Vanishing? But Bagent hasn't vanished, he still armwrestles. For those who think he's backed out, I'll tell you that he's in no position to be a leader in the heavyweight division. Yes, he fights and wins still. But where and with whom? Compared to his past, most of his recent wins were just mere sparrings. And therein lies the rub: Travis just isn't where we expect him to be.

It's too early to say that time broke the man. He's only 38, and as history has proved, this is not a bad age to compete in armwrestling. Besides that, he's once stated that he'll always be an armwrestler. Because he doesn't see it asa sport, but as a way of life, a part of himself.

His image of a brutal fighter was solidified thanks to the Game of Arms project. He fought, he lost, he won, he played the part. We all remember the sensational Semerenko – Bagent fight, when the tensions were so high that the fighters had to be separated, so as the fight didn't go outside the table. But we'll speakon his charisma and skill another time. Let's get back to his sports career.

He showed his best game in the Game of Arms show. But the crucial word here is "show", the sports aspect being in the shadow.Character and ambition has brought him even more fame, made him the most popular character in the project.

This year he competed in a WAL tournament, where he placed 1^st in left hand, heavy weight. In roght hand, he was stopped by Dave Chaffee, who pushed him down to 2^nd place.

In August, Travis fought in an armfight with a middle-range opponent – Chop Bertrand. The fight went in a typical Bagent style – he was in control, basking in the crowd's admiration. He "jokingly" beat his opponent in 1^st and 3^rd round, he went a little too farin the 2^nd, and Chop took him down. Which doesn't mean that Bagent wasn't prepared, it just means he underestimated his opponent and got cocky. All the latest events show that Bagent is in good form, that he could take on the top in the heavyweights. But when will he start fighting the best European guys? This is a question only Bagent cananswer. He knows what he's doing for sure, he has to have his reasons not to be in A1 or Nemiroff's. Everything in its time. Apparently Bagent thinks his time has not come yet.

Everyday Bagent grows stronger, perfects his main weapon, on which we'll talk about in another part of this series.

Artur Grigorian