid beat me. But still, things happen for a reason.''

With his debut at Syn on the horizon, Zane was nevertheless little more than an afterthought on the decorated card. Full of talent and well known fighters, Peltier found himself dwarfed in the spotlight for the first time since his debut all the way back in IFC.

''It was kind of intimidating, you know? I mean, this is SYN we're talking about! All the big guys go there. I mean, even though my fight was supposed to be a title fight, it still didn't change the fact that I just wasn't even close to anybody's main concern, I wasn't the guy people had come to see. It was a strange feeling. But at the same time, it was inspiring too, you know? Like, I wanted to become that guy they came to see, the guy they pay top prices for just so they can see him ... me, fight.''

And in a way, they did. But not in the way Peltier had expected, for that night, a double dose of controversy would strike. In a five round bout, generally reserved for title bouts, as this fight was meant to be, Peltier would pull out all the stocks in an extremely close fought battle with McDonnel camp's own, Chauncey Silvestre.

Peltier is looking to advance position but Silvestre has hit a scissor sweep - now he's on top in mount!
Silvestre looking to finish with strikes here!

Peltier goes for an armbar! This could be all over! Wait, no, Silvestre rolls with the submission and now he's on top in Peltier's guard! Nice work there by Silvestre!

Peltier is sneaking out the side here. He's bucked Silvestre off and has taken his back!

>Peltier postures up as if he's going to throw some strikes but drops back for an ankle! Silvestre is in big trouble! He looks ready to tap! But no, he's escaped and dives on top of Peltier, into his guard.

With neither fighter managing to finish the other, the decision would go to the judges. This would be the first controversial strike.

''I remember thinking, after the fight ... did I do enough? And I kind of remember thinking, you know what ... I don't think I did. It was a tense moment, before they revealed the cards. I knew I'd performed well, but Silvestre had done a good job keeping me from grappling my all on the mat, and that feeling just kept nagging at me, you know? What if. What if I really hadn't done enough.''

Ladies and gentlemen, after 5 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Chris Downing scores the fight 47:48
Judge Cecil Peabody scores the fight 47:48
Judge Gwen Towbar scores the fight 48:47

In favor of your winner, by split decision... Zane Peltier!

But as it turns out, the judges disagreed with Peltier. At least, two of them did. The scorecards came up, one by one. 47:48, 47:48 ... 48:47. Despite the last judge marking Peltier as the losing party, Peltier would win the fight via split decision, and for a second, it seemed as though young Peltier, only no longer quite so young, had made it. On one of the grandest stages of them all, Peltier had won the featherweight championship at Syn.

''I was honestly speechless, which is a pretty damn hard thing to accomplish, for me. I wouldn't say I couldn't believe it, as I really am that damn good ... but it's still something you have to process, you know? A title, at Syn. That's the dream. That's when you KNOW you've made it. They have all these top guys, and you're above all of them. That's not something someone can take away from you.''

Except that ... it was. The second dose of controversy would strike as the crowd and Peltier alike awaited the championship to be awarded to him ... only for a member of brass to come out from the back, and whisper something to the cageside official. The crowd was silenced, and Peltier's joy was upheaved with the following announcement. Due to a mix-up in the contract, the fight signed had NOT been officially issued, or acknowledged as a title fight. Peltier was not the new featherweight champion.

''I went home that night, and I'm not ashamed to say it, I was disappointed. More than disappointed, practically broken hearted man. For one short minute, I thought I'd made it. Instead, it turns out Silvestre and I had battled it out for a grueling five rounds ... for nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was just, really demoralising. Gotta tell you, I saw many a bottom of a bottle that night. And not for the right reasons. I should have been celebrating. It was a good victory. But I just couldn't, not with that knowledge over my head, that for one short minute, I'd been champion ... except that I hadn't.''

Despite a rematch for the title being put on the table, Syn management would instead opt to grant Lester Green the title shot, pitting Peltier instead against none other than Kyle Le Blanc, a name that any MMA enthusiast would recognise. Despite his lasting despondence over the mix-up regarding the title, Peltier would seize this new opportunity with renewed vigor.

''Was I still disappointed? Course I was! You don't get over that kind of thing in a day. But this was Kyle Le Blanc man. One of the best bantamweights/featherweights at the peak of his career. How could I turn that down? This was beyond a title shot, man. This was my real test. To see if I really had what it took. If I was really worthy of being called a great myself. And guess what? I am.''

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Don Winkell scores the fight 29:28
Judge Jack Bonds scores the fight 29:28
Judge Frank Antenori scores the fight 29:28

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Zane Peltier!

In what was perhaps one of the greatest upsets in the division's history, Peltier would utilise his grappling skills to his advantage, taking the fight to the mat where he would work LeBlanc over. Despite being once again unable to finish the fight, Peltier would earn a clean, unanimous decision victory over the respected veteran of the sport, solidifying his status as a true contender in the sport.

''LeBlanc was demanding an inquest after the fight, as though the victory wasn't clean cut and obvious. Guess he wasn't happy at the thought of losing to me ... then again, I can't say I blame him. All these elite fighters, with their elite training? I'm from the middle of nowhere, bitches. I trained in a rundown Rio gym which smelt worse than your grandma's BO. I literally came from nothing, from nowhere, and I'm beating some of the best the sport has to offer, guys who received one on one private training thanks to mummy and daddy's trust fund. The only one on one time I ever got with my coaches was I happened to walk in on him taking a piss. But there's some things that all the training in the world can't teach you, and those things are what I possess. I'm the real deal. I'm a featherweight great, a lightweight great. Even if you don't think I look it. That's what I am.''

Following his victory over LeBlanc, the rematch between Silvestre and Peltier has officially been scheduled for Syn 268. And this time, the lawyers were able to catch a misprint in the contract, the same one which had caused such pains the last time around ... even if it was after Mr. Peltier's over eager signature was already scribbled all over it. Said attorneys are currently at work to rectify the situation, but Peltier assures me that the fight will, indeed, be for the title. And towards this, he had only one thing to say.

''Silvestre. I beat you once already, just weeks ago. Some people don't think it was a clean win. Maybe it wasn't. Even I'll admit it was a close fight. But there won't be anything controversial about the next fight between us. I'll rip your arm off and take my rightful place at the helm of the division. That title is rightfully mine. You know it. I know it, the world knows it. You were saved by a technicality in the fine print. So enjoy your reign while you can, because that's all your reign is ever going to amount to, all it's ever going to be remembered as. A technicality.''

Can Peltier do as he so claims, and defeat SIlvestre once again to claim the title for his own?

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