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While his professional debut didn’t go quite the way he planned, Perryville jiu-jitsu instructor Chad Morrison said he enjoyed the experience.
“It was definitely neat,” said Morrison, who lost a brown belt match to opponent Neal Lewis by submission in Saturday’s Fuji World Pro event at Matteson Square Garden in St. Peters. “We were treated like royalty. I saw a lot of friends that I actually started jiu-jitsu with that were the same belt rank and here they were competing in the same pro show, guys from St. Louis, Springfield, Ill., they were there. The main event with Kyle Watson, a UFC veteran — it was neat to see all them compete, to see some things in their game I want to put into mine.
“It’s all about evolving and growing.”
On paper, Morrison, 6-6, 230 pounds, had a reach advantage over Lewis, who checks in at 5-9, but Lewis’ weight advantage — nearly 100 pounds — proved to be insurmountable as the match went on.
“I don’t feel like I did anything wrong,” Morrison said.
“I just feel like he maybe did a couple things a little better. I had a game plan; I went in and I performed my game plan the way I thought, made a quick little adjustment in the middle of my game plan and try to throw him. He reversed it and ended up on top.”
After a reset to put both competitors back into the center of the mat, the 43-year-old Lewis was able to get a paper cutter choke on Morrison and used the weight difference to his advantage.
“I gave him a hell of a fight,” Morrison said. “He was just so big. He outweighed me by like 100 pounds and started putting all that weight on the center of my chest. It just felt like a refrigerator.”
Morrison had slipped a similar choke earlier, but this time, Lewis was able to maintain the pressure and force the submission.
“You use what works for you,” Morrison said. “He’s definitely a bigger, heavier guy and it kept me down there long enough for him to work his plan. He tried to put a paper cutter choke on me one time and I actually escaped it. Then he made some adjustments and put a second paper cutter on me and I could get out of that one.”
After the bout, Lewis praised Morrison, calling him “freaking strong.”
“Thanks for the opportunity,” Lewis wrote on Facebook. “I’m sure we’ll have a rematch sometime soon!”
Morrison, meanwhile, called Lewis a needed test.
“Like I told you before, I needed this match to help me be a better me,” Morrison responded.
“I feel we did a great job for the fans.”
Tuesday, Morrison had nothing but thanks for all his supporters and praised his son and coach for the bout, Kobe Morrison.
“Kobe knows my game better than anybody,” Morrison said. “He had his 10 th birthday on the mats — he’s 19 now. He knows how I move, he knows my facial expressions, he knows my body language. He can tell when I’m getting aggravated, what to tell me to get me to slow back down. It’s almost like my umbilical cord out there.”
Morrison said he’s already looking forward to his next match, although he’s not sure when it will be.
“I’ve already been invited to the next pro show in Houston,” said Morrison, who owns a landscaping company in addition to running jiu-jitsu academies in both Perryville and Sparta, Ill., “but I don’t know if I’m going do that one, because that’s in the middle of my busy season in May. I know they’re going to have one in Chicago in like September so I may hit that one. I’m extremely thankful for everybody who supported me in any way, shape or form — all that’s greatly appreciated.
“And I’ll definitely be back again this year on the pro circuit. I’ll get the ‘W’ next time for sure.”
