2023 TBA Tournament of Champions
The Cellar Gym’s Muay Thai team traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa to compete at the 2023 TBA Tournament of Champions on March 16-18! Overall, our team went 13-3 on the weekend and won six championship belts. In addition, we also took home the 2023 Team Points trophy!
Grady Pesch
Class C Middleweight Champion
Grady won in his first fight of the tournament by unanimous decision, after dominating all three rounds with solid elbows and knees. In the finals, Grady captured the championships with a well-executed strategy of beautiful right hands and devastating knee strikes. Great work Grady, we are so proud!
Javier Huerta
Class B Super Lightweight Champion
Javier put the pressure on his first opponent to land many beautiful combinations and advance to the finals. In the finals, Javier used superior boxing and movement to pressure his opponent and land more significant strikes. Congratulations, Javier!
Marty Voves
Class B Super Middleweight Champion
Marty won his first fight of the weekend by unanimous decision, securing the win with extremely powerful punches! His opponent was incredibly tough and was able to push through to the end despite being dropped twice in the first round. Marty advanced to the finals, where he used excellent low kicks and forward pressure to secure the tournament win. Awesome job!
Sam Bailey
Class B Light Welterweight Champion
Sam started off our team’s weekend with a big win via unanimous decision, demonstrating excellent range and timing throughout the fight. Sam’s fight in the finals was a calculated, technical battle; he dialed in to his timing and executed some perfectly placed combinations to win the fight. Congratulations Sam!
Starlon Pruitt
Class C Light Cruiserweight Champion
Star dominated all 3 rounds of his first fight of the weekend, landing some powerful knees and securing the win by unanimous decision! In the finals, Star was composed, powerful, and never backed down in the face of his opponent’s pressure, and he won the fight by unanimous decision. Star made so many improvements during this fight camp and the hard work paid off! Excellent work!
Matt Cunningham
Class B Middleweight Champion
Matt had only one fight during the weekend, but seized the opportunity to show off his skills! In the finals, Matt landed many beautiful boxing combinations to set up his kicks. He never let off the gas and dominated the 2nd and 3rd round. Way to go Matt!
Gary Ly
Gary made his Muay Thai debut at this year’s tournament, winning his first fight by unanimous decision. He showed incredible heart, coming back from a knockdown in the 2nd round to secure the win in the 3rd. In the finals later that day, he lost by TKO stoppage after facing an aggressive opponent. Gary pushed himself hard during this fight camp and made tremendous improvements. It’s not easy going into a tournament for a first fight experience, and Gary truly rose to the occasion. We are so proud of him and we look forward to seeing him fight again!
Xavier Rosenbloom
In his first fight of the weekend, Xavier kept the pressure on his opponent with excellent feints and movements followed by solid boxing combinations, securing the unanimous decision win. He then went to WAR in the finals, going back and forth with both him and his opponent landing one great combination after another. Unfortunately, Xavier lost on the judge’s score cards. We are very impressed by his performance!
Ryan Sternberg
Ryan lost in the finals via KO. We are so proud of all that Ryan has accomplished in his impressive Muay Thai career and cannot wait to see him in the ring again soon!
We would like to thank our team coaches Ben Locken, Chris Cichon, Lucas Lundgren, Justin Whiley, and every coach at The Cellar Gym for devoting their time, energy, and passion into making our team great. We also thank our fighters for putting it all out on the line. Not many people have the courage to enter the ring; you are all inspiring!