After several fighters dropped out of the event last minute, 3 fighters from The Cellar stepped up to the challenge on just 4 days notice. The Cellar’s Elijah Thibodeaux, Eric Ortiz, Sarah Salzgeber, and trainer Justin Whiley all made the trip down to Des Moines, IA Saturday for the Roundkick Rumble XV.

Elijah Thibodeaux entered the ring with a record of 2-0 against Iowa’s Mike Snowden (2-1). One of Elijah’s wins came from a kickboxing rules fight, the other from a low kick rules bout, this would be his muay thai debut. From the opening bell Thibodeaux looked sharp in the ring snapping out straight punches and several head kicks. But it was the second round when Elijah really began to go to work and dropped his opponent several times in both the 2nd and 3rd rounds with punches and kicks. In the third round referee Teri Storm called an end to the contest as Elijah won by TKO. Elijah improves to 3-0 with 2 wins coming by way of knockout.

Sarah Salzgeber was next in the ring from the Cellar taking on Iowa’s Cassie Rodish. This was Sarah’s second fight and her first muay thai bout. Sarah looked very sharp in the first round going after her opponent with strong kicks and quick punches. She even looked comfortable in the clinch with very little training on the inside. In the 2nd and 3rd rounds however she began to move backwards more often and lost some of her forward aggression that had worked so well in the first. In the end, the judges scored the bout unanimously for Rodish and Sarah dropped to 0-2, but it was great ring experience. As her confidence continues to grow, Sarah is going to become a scary opponent for any girl across from her.

Last from the Cellar was Eric Ortiz taking on Able Mahaffey from Iowa. Eric is a MMA fighter with a record of 2-1 and a wrestling background; this would be his first stand-up fight. Eric came out very sharp in the first round landing some great punches and even dropping Able with a leg kick. But in the second round Eric’s cardio got the best of him and Able began to score more frequently as Eric moved backwards. It was a close fight with one judge scoring it a draw, but Eric lost the bout by majority decision. Even though it was a tough loss, Eric proved he has the skills to stand in there with more experienced strikers and this bout is going to make him even more dangerous inside the cage. With a little more notice and time to train for the bout, a rematch between these two men would be a lot of fun to see.