MartialArtsNomad.com

MartialArtsNomad.com made its way from the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu seminar in Port Alberni to Summer Slugfest IV in Victoria BC. Summer Slugfest is an outdoor fight event organized by Peteric’s Gym, hosted this year on the grounds of Velox Rugby Club. We BJJ students had to blast down to Slugfest IV directly from Port Alberni to meet up with our team, which included two fighters on the card. The blue sky held, the weather was warm enough, the crowd was at capacity to enjoy the 14 fights on the card.

Highlights Reel

I have put together a highlights reel of what I shot with my video cam during the night, with shots from around the grounds, fighters warming up, card girls, and of course some action from some of the fights.

Over the course of the night, I shot 321 pics during the event and recorded fights for Moghaddam vs Downey (mt), McCurdy vs Bergen (kb), Ladki vs Aquino (kb), and Sharma vs Valiquett (mma).

Chase Ingalls

Other fights on the card worth noting was an appearance by Chase Ingalls against Robert Durkenson. Chase Ingalls is looking more and more like a fighter with a promising future after his unanimous win in the ring at Slugfest IV.

Chase Ingalls vs Robert Duerkenson

Sanjeev Sharma vs Andrew Valiquett

Sanjeev Sharma and Andrew Valiquett got together for a 3 round MMA battle. Round 1 went to the ground and Valiquett controlled from the top position. The fighters stayed on their feet during the next two rounds while they clinched, kneed, and boxed each other in a battle of attrition. The split decision went to Sharma.

Derek Mrak vs Nigel Yarjau

The MMA battle between 190 pounders Derek Mrak of Canada’s Best Karate and Nigel Yarjau of Pure Self Defence was in many ways the most impressive fight of the night. Yarjau is a fit and experienced fighter. Mrak didn’t look like your typical fighter, with longish hair and handlebar moustache, a guy you wouldn’t tussle with nevertheless. Mrak took a real beating from Yarjau, complete with lumps, blood, eye pokes, and the most brutal and hideous armbar I have ever seen. Mrak did everything he could to give payback, including dumping Yarjau out through the ropes and on to the judges table at one point. Fight fans watched in horror as Yarjau cranked Mrak’s arm from 3:00 to 9:00. Mrak didn’t tap. I kept snapping photos. People were screaming. The medic beside me said he thought he heard his shoulder pop. Most sane, and insane people would have tapped. Mrak is a stalky tough guy, and managed to slip out of it eventually and almost get full side control. His corner was calling for hammer fist but he didn’t have much of a left arm left. From a technical point of view, Mrak didn’t look, or move like a typical fighter, it didn’t appear he was able to listen to his corner as much as other fighters, and he missed opportunities that could have changed the tally. But such is ring fighting. At the end, Yarjau won unanimously, but the fans were on their feet cheering and applauding Derek Mrak for his exceptional grit and guts he showed against a superior opponent. Osu!

Moghaddam vs Downey

The co-main event of the evening was a rematch and at the same time an ‘ante upping’ between Kiarash ‘The Beast’ Moghaddam and Mike ‘knock ‘em Down’ Downey. These two cruiserweights battled it out in April for the Amateur Western Canadian Muay Thai title. It was a hard fought, intense battle that called for an additional round to determine the winner. The belt was given to Moghaddam. At Slugfest IV they got back together for the open IKF Canadian title in this division. The fight was again a closely called match, but Downey got the upper hand eventually with knockdowns, despite consistent and aggressive volleys from Moghaddam. Fight judging is not a perfect thing, and fighters know they must not leave it up to the judges. Fight fans can expect these two exciting fighters to step back in the ring when Downey has to defend his title.

Links:

Summer Slugfest IV Results

Youtube Videos

Flickr.com Photos

MartialArtsNomad.com recently contacted Mike ‘Knock ‘Em Down’ Downey. We are all interested to see how Mike is going to measure up to Kiarash Moghaddam for the upcoming Canadian Amateur Muay Thai title match for 185 lbs at Summer Slugfest in Victoria, on August 21 2010.

This shot looks like its from some recent training in Thailand, judging by the Thai sign in the background. Mike Downey is definitely a serious fighter to deal with. Downey and Moghaddam got in the ring earlier this year in Vancouver for the Western Canadian Amateur Muay Thai Title for their weight division. These two well matched fighters went the full distance only for the judges to say the result was too close to call. The fighters then had to put the gloves back on and go an extra round for the judges to render a decision.

Now these two fighters are raising the stakes even higher going for the open Canadian title. Downey will also be out to prove in front of his home town crowd that Western Canadian title should have also gone his way.

I asked Mike to let me know what his strategy is going into the ring at slugfest. Mike replied, “You are going to have to ask Kiarash how I beat him after the fight… if he can remember when he awakes! “

We are all looking forward to a great night of fights at Summer Slugfest in Victoria on August 21!

MartialArtsNomad.com will be at Summer Slugfest in Victoria, BC on August 21st. On the fight card will be Kiarash Moghaddam, fighting against Mike ‘Knock ‘em down’ Downey. They will be on the card for the Canadian Amateur Muay Thai title for 185 lbs. These guys fought it out earlier this year for the Western Canadian Amateur title in Vancouver in April. It was a close fought fight that had an extra round added to the end to satisfy the judges. Now Moghaddam will challenge Downey on Downey’s home turf for the Canadian title. When I asked Kiarash about his plans for the fight, he simply replied, ‘… knock ‘em downey…‘  It promises to be a great fight. See you there! Osu!

Got some fight news for martialartsnomad.com. Fight night is coming soon to Victoria BC. Summer Slugfest is back for its fourth year of fights on August 21.

Summer Slugfest IV Victoria

August 21 – Velox Rugby Club
3957 Gordon Head Rd, V8N3X2
Victoria, BC, Canada.
Google Maps Link

Facebook Event Page

Please note, last year, the event was held at Western Speedway, this year, the Velox Rugby Club, near University of Victoria.

Tickets Available at:

Club Phoenix - 2122A Government Street (250) 920-0300
Sports Traders – 508 Discovery Street, (250) 383-6443
Canada’s Best Karate – 777 Goldstream Ave (250) 590-6019
Peterec’s Gym – 831 Fisgard St, (250) 389-6166

Fighters interested in participating on this card, please contact Stan Peterec at (250) 389-6166.

Wanna be a CARD GIRL? Slugfest is Hiring (Link).

Here is a video of highlights from last year:

Update: Blake won by TKO with a Spinning Back Kick, in 2nd round. I understand Bebe Elzer backed out for personal reasons but brought one of his best guys from his gym. More info as I get it.

I am adding this alternate poster to my fight blog from my former Sensei, Blake Lirette. He posted this message recently on his FaceBook page. This should be a great matchup.  I know Blake as a great martial arts instructor and a super hard and tough guy to spar with. He is an incredible fighter to watch. Osu!

Check it out fight fans: I’m fighting in a Muay Thai match this Saturday in the Abbotsford sports arena. I will be fighting a guy from Sanfrancisco who has some recent titles…so should be a good one; however I can’t promise that I won’t knock him into outter space! Tix are $50 for …reserve seating and I still have one VIP table next to the ring available -$750 for table of 10. Proceeds go to help Joshua Ismirioglu a young boy with Cancer. You can get the tickets at Tactix gym downtown 1449 Hornby st. Vancouver. 604-719-7745 -c u der!

Join Blake ‘The Blade’ Lirette’s Fan Page on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/blakethebladelirette.
OR text ‘Like Blake The Blade Lirette” 32665.

In the first fight of the night in the ballroom at the Pinnacle Hotel in North Vancouver, Leemar Halim of Total Kombat Academy went against Vik Johal from the Lion’s Den for a full 3 rounds of kickboxing. The first found was fast paced and the next were more paced. In a fight with flying mouthguards and high kicks, the judges scored it close enough (28-28, 28-28, 29-27) to be declared a draw. Halim was the more composed fighter of the two 135 pounders it seemed.

A very impressive mma match featured lightweight Daniel Waterfall of Team Aikki in Chilliwack who is coached by Sean O’Halleran, a very good Jiu-Jitsu coach. He was against Mason Fehr from FAIRN Ultimate Fighting in Burnaby. Waterfall won convincingly by ref stoppage 1^st round TKO at 2:29.  Waterfall went for shoot right away, dominated, pushed into the corner, was still kicking after fighters were brought up, kept pressure on until the end where he could mount and pummel.

Joe Halfar from Posener’s and Houtan Ali Koshani KB-ONE were in a 155lb Muay Thai match in the third fight. This evenly matched fight went the distance but Joe showed he was winning it mentally with a front kick knock down in the dying seconds of round 2. The judges, however, had trouble with their decision and finally settled on a split decision for Joe.

Aaron Shin of Revolution Fight Team Langley, was set against Sparky Makrenko Wuji Systems for a lightweight MMA fight. Shin would win by TKO in the first round by way of a solid knee strike, having already delivered several strikes that way, lots of boxing and scrambles to the ground and back to their feet.

Brandon Babet of TeamHavok from Kelowna, BC was paired up wi th Brian Rudd of ITK in North Van for a 165lb  Kickboxing match. By end of round 2 you could see that Rudd was gassed and from then on, Babet struck at will and achieved a knock down in round 3 with a combination spinning back kick. Soon after, the ref called the fight.

Carlson Gracie MMA would dominate the next two fights. In the lightweight class, Olivier Vajda took on Adam Saad of Team Aikki wth a quick superior attack that enabled a end by guillotine at 58 seconds of the first round.

Bryce Gougeon of the same team was up against Rami Kadi of Wolf’s den for a welterweight MMA match. Kadi looked disappointed with his loss by TKO in the first round. Gougeon took control, was agressive, and had several flurries of striking on the ground to cause the referee to intervene and call and end to the fight.

190 pounders Nygel Yargeau of Pure Self Defence in Campbell River and Mathew Vogleri of Total Kombat Academy in New Westminster squared off for a kickboxing fight. Yargeau was a totally solid and fluid fighter and delivered some stunning blows body shots in a mostly boxing fight. Volgeri turned his back too often and knew he was outclassed in the ring and wisely threw in the towel after round 2.

A first round ground and pound TKO was how the middleweight MMA fight between Dave Ferguson from Revolution Fight Team and Jacob Tournour would end up. Ferguson was persistent, kept attempting takedowns off the top. Tournour was able to get back to his feet, but eventually something worked and Ferguson put a quick end to the fight by referee stoppage.

Two heavyweight guys weighing in at around 260 lbs would face off for a kickboxing match. Clay Berg of Comox Valley MMA would win by unanimous judges decision against Curtis Baker of Wolf’s Den. Despite Baker rallying in the third, it would not be enough to even out the judges score at the end.

Chase Ingalls of Pure Self Defence in Campbell River, BC was matched against an impressively trim and fit Karim Pahalloo Lion’s Den for a 165 lb Muay Thai match. The judges handed Chase Ingalls a unanimous decision in well matched fight Ingalls was very effective at pre-empting Pahaloo’s attacks, and appeared better at fighting at multiple levels.

The main event put up Adam Santos of Morganti Ju-Jitsu (Team Narita) from Richmond against Team Denarius fighter Neil Menard for a heavyweight MMA fight. Menard was a late substitution for Clayton Smith from Edmonton who could not make the fight. Menard went down early and was in trouble on the ground. But what happened next depended on one’s point of view. At about the first minute of the first round, Referee Jason Williamson had to make the call about stopping the fight. Menard was on the ground while Santos was in the process of passing guard and mounting to finish. But Neil Menard, the figher on the ground, wasnt ready to give in. When Williamson jumped in between the fighters to stop the match, Menard then tried to push the referee off to continue defending. But by that moment the fight had been called. Marcus Hicks, the coach in Menard’s corner was furious and indeed most people in the room were howling with disbelief. Reviews of the fight night by the Vancouver Sun, MMARingReport.com and others described the end a little differently, saying that Santos was still striking after the referee intervened. Apparently, both fighters didnt think the fight was over just yet. The media reports already published focused harshly on this unhappy ending to an otherwise decent amateur fight night. While there was a great ‘verbal tirade’ by Marcus Hicks and others, he did not immediately ‘storm the ring’ as was implied in reports, even though he did eventually step in. Hicks, team Narita, and everybody else calmed down afterwards outside the ballroom. Hicks submitted an apology for rushing the ring, his tirade, with other comments about the quality of the event later to the media.

However, that is how the fight got called and after a great deal of dissatisfaction between all the parties, the referee raised Santos’ hand in victory.

In the referee Williamson’s defence, stepping in between fighters to call a fight is probably the most difficult decision a MMA referee has to make. Williamson chose as any referee must, to intervene when a fighter is on the ground, is taking hits, is unable to return hits, and is unable to improve his position. But you dont have to be an MMA fan for very long to have seen a match preempted by the referee just a touch early, acting on legitimate concerns for safety. From the fighter’s point of view, it is probably the worst possible outcome when a referee calls it prematurely. But MMA has its quirks and everybody knows that. One of the things that could improve MMA the most is greater support for the referees in the ring. More referees could be added to the night to alternate between fights and more instruction could be provided to fighters and coaches beforehand to establish a solid understanding about how and why a fight is going to be called the way it is. What went down after the fight just proves again that the stuff that goes on outside the ring is tougher than what goes on in the fight.

Lance and Lisa from Comox Valley Boxing Club

MMA brothers Andy and Nick Marinos with their ladies

Victor Wang and the Card Girls

I am happy to report here on my fight blog that the promoters have finalized the fight card for Battle at the Pier, June 26th 2010 in North Vancouver. This is promising to be the biggest martial arts event ever held in North Van.

Presenting the West Coast Can-Am Championships, at BCIT in Burnaby, BC, May 29th and 30th. Ill be in the modified Muay Thai Division on May 30. See you there!

Premiered in 1979 as the First Annual West Coast Can-Am Championships, this tournament has developed into one of the most prestigious and longest-running annual tournaments in Canada, as it enters the 31^st year in 2010.

The goal of this event remained the same throughout the 31 years, to provide a safe, fair and fun competition event for Martial Artists of all styles. The Can-Am is known for its quality 5 ft and 6 ft trophy awards for both forms and fighting competitions, as well as handsome awards for judging officials.

Over the years, many world-famous Martial Artists from all styles such as Karate, Kung Fu, Wushu, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Tang Soo Do, Tai Chi, Jiu-Jitsu, Kenpo, have competed and performed in the Can-Am.  The Can-Am has indeed become a showcase of Martial Arts.

There are over 700 divisions to compete in, such as hand forms (Kata/Pattern), weapons forms, Karate Style point-fighting, Continuous Fighting, Sanshou fighting, Pankration, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Each category is further divided by gender, age, and ranking.

In this year’s 31^st Annual, we are again anticipating top competitors coming from China, the United States, and other parts of the world, and of course, our own excellent Martial Artists of Canada. To more accurately reflect the international level of competition, this tournament will soon be renamed “The International Can-Am Championships”. This historic name change will be announced in the 31^st Annual Awards Banquet, to mark the official entry of this quality event into the international arena.

I brought my fight blog and camera on the weekend to Fight at the View III, presented by Gerry Gionco International at Fraserview Hall, Saturday night, April 17 2010. Gionco, who has been presenting the local fight scene for years, proves yet again that there is a strong local following for martial arts fight nights with MMA, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai all on one card. Real Vancouver fight fans aren’t going to wait for UFC 115 to see live fight action in Vancouver and they want to see the stars of tomorrow today. The full house in attendance on a hockey playoff night proved that without a doubt. With gyms from Victoria to Calgary on the card, the night was a great cross section of the hot young fight talent in Western Canada in martial arts.

Hasman Sandhu from the Lion’s Den in Calgary won by judges decision over Suneel Bangarh from Peteric’s in Victoria in this kickboxing match at 145 lbs between these two young fighters.

A bantamweight MMA fight was settled by a brutal knockout in the second round by Oliver Vajda of Raptor in Maple Ridge over Francis Montes of Columbia Martial Arts Burnaby.

In her first appearance back in Vancouver since that great fight with Wendy Roy at MMA At The Rock in January of this year, Sarah Mcleod of Team Denarius Calgary won her exhibition kickboxing match over Angela Business from Phantom Kamloops.

Alex Tribe of Peteric’s got the judges decision over Joe Halfar of Posener’s in Vancouver for a 160lb Muay Thai bout.

Sony Sahota of Wuji Systems Vancouver won by tapout, with some kind of twisted around front naked choke and arm bar with legs in round 2 in a fast-paced welterweight MMA bout against Nick Marinos. Despite the pressure Marinos put on Sahota, it was a calmer Sahota that won out over Marinos in the end.

Bryce Gougeon of Raptor won by tapout using a rear naked choke against Andrew Valiqutte of Columbia Martial Arts, Burnaby in that welterweight MMA match.

Adam Blanchette of Iron City Muay Thai, Richmond, earned a unanimous decision against Kevin Mackenzie of Phantom Kamloops for their Muay Thai fight at 195lbs. Adam’s record is now 4-0.

Dave Logan of Team Denarius won his middleweight MMA match by ground submission, called by referee against Clay Ares of Wuji Systems Vancouver.

Hakeem Dawodu of Mike Miles Muay Thai Calgary scored his 145lb Muay Thai victory by knockout in round 2 against local favorite Josh Jauncey of WKX in Surrey.

The main event was for the Western Canadian Amateur Muay Thai title for Cruiserweight (185lbs) between Kiarash ‘The Beast’ Moghaddam of Versus21 MMA Vancouver and Mike ‘Knock ‘em Down’ Downey from Peteric’s Kickboxing Victoria. After 4 intense rounds of action it seemed like Kiarash Moghaddam had the fight. He felt he had it, the crowd felt he had it, but there was some delay and discussion in the ring before the result according to the judges was announced. It was pronounced a draw. The capacity crowd at fight night went nuts, and were ready for the next round on the edge of their seats. Both fighters, having already left everything in the ring, laced their gloves back up and went back in for one more two minute round to decide the owner of the title. In the end, Kiarash Moghaddam won by unanimous judges decision with superior calm, conditioning, and strikes that would fill up the judges scorecards.

Full Photo pool from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superwebdeveloper/sets/72157623748559699/

Full Photo pool from the event: http://www.flickr.com/photos/superwebdeveloper/sets/72157623748559699/

I was working on my fight blog last night at Fight @ The View III last night at Fraserview Hall. Kiarash Moghaddam, our guy at Versus21, won his Muay Thai fight against Mike ‘Knock ‘em Down’ Downey to win the Western Canadian Amateur Cruiserweight title. It was an exciting fight and at the end, everybody in the room knew who won the fight except the judges. In a rare turn of events, the fighters put their gloves back on and fought an extra round. In the end, it was a unanimous decision. Congratulations Kiarash! Versus 21 trainers Ben, Ali, and Imam are in the shot with Kiarash and his new belt.

I have lots more photos for Fight @ The View III and they will be up as soon as I can get some time tonight.