MMA System: I Will Be Pound For Pound Goat-Chapter 551: Welcome to CROSS ERA

There was nothing cleaner than raw joy.

The moment Farc Goddarm dove in to stop the fight, Damon's friends sitting front row exploded like kids who just watched their boy win a street fight back home.

Ash was the loudest, no surprise there.

"LEEEEET'S GOOOOO!!!" he roared, straight up spilling half his beer all over Edward and Ty without even realizing it.

Edward didn't even flinch. Too busy yelling himself, fist clenched tight, slamming the barricade in front of them.

Ty, big as ever, usually chill as hell… wasn't quiet this time either. He was standing up, both arms raised like his team just scored the game-winning touchdown.

Joey? Joey just stood there shaking his head, huge grin on his face, clapping slow, proud as hell.

"Motherf— really did it…" Joey muttered, voice almost drowned out by the roar around them.

All four of them were on their feet now, screaming, shoving each other, laughing like idiots, like proud brothers watching their own take over the world.

But then…

It hit them.

As they looked past the adrenaline and the finish… they saw Damon drop to his knees. Saw Victor pull him in. Saw those tears fall.

Everything calmed for a beat.

Ash stopped yelling. Edward exhaled slow. Ty just stared, nodding once.

And Joey… Joey smiled softer.

"Yeah…" he muttered. "Yeah, he earned that."

They didn't care if it was the biggest arena. If cameras were everywhere. If history was being made.

That was their guy.

That was Damon Cross.

Champion of the world.

Back inside the cage, Damon still stood there… feeling the weight of the belt wrapped tightly around his waist. The reality still settling in.

The gold glinted under the bright arena lights, every inch of it feeling heavier than he thought, not just in weight, but in meaning.

Near the commentary table, Jim Logan stood up, adjusting his shirt, that signature calm but gritty energy about him.

His bald head was shining like a spotlight all on its own.

Mike Brewer on commentary let out a small chuckle.

Mike Brewer: "Look at these two, Ronan Black and Jim Logan out here looking like long lost twins."

Chris Dalton: "Hey, when you build em tough, they come with the chrome dome."

Jim made his way toward the cage, passing Ronan Black near the steps. The two men shared a brief handshake, both smirking like seasoned veterans of this world.

Ronan clapped Jim on the shoulder with that typical roughness.

Jim nodded, stepping inside the Octagon.

The moment he approached Damon, Damon turned, belt still tight around his waist, still marked with blood on his shorts.

Jim smiled, extending his hand.

"Congratulations, champ," Jim said, shaking Damon's hand firmly.

Damon nodded, that calm grin of his sliding through the exhaustion.

And then Jim turned toward the roaring crowd, microphone in hand, ready to talk to the new king of the middleweight division.

Jim Logan raised the mic, voice steady but full of pride.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I am here with the winner and NEW UFA Middleweight Champion of the World... Damon Cross!"

The crowd erupted again, shaking the arena one more time.

Jim turned to Damon, a small grin on his face.

"Damon... man... how does it feel? How does it feel to stand here tonight, gold around your waist, after everything you've been through?"

Damon stood there for a second.

Silent.

Looking around.

His chest rose and fell slowly, eyes moving over the sea of fans, his people chanting, screaming his name, chanting "CROSS! CROSS! CROSS!"

He finally brought the mic to his mouth.

"It's... hard to even put in words."

He looked down at the belt for a second, shook his head slightly.

"First... I wanna thank every single person in this arena tonight. Every fan at home. Ireland. Japan. The U.S. I see all of you, and I feel all of you. Thank you."

The crowd roared again.

"I wanna thank my coach, Victor..." Damon paused, eyes briefly moving to his corner, where Victor stood watching like a proud father.

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"More than a coach... that's my family right there. Like a father to me. Without him, I'm not standing here."

He turned slightly, pointing at the front row.

"To my brothers over there, Joey, Ash, Edward, Ty, Ashley back at home."

The camera briefly panned to the boys in the front row going crazy, banging on the rails like wild men.

Then Damon looked right into the camera.

"To my mothers, both of them... I love you. To my beautiful fiancée, Svetlana... and to our unborn baby watching at home..."

Damon's eyes glinted with something deeper, something new.

"I fight a lot. Fighting is my life. But without them?"

He shook his head slowly.

"Without them... all this means nothing. Without them, I have nothing to fight for."

The entire arena cheered again, this wasn't just a fighter speaking. This was a man who'd climbed from the dirt to the crown.

Jim nodded slowly, visibly impressed.

Jim Logan continue asking analytical questions which damon answered, it finally came to tye last, holding the mic, still smiling like a man impressed beyond words, nodded.

"Thank you so much, Damon. And once again, congratulations. But before I let you go... any last words for the world watching right now?"

Damon looked out at the crowd for a long second, breathing it in.

Then he stepped closer, calmly pulling the mic towards him.

His voice came steady, low... but heavy.

"Darkness... is not the end."

The crowd quieted, leaning in.

"Pain... is not the end."

He shook his head, glancing down at the belt on his waist.

"I've been in both. I've lived through both. And I've gotten to the other side."

Damon's eyes stared directly into the camera now, talking to whoever needed to hear it.

"I give you my word... if you keep working for that goal, if you keep fighting to better yourself, even when it's hard, even when it hurts... you will be better. You will find your way. Things will work out."

Pause.

Then the smallest, knowing grin broke on his face.

"But with that being said..."

He stepped back, his voice rising for the final line.

"I would like to officially... WELCOME the world of MMA... into the CROSS ERA."

BOOM.

The crowd EXPLODED.

The chants roared louder than ever.

"CROSS! CROSS! CROSS! CROSS!"

Jim just chuckled into the mic.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your new UFA Middleweight Champion... Damon Cross!"

Even Ronan Black stood in the back with the largest smile, this was the kind of champion he wanted promotable.

He smiled so wide you would think it was James Jonas staning infront of him.

The camera zoomed in on Damon standing dead center in the cage, belt shining, face calm, eyes burning with something unshakable.

The Cross Era... had begun.