Mecca III Recap
This last weekends Mecca III, presented by Driller/S.E.G, was a night of great fights!!! We can’t say enough good things about the match making and production quality of this event! We would like to thank Jeremy Bjornberg for giving us an opportunity to be part of such a amazing event!
The entire night was stacked with good fights. Ty Bowling, for Spartan, was coming off a win a few months back to fight a very tough opponent, Andrew Conway. Ty fought smart and showed great composure, this being only his second fight! The fight started with both fighters landing shots from standing position. Ty looked good standing but his natural instinct kicked in as he got a great takedown, controlling the fight until the bell rang. The second round started similar to the first, but Ty looked like he wanted to show his ever improving striking skills, landing two big leg kicks before he again took the fight to the mat. Ty finished on top, raining down blows making the referee stop the fight at 2:08 minutes of the second round. Ty is outstanding physically and we see he is on track for bigger and better things down the road! Congratulations to Ty!
Next up was Chase Waldon Vs. Jordan Fass. Chase has made major improvements mentally and is really maturing into a better all around fighter. Chase has always shown great physical attributes and works extremely hard in the gym. The fight went back and forth with both men getting the upper hand at different points throughout the event. Chase really turned up the heat in the second round, aiming for submission after submission. On the feet Chase looked great as well. He really showed all aspects of the MMA game in this fight! Chase won via unanimous decision, landing him the fight of the night bonus! Congrats to Chase and Jordan Fass for a incredible fight!
Codie Kalher was originally scheduled to fight Nick Compton for the MN Academy, however because of injuries Nick was unfortunately forced to pull out of the fight. Zach Juusola was able to step in and took Nick’s place. Codie showed a warrior – “never say die” spirit in this one! He took damage with some very powerful liver kicks that would put a normal man on the floor, but continued to fight. Codie threw very hard shots throughout the fight and did a great job listening to his corner. There was a lot of blood in the middle of the fight due to a broken nose, however again Codie would not quit. He kept coming forward. However Codie could not continue the pace, leaving the referee to step in and end the contest at 1:44 minutes of the second round due to TKO. Codie is a true warrior and in time, with his skills and abilities, we will see him on a big stage for sure.
I would also like to acknowledge Zach for really growing as a fighter and coming back strong after the long layoff he’s had. As a coach, I was honored to have my student fight a competitor like Zach.
The main event featured Dan, “The King,” Kiser Vs. Billy, “The Kid,” Christianson. This fight had fireworks! The fight started out with Billy getting the better of Dan on the feet, working his way to the ground. Billy looked strong and very aggressive when dropping Dan and he then controlled the rest of the round. In the second round Dan looked very composed and relaxed, even after losing the first round. Dan used his reach to strike and tried to stay out of shooting range. Billy then took Dan down and looked to be in control, but again Kiser looked very relaxed and started looking to attempt submissions. Kiser threw up a triangle, switched to an armbar and then back to the triangle. The triangle was very tight and Dan controlled Billy legs, making it very hard to escape. Dan won the match via triangle choke in round two.Dan has an uncanny ability to keep his cool in very difficult times of a fight. I would love to take credit for this mental toughness, but he is truly blessed with a fighters heart. Billy Christianson is a very tough opponent that’s improved at all aspects of the game.
We would also like to say Congrats to Greg Nelson and Team Academy for their accomplishments. We want to stress that when SMA fighters compete with Academy Fighters it’s out of respect and not out of spite. We have a great respect for the MN Academy and all of their fighters.
We are a young school, but we’re going to be the one of the two stand out schools in the state of MN!!
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