Katie Locken fought a rematch against a strong opponent from Team Canada. After a very close first round with lots of action from both fighters, Katie swept the second round with powerful low kicks and head-snapping punches to secure the lead. Unfortunately, her opponent came out very strong in the third round to just barely edge out the score. Katie lost a close judges’ decision, but this was an incredible fight and a valuable building opportunity.

Sam Bailey faced a tough and explosive fighter from Brazil in his first fight of the tournament. After dealing with some adversity, Sam used exceptional range and feints to set up his combinations and low kicks. He won the fight by decision and moved into the semi-finals against a skilled and technical fighter from Mexico. Sam used tiny angles, feints, level changes, and unpredictable attacks to disrupt his opponent’s game plan and secure a big win by unanimous decision.

In the finals, Sam’s opponent from Canada wanted to brawl, but Sam landed great kicks and punches and was able to evade any real dangers. He won the fight with a major lead on points and secured the WAKO Pan-American gold medal in the -67kg K1 division. Congratulations, Sam!

Chine displayed strong knees and boxing through three rounds. He listened well and made great adjustments between rounds, clinching the victory by unanimous decision. showed great listening during the round and adjustments between rounds.

Lucy won in a landslide victory against an extremely game and tough opponent. Lucy showed good distance control, combinations and adjustments between rounds. Congratulations Lucy!

Jamir Anderson displayed excellent jabs and low kicks at long range, in addition to devastating clinch and brutal knees in close range. He won by TKO in the third round due to knee strikes.

Peder Aalgaard fought with everything he had. He got clipped in the first and received an 8-count, but he weathered the round to come back and land some thundering kicks in the second and third rounds. The fight ended in a majority draw; way to show grit and determination!

Starlon Pruit won via unanimous decision to clinch the MCA title. Star showed great distance and range control, landing powerful low kicks. He had several dumps from the clinch as well. This fight was a very smart and well conditioned display of skill for Star. Great work!

The fight was fast-paced with a lot of great action from both opponents. Unfortunately, combat sports can be subjective and Katie ended up on the wrong side of a split decision. It’s upsetting to take a questionable loss, but we are thrilled with her performance. Katie controlled the ring, pushed the pace, executed her game plan, and was able to land her low kicks repeatedly.

This fight was also great preparation for the upcoming Pan American Games in Chile next month. There’s a good chance these two will face each other again soon and we look forward to running it back again. Great fight Katie; we’re so proud of you!

Team USA Kickboxing traveled to Portugal in November for the WAKO World Championships. The Cellar Gym brought three fighters — Sam Bailey, Javier Huerta, and Katie Locken — to compete as part of Team USA, in addition to accomplished USA coaches Chris Cichon, Ben Locken, and Justin Whiley.

Although our fighters didn’t bring home medals, they each performed incredibly well against some of the world’s best kickboxers! All three had very impressive fights over the course of the week, and certainly made their country proud.

In a fast-paced kickboxing bout, Eh Kuh finished his opponent with a a devastating TKO by leg kicks in the second round.

Ezra showed great movement and conditioning, but ended up losing a unanimous decision. However, he recognized some holes in his game and knows what to work on for future fights, which is a huge step. On to the next one!

Lucy had a great three rounds against an extremely aggressive opponent, but lost a unanimous decision. She showed huge growth in her physical and mental game this camp; you’re either winning or learning, and a lot was learned after this fight. We are excited to see what’s next.

Gabe overcame a tough first round against an opponent who came out hot! Gabe fought his way back with strong knees and elbows in the clinch to take the win by unanimous decision. Great work!

The Cellar Gym brought three kickboxers — Samuel Bailey, Javier Huerta, and Katie Locken — to compete at the WAKO National Championships on May 4-7 in Nashville, Tennessee. Both Sam and Javier took gold in their divisions; Sam also earned a spot on Team USA to compete in the WAKO World Championships this November in Portugal, and Javier earned a spot as first alternate.

In addition to our fighters’ victories this past weekend, three more Minnesota athletes — Loca Her, Joshua Lee, and Mason Strodtman of St. Paul’s Warman Muay Thai — also joined Team USA after dominant performances.

The Cellar Gym fight team had an incredible weekend at this year’s WAKO USA National Championships in Nashville, TN! We were very excited to bring 6 of our fighters to the tournament this year, and we finished the weekend with a record of 5 wins, 4 losses, and two new tournament gold medalists: Javier Huerta and Kailey Everett.

Javier Huerta

Javier Huerta picked up a big win in the quarterfinals against a tall and strong opponent to advance to the semifinals on Saturday. In the semifinals, he showed excellent use of technique and angles to capture a unanimous decision victory! On Sunday in the finals, he put on a beautiful display of footwork, low kicks, and check-hooks to capture victory in the gold medal match! Both fighters were undefeated coming into the finals, and Javier dug deep to keep that streak alive. Great fights, Javier! Congratulations!

Kailey Everett

Kailey made her kickboxing debut against a very strong opponent in the finals on Sunday and came away with the win! Kailey used many powerful low kicks and showed slick boxing counters as well. Congratulations Kailey! We’re so proud of you and the hard work you put in during this training camp!

December Htoo

December Htoo won by 2nd round TKO against a very skilled opponent in the semifinals. In the finals, he lost a close fight on points against our good friend Alec Enright, putting on one of the best fights of the weekend! These two talented athletes are friends and have trained together; and they put on an incredible show. Great job to both men!

Ben Locken

Ben Locken fought a fantastic fight in the finals, but came up short on points. It was his first fight back, in almost five years, but it took him two rounds to shake off the rust and adjust to this different competition style. Ben had an amazing training camp for this fight and proved that anything can be done if you want it enough! He dropped nearly 30 lbs. in just six weeks while being a dad with 3 little ones at home, running multiple businesses, coaching at The Cellar Gym, and training others. We’re so proud of you Ben and we hope to see you back in there soon. Great job!

Bobby Lee

Bobby Lee was a super fun fighter to watch, but he came up a little short on points in the semifinals. He fought a great fight and made some huge improvements to his game, but the judges were looking for something different. Bobby came to fight in this tournament to gain experience – mission accomplished. We’re proud of you, Bobby!

Anteze Howard

Anteze Howard lost his semifinal bout by TKO. He fought a great fight and had tons of great moments, but was just too patient. The referee correctly gave out precautionary 8-counts and it scored against us. This was his first kickboxing tournament and Anteze will learn a ton from this experience.

Super proud of this team! We had many great fights, learned a lot, supported each other in and out of the ring, and came home with 2x National Champions. Congratulations everyone!

Cody started the night off with a unanimous decision victory! He landed some giant low kicks and well timed cut-kicks to break his tough opponent down. December picked up the 3rd round TKO victory via body kick!! It was a great back and forth battle, but December’s pressure and knees/kicks to the body paid dividends. Congratulations Cody and December!!!