Dave Strasser filled up the Marina Shores Ballroom last night with fans eager to see some of the biggest MMA stars in the area. Rumors buzzed throughout the crowd that talent scouts from major organizations were on hand to take a look at the skills of Brian Geraghty and Nick Agallar.
Knockout of the Night
Warren “Warden” Kekahbah of Strasser’s Freestyle Academy opened the night of fights and wasted no time quickly diposing of his opponent Scott Furr from Freaks of the Industry. The bout was announced as an openweight bout and the 204lb Kekahbah gave up fifty pounds to his opponent. The weight difference didn’t matter as he viciously attacked the bigger man with a flurry of strikes and a jumping knee. The referee halted the bout only 19 seconds in and Wisconsin Combat Sports awarded Kekahbah with KO of the night.
In the second bout of the evening, Steve Conley of Freaks of the Industry, applied an arm bar to his opponent Brandon Thomas of Strasser’s Freestyle Academy. Thomas slammed Conley on his head in an attempt to escape the submission but Conley never let the arm loose. Conley was the only one of his four team members to pull out a victory on the card.
Kevin Kelley of Strasser’s Freestyle Academy came out wearing his classic, “Greetings Taco Lovers” shirt and used knees from a clinch to set up a takedown in his heavyweight bout. From the top position he unleashed a ground and pound attack to defeat Dave Oliver of Freaks of the Industry – Indiana in the final minute of the first round.
Jacob Kuester of Adrian Serrano’s Combat Gym defeated Ryan Sheeper of Clinton, Iowa. Kuester’s size was too much to deal with and his ground and pound shots echoed throughout the ballroom. Scheeper was forced to tap out from strikes at 1:46 in the first round. If I were a welterweight pro fighter in the state of Wisconsin I would think twice before accepting a fight with Jacob Kuester. He looks unstoppable at welterweight since dropping down from middleweight.
155lb Lightweight Tournament
Mike Sanchez of Racine, Wisconin fought Jonathan “Blue” Chasse also of Racine for a right to fight in the finals of the 155lb Lightweight Tournament against Matt Morin of Adrian Serrano’s Combat Gym next month. Sanchez came out and showed good striking ability but ended up in the guard of “Blue” off a throw. “Blue” then pulled off one of the cleanest arm bars I’ve seen in a while and almost earned himself submission of the night honors. The winner of the Morin vs. Chasse fight next month will get to fight a pro fight in Japan later this year.
Fight of the Night
The fight of the night was also the most controversial. Caleb Krull of Adrian Serrano’s Combat Gym squared off against Gerald Meerschaert of Strasser’s Freestyle Academy in a welterweight bout. Despite having a height and reach advantage Krull was outstruck by Meerschaert in most striking exchanges in the first round. Later, Meerschaert sank in a triangle choke in the final minute of the first round but Krull managed to survive the submission attempt.
In the second round Meerschaert won most of the striking exchanges again but Krull managed to get an attempted arm bar that flowed into a triangle choke. Meerschaert attempted to stomp his way out of the submission and closed the second round out with strikes from the guard of Krull.
Down two rounds to none, Krull needed to finish Meerschaert if he wanted to win the fight, which is exactly what he attempted to do. Krull dropped Meerschaert with a big punch that sent Meerschaert crashing to the canvas near the ropes. Krull rushed in to go for the kill and referee John Pasarelli halted Krull and gave Meerschaert time to recover. He then restarted the fighters in the center of the ring and it appeared Meerschaert was on wobbly legs as they restarted the action in a standing position. Later in the round Krull again drops Meerschaert with strikes.
Meerschaert wins the fight by decision with the scores read (29-28), (29-28), (29-27). It will be interesting to see if there is a rematch between these two fighters since it was evident to all in attendance that Meerschaert was saved by referee John Paserelli.
In other action Alex “The Warrior” Windsor of Racine, Wisconsin defeated Rob Sweet of Union Grove via TKO (referee stoppage) at 0:44 in the third round. Windsor had Sweet in a crucifix leaving Sweet unable to defend himself.
Ed Sunderland of Xion, Illinois may have been the smaller man in his bout against Racine, Wisconsin fighter Ed Nelson, although the Freestyle Academy student showed he had a bigger heart. Sunderland was able to successfully defend against multiple guillotine attempts by Nelson. Sunderland won the fight via majority decision with scores of (29-28), (29-28), and a (29-29) draw being scored by judge Pat O’Malley.
Main Events
Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 featured three main events. It was evident that Nick Agallar, Brian Geraghty, and Jameel Massouh were guys that the fans came to see. All three of Strasser’s disciples delivered and not one of their fights went over the two-minute mark.
Submission of the Night
Jameel Massouh took on Craig Howard of the Freaks of the Industry based in Lafayette, Indiana in an open weight bout. Massouh weighed 140lbs while his opponent weighed a whopping 180lbs with a record of (1-1) according to the accouncer. Massouh made short work of Howard with a takedown from the clinch. Upon achieving full mount, Massouh unleashed some elbows. Massouh then got the back of Howard and applied a reverse triangle quickly transitioning into an arm bar earning submission of the night honors that we were planning on giving to Jonathan “Blue” Chasse.
Up next, “Dangerous Duke Danger” Brian Geraghty fought Shaun Kuhl of the Bulldog Fight Team in South Bend, Indiana. The (5-1) Kuhl managed a takedown against the UFC veteran, but Geraghty made him pay by submitting Kuhl via arm bar at the 1:42 mark in the first.
Lastly, in the final match Nick Agallar completely destroyed his opponent Luke Nichols of Nietz Defense. Immediately the (1-0) Nichols realized he was in over his head as Agallar came at him with a right straight kick followed by a left high kick. Agallar then tied up Nichols and threw him to the ground like a used rag doll. Agallar unleashed big elbows so explosive that Nichols did the most intelligent thing possible, he tapped out due to strikes at 55 seconds in the first round.
In conclusion, it was a quick night of fights as eight bouts never left the first round. Massouh, Geraghty, and Agallar all looked impressive against relatively inexperienced opponents, although I can’t imagine anyone in the state being able to beat them in their respective weight classes of 135, 145, and 155lbs. The referee did a poor job in the Krull vs. Meerschaert fight that inevitably cost Krull the win. I personally would like to see a rematch or have Krull’s teammate Kuester attempt to avenge his teammate’s loss. Strasser’s fighters showed that they are all well rounded in the striking, submission, and wrestling departments. Matt Morin vs. Jonathan “ Blue” Chasse will be a great bout on the next FCC card to determine which local fighter will earn the right to fight in Japan. Strasser always does a good job bringing talent from all over the Midwest and last night’s fights featured fighters from Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa. Wisconsin Combat Sports would like to thank Dave Strasser for having us cover the action. We’ll see you at the next FCC and hope to do more preview features leading up to the event. Full results are listed below.
Freestyle Combat Challenge 33 Quick Results
Madrigrano’s Marina Shores
Kenosha, WI
02/24/2008
Openweight Bout
Warren “Warden” Kekahbah – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Kenosha, WI
vs.
Scott “Irish Pitbull” Furr – Freaks Of The Industry – Lafayette, IN
Warren Kekahbah wins by TKO (Referee Stoppage) – RD 1 – (0:19)
Welterweight Bout
Steve Conley – Freaks Of The Industry – Lafayette, IN
vs.
Brandon Thomas – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Racine, WI
Steve Conley wins by Arm Bar – RD 1 – (0:26)
Heavyweight Bout
Dave Oliver – Freaks Of The Industry – Lafayette, IN
vs.
Kevin Kelley – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – South Milwaukee, WI
Kevin Kelley wins by TKO (Referee Stoppage) – Ground and Pound – RD 1 – (2:32)
Welterweight Bout
Jake Kuester – Serrano’s Combat Gym – Milwaukee, WI
vs.
Ryan Scheeper – Philbricks Gym – Clinton, IA
Jake Kuester wins by Submission due to strikes – RD 1 – 1:46
Lightweight Bout
Mike Sanchez – Racine, WI
vs.
Jonathan “Blue” Chasse – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Racine, WI
Jonathan Chasse wins by Arm Bar – RD 1 – (0:59)
Welterweight Bout
Caleb Krull – Serrano’s Combat Gym – Milwaukee, WI
vs.
Gerald Meerschaert – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Racine, WI
Gerald Meerschaert wins by Unanimous Decision – RD 3 – (3:00)
Scores read (29-28), (29-28), and (29-27)
Middleweight Bout
Rob Sweet – Union Grove, WI
vs.
Alex Windsor – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Racine, WI
Alex Windsor wins by TKO (Referee Stoppage) – RD 3 – (0:44)
Light Heavyweight Bout
Ed “The Machine” Nelson – Racine, WI
vs.
Ed Sunderland – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Xion, IL
Ed Sunderland wins by Majority Decision – RD 3 – (3:00)
Scores read (29-29), (29-28), (29-28)
Openweight Bout
Jameel Massouh – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Kenosha, WI
vs.
Craig? Howard – Freaks Of The Industry – Lafayette, IN
Jameel Massouh wins by Arm Bar – RD 1 – (1:11)
Featherweight Bout
Brian Geraghty – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Kenosha, WI
vs.
Shaun Kuhl – Bulldog Fight Team – South Bend, IN
Brian Geraghty wins by Arm Bar – RD 1 – (1:42)
Lightweight Bout
Nick Agallar – Strasser’s Freestyle Academy – Racine, WI
vs.
Luke Nichols – Nietz Defense
Nick Agallar wins by Submission due to strikes – RD 1 – (0:55)
