The longtime martial artist had set up some fighters from the his native country of Georgia to compete for a friend's amateur promotion in North Carolina. The process of getting them over to the United States was difficult and the athletes were stuck on a plane for more than 30 hours.
"Their backs were destroyed," Seppy said. "They were tired. They came down and cut weight. That day, they had to fight. They lived up to it like warriors. They just did it and they won."
Makashvili was one of them. He won easily, but was not satisfied.