Prestige Fight Series III - April 26th, 2025

Hello Kickboxing!

I had been to one other WAKO event before (Coach vs Student blog), but at that time, I was focused on just one particular fight. In preparing for this event, I had mixed feelings. It almost felt like I was cheating on Muay Thai. I kept thinking, maybe I can get the two to understand I like them both…

I have to say, I was very impressed by the organizers, Kru Gerald Ching (known as King G) and Kru Eric Rocha. The event was very well organized and they had focused on the fighters, treating them like their VIP guests! A chef was hired specifically to feed the fighters after their weigh-ins. After glancing at the buffet table, I almost stripped down and got on the scale myself.

The organizers also published a magazine for the event under the title PFS II. But since they didn’t ask Kru Ruben to be their graphic designer, and didn’t ask me for a picture, nobody should look at that magazine!

I connected with Kru Eric only a week prior to the event, so I had very little time to get to know the fighters and their gyms, but here it goes:

The first fight of the evening was between Michael Barakatt from Flock MMA and Carson Dancy from Bolton House of Muay Thai. You can always count on a Bolton boy in a belly pad to put on a good show. Michael and Carson were the fanciest fighters of the evening! After Carson’s axe kick and Michael’s Superman punch, since there wasn’t a Batman knee to throw, Carson climbed onto Michael’s shoulders with both legs (not kidding) to start a cheerleading dance. The ref stopped the cheerleading routine a little prematurely. It was an amusing fight and a great start to the evening. Carson won the cup.

The fight between Daniel Yermolenko from Bazooka Kickboxing and Diego Tobar from MAFA was also very entertaining. In the first round, Diego’s kicks came in rapid series and landed clean. The second round felt like clinch on replay. Daniel and Diego showed off their hip mobility with some impressively high knees in the clinch. I think they both do yoga. Diego won the cup.

That evening, I had the pleasure of interviewing a fighter from the U.S.! Christine Roule from Iron Strong Muay Thai in Massachusetts was matched against Alexis Sacchetti from MAFA. Christine caught my attention because we have something in common: we both started Muay Thai for self-defense! Christine was once told by her first gym that she would never be a fighter. That evening, Christine proved all of Massachusetts wrong! I think she threw a total of 13 push kicks to the head? We should make her pay a tariff on those! Christine won the cup. I wonder if the cup was made out of US Aluminum.

The co-main event featured Jenelle Garcia from Etobicoke Martial Arts and McKenna Van Allen from Black Lotus. McKenna was a dancer until the age of 18. During one of her dance rehearsals, she accidentally ballet-kicked her partner and it was a life-changing moment. She liked watching her opponent drop for an eight-count! Jenelle won the first round, but in the second and third rounds, McKenna turned on a second engine. If she had wings, she would have taken off! McKenna won the cup.

The main event was between Dustin Cronk from Black Lotus and Youssef El Zeir from MAFA. Youssef’s powerful kicks gave him the edge in the first round, but in the second round, Dustin turned on his second engine too. Dustin won the cup by referee stoppage in the second round. I’d say Black Lotus cleaned house that evening.

It was a great night. Although I missed the sight of blood, and the elbows felt very naked and neglected, I had a lot of fun. I think I’ll be going to more kickboxing events.

A few notes on the community:

• It seems like the ice bucket challenge is back by popular demand? Kids, Kru Rommel and I are not playing, okay?

• Kru Ironman (Harold Mah) shared a photo with us from base camp at Mount Everest. Since we never received a summit photo, we’re assuming base camp was as far as he made it.

• There’s an all-female sparring session at Guelph MMA on May 18, from 12 PM to 2 PM. Ladies, come spar with me! If you’re interested, please reach out to Diana (IG: @canadian_kickboxer).

See you all in May!