Ryan and Jen were tested during the 4hr seminar Saturday and 4hr seminar on Sunday, they were then put through an additional exam testing their technique, wai kru ceremony, and a thai pad conditioning test. Both Ryan and Jen successfully passed their testing and were awarded the title of Kru (teacher) by Ajarn Chai himself.

Congratulations to them both and thank you to all of our Thai Boxing students from The Cellar that participated in the seminar and came out to watch the testing!

Congratulations and thank you to everyone who attended. The next Muay Thai testing at The Cellar Gym is being tentatively planned for June 2015.

Promoted to Brown Level:
Ryan Sternberg
Jen Cichon
Antonio Dvorak

Promoted to Red Level:
Nicholas Lee
Di Lin
Devlin Borders
Pam Sorenson

Promoted to Purple Level:
Taylor Carik
James DiPietro
Mario Peralta

Promoted to Blue Level:
Dylan Bassett
Javen Guzik
Ross Landis
Shahar Journo
Lauren Cano
Jason Fu
Melyssa Mogdans
Hooiling Soh
Zach Spehar
Toni Weinbeck
Chuhue Thao

Promoted to Green Level:
Christine Bohn
Mike Kleitz
Austin Brown
Joe Reece
Brittany Gorham

Promoted to Orange Level:
Jess K.
Trisha Munsinger
Elspeth Lucas
Pom Lieng

Promoted to Yellow Level:
Medora Witwer
Earl Van Norman
Payahm Mansoori
Nail Albarghouthi
Kody Aigner

Xin Zheng defeats Chase Rueger by unanimous decision.
The night started off with a battle of 140 pounders and Xin Zheng made his amateur debut against 1-1 opponent Chase Rueger. The fight was very close and back-n-forth, but Xin walked away with the judges decision and improves to 1-0.

Di Lin falls short to Chase Chamberlin in overtime 4th round.
Di looked relaxed and on point as he battled the hometown favorite, Chase Chamberlin. He looked in total control of the fight, scoring leg kicks and avoiding Chase’s attacks. Late in the first round he was caught with a right hand while throwing a kick that sent him to the canvas. Although he wasn’t hurt, he was issued an 8-count and lost the first round 10-8. Di battled back however. He looked like a skilled veteran during rounds 2 and 3 avoiding damage and landing a few beautiful head kicks. At the end of regulation, the judges had it scored even and forced an overtime round. As both fighters looked fatigued the 4th round didn’t contain nearly the amount of action as the first 3, but Di looked to have landed the more significant strikes. Maybe the hometown crowd played a factor, but the judges decision ended up going the other way. We didn’t agree with the scoring, but maybe this will force a rematch and give Di a chance to have a proper training camp; he took this bout on only a weeks notice.

Chris Keller defeats Mel Ott by 1st round TKO.
Coming back to the ring after a couple year layoff, Chris Keller was looking to impress. He worked hard in camp and looked sharp in the ring. Both fighters started off throwing wild shots, but Chris started to tighten up his boxing and landed a pinpoint right hand that sent Mel to the ground. After the 8-count Chris quickly got back to work and dropped Mel again to get the first round TKO win.

Ryan Sternberg defeats B.J. Haugdahl by unanimous decision.
In a battle of 155 pounders, this match went back-and-forth with exciting action. Ryan was the more technical fighter, but B.J.’s powerful hands were able to back Ryan up and score in impressive fashion. About halfway through the first round something clicked with Ryan and he landed a beautiful push kick to the face followed by a great boxing combination. The action continued to go back and forth, but Ryan’s leg kicks began to pay dividends in the final round; dropping B.J. twice to the canvas. The judges scored the bout unanimously for Ryan.

James Dipietro defeats Denis Baribeault by judges decision.
Looking to pick up his first win just days after his 40th birthday James Dipietro was on a mission against a tough Canadian. It was another back-n-forth match with both fighters exchanging powerful shots, but James’ leg kicks looked to play the difference and picked up the judges decision. Congratulations James!

Nate Richardson defends his lightweight title defeated Ash Majek by TKO in round 4.
Nate “The Natural” Richardson put his belt on the line for his first title defense against the tough and game Ash Majek. Nate went to work in the first round landing some hard chopping low kicks that made Ash fold in half, but began to focus on his boxing in round 2 and 3. Nate started landing vicious body punches and landed a scary left hand to the liver right at the bell to end round 4. He came out on a mission in the 5th round landing a head kick against the taller fighter followed by his hands that sent Ash to the canvas. After the 8-count Nate went back to work quickly and dropped Ash a second time due to body punches. Ash was unable to beat the count and Nate defends his belt by 5th round TKO.

Thank You
The Cellar Gym had 100+ screaming fans in attendance and we really appreciate the support! We would also like to thank Heath and Janell Fonnest for another fantastic Extreme Striking Promotions event and including us on the show. Lastly we need to thank Antonio Dvorak for warming up all the fighters back stage, Jen Cichon for getting all the fighters ready, and coaches Justin Whiley and Chris Cichon for working the corner. The Cellar Fight Team is getting stronger and stronger and it’s going to be a busy and exciting 2015. Thank you everyone for your support!

• 14+ Regional, National, and North American Championship Titles including 5 champions at the Thai Boxing Association-Sanctioning Authority Muay Thai Classic.
• The Cellar Gym Fighters & Coaches traveled to 5 Continents with Wako Team USA Kickboxing
• Several new BJJ blue, purple, and brown belts under Marcelo Nunes and #ZenithBJJ.
• Antonio Dvorak’s debut win at Lion Fight Promotions.
• Adam “Big Gunna” Mc Donough’s amazing run through the Bellator MMA Welterweight Tournament.
• Krista Olson being promoted to Kru under Ajarn Chai.
• Being a part of Tony Martin’s UFC Journey.
• Chris Cichon being promoted to Associate Instructor by Ajarn Chai at the Thai Boxing Association’s Pacific NW Camp.
• Marcelo Nunes improving to 4-0 as a MMA professional.
• Nate Richardson winning 3 fights in 1 night at Extreme Striking Promotions 8.
• Awesome seminars with Shawn Yarborough, Takeyoshi Ikehara, Richard Abraham, Pat “HD” Barry, and Artem “The Lion” Levin.
• And so many FUN memories!

Thank you to everyone who was part of another great year! #bestof2014 #thecellargym

In this video, owners Chris and Jen Cichon, discuss the humble beginnings of The Cellar Gym and how it has expanded to become the premiere facility in Minneapolis with group training classes for Boxing, Kickboxing, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, and Youth Martial Arts Classes.

Competing from The Cellar was Pam Sorenson, Ryan Sternberg, and Antonio Dvorak. Joining the team was coaches, Chris Cichon, Jen Cichon, and Justin Whiley.

Ryan Sternberg started the weekend off defeating Thomas Hughes by decision in the preliminary fights of his K-1 division. He advanced the finals, but lost a close and somewhat controversial decision to Chris Burgett.

Pam Sorenson fought Friday in a 2-Woman Low Kick Division and was edged out on points to Amanda Ginski. She was then entered the K-1 division on Saturday and defeated Araceli McAdam by judges decision.

Finally, in a 3-man heavyweight Low Kick division, Antonio Dvorak defeated Jim Priz by Knockout in the very first round. Congratulations to all of our talented fighters!

Full Cellar Fight Team Results:
Ryan Sternberg – Silver Medal (K-1 Rules)
Pam Sorenson – Silver Medal (Low Kick), Gold Medal (K-1)
Antonio Dvorak – Gold Medal (Low Kick)

The Cellar had 12 fighters competing in 11 different weight classes and when all the dust settled from 3 days of fights, The Cellar had captured 5 North American Championship Belts!

Luke Rudberg and Di Lin both fought and won 4 fights over the weekend to win their Men’s Light Welterweight (142lb) and Men’s Welterweight (147lb) divisions. Laura Marturano won 3 fights with 2 coming by way of TKO to win the Ladies Featherweight (127lb) division; she won her championship fight by TKO in just :37 seconds! Our smallest and biggest fighters in the tournaments were also in the smallest divisions. Jen Cichon and Antonio Dvorak only fought on Championship Sunday, but both walked away with championship titles. Jen won the Ladies Strawweight (112lb) division and Antonio won the Men’s Super Heavyweight (215+ lb) division.

With 500+ registered fighters for a single elimination tournament, not everyone could walk away with a belt, but that doesn’t mean their performance was not inspiring. All of the fights our team lost were closely contested and many of them could have gone either way on the judges scorecards.

Full Results from the Tournament:

• Jen Cichon – Ladies Novice 112lb Strawweight – CHAMPION
• Laura Marturano – Ladies Novice 127lb Featherweight – CHAMPION
• Pam Sorenson – Ladies A Class 135lb Lightweight – 2nd Place
• Lajly Yang – Men’s Novice 137lb Super Lightweight – 3rd Place
• Luke Rudberg – Men’s Novice 142lb Light Welterweight – CHAMPION
• Di Lin – Men’s Novice 147lb Welterweight – CHAMPION
• Ryan Sternberg – Men’s Novice 153lb Super Welterweight – 3rd Place
• Demian Ya Deau – Men’s Novice 153lb Super Welterweight – Quarter Finalist
• James Dipetro – Men’s Novice 165lb Middleweight – Quarter Finalist
• Pablo Castillo – Men’s Novice 215+lb Super Heavyweight – 3rd Place
• Devlin Borders – Senior Men’s Open 215lb Heavyweight – 3rd Place
• Antonio Dvorak – Men’s A Class 215+lb Super Heavyweight – CHAMPION

Following their honeymoon cruise through Key West and the Bahamas, Jen and Chris will be having a small reception at The Cellar to help celebrate with all their friends that couldn’t make it to Duluth. Come help them celebrate!