Peter Clinch may have lost his Supremacy Fighting Championship middleweight title fight, but he is far from a beaten man.
The 30-year-old Dunedin mixed martial arts fighter lost Saturday night's fight by a split decision, 29-28, to Napier man Daniel Digby in Auckland.
Clinch said while he was disappointed to not come home with the belt, he was pleased with the effort he had put in and the experience he had gained.
"To see I am on par and competitive with the best New Zealand has to offer is a big confidence-booster," Clinch said.
It was the first time in Digby's 18-fight career that he had been taken the distance.
Clinch said before the fight many people had given him no chance of testing Digby so it was incredibly rewarding to prove them wrong.
He said that in the first of three five-minute rounds, he had control of Digby on the ground, but an unintentional blow to the back of the head, which is illegal, saw both men put back on their feet and Digby went on to win the round.
Clinch said that first round was a crucial one. He was in a dominant position and it could have been the "start of the end" for Digby.
Clinch went on to win the second round.
Digby gained control late in the third round, leaving Clinch with a black eye, which he described as a workplace hazard.
The loss was Clinch's first in six fights.
He had no complaints about Digby winning and said he would love a rematch but would have to have other fights first.
