Last Updated on January 27, 2013.
BY: Sensei Campbell of TSMMA Feasterville
01/26/13 – Hamburg PA
Althouse Fight Night has been a proving ground for the teams up and coming young fighters for five years.
Notable team TSMMA members James Garzillo and Craig Alexander are just a couple of fighters to hone their skills here.
Tonight it was a new generation representing the organization.
First up was Tim Kunkle. The Bethlehem student has had success in the cage but is looking to sharpen his standup skills as he moves to tougher competition.
He took on Derrik Wisser from Team Hamburg in a 155 pound bout. Wisser proved to be a great opponent for Kunkle, refusing to go away even as Kunkle continually pressed the fight.
After three rounds of hard fighting Kunkle earned the victory, using an effective uppercut and constantly pushing forward to control the fight
Next up was Joshu Shane Baker, head instructor of TSMMA Cherry Hill, fighting Rob Heller of MMA Nation. Baker dropped all the way down to the 170 pound division after starting his career off with two ko’s at 185.
The drop in weight showed up in Baker’s tremendous pace. He was relentless in attacking Heller from the opening bell. Setting up his attack with straight punches he was able to land multiple spinning hook kicks and spinning back fists throughout the fight.
Baker won a unanimous decision, taking all three rounds on all three judges scorecards. Baker moves to 3-0 in his young career.
Tiana Magnum made her debut fighting in front of many of her fellow TSMMA Allentown students.
She fought Megan Schadler of AKKA at 115 pounds. Schadler came out with one attack. She used front kicks constantly throughout the fight. Magnum used a variety of weapons to counter the attack, punching effectively throughout and mixing in great round and lowkicks.
In the end the judges favored Schadler’s straight kicks over Magnum’s punches even though she continually snapped Schadler’s head back. A great debut performance by Magnum despite the loss.
Rachel Kendall of TSMMA Cherry Hill would enter the ring next against Laurie Hyacinth of The Wat. They would square off at 135 pounds.
Kendall would be looking up at the towering Hyacinth, but refused to be intimidated by her opponents height and reach. Kendall had no trouble closing the distance as she pushed the action from the first bell to the last.
Hyacinth wasn’t going away as she traded back blow for blow. Kendall was simply too much for her though, stunning her badly in the third round and earning a standing ovation with her fourth round stoppage! What an impressive fight.
With a 20 fight card there was a brief intermission after Kendall’s Title Fight victory.
Maribel Estades of TSMMA Bethlehem would make her debut against Andrianna Culmone of High Voltage. The 130 pound matchup was entertaining from the start. Estades showed tremendous courage from the beginning. She would land some hard shots on Culmone, bloodying her nose by the end of the fight. Culmone would pull out the decision but not before Estades impressed her TSMMA supporters.
Nolan Wisser of TSMMA Allentown returned to the ring in spectacular fashion. He would score an early knockdown of Tyler Hamaker with a push kick. The first time I’ve ever seen a fighter take a knee due to a push kick. The fight would resume after the the AKKA fighter answered the count. He had no answer for Wisser though, who scored the TKO a minute in to the first round.
Tony McRae followed his fellow Allentown student into the ring to face The Edge’s Jake Lamphere in a 185 matchup. McRae was looking much like his training partner, dominating the fight with great control of distance and using the whole arsenal of attacks to work every level of the body.
Lamphere wasn’t backing down though and slowly started to climb back into the fight. It had the crowd roaring throughout an incredible final round that saw the two trade hard punches for two straight minutes.
In the end Lamphere squeaked out a narrow decision victory in a very entertaining matchup.
The final fight of the night brought out veteran Robyn Klenk of TSMMA Allentown to defend her 118 title against Gisele Andrade of Sitan Gym.
The rivalry between gyms has existed for years as Andrade’s coach Rami Ibrahim was Sensei Shennen Maceo’s opponent when Maceo won his World Muay Thai Title.
The first round set the tone for the fight with Klenk stalking Andrade throughout, while Andrade tried to use push kicks to keep her at bay.
A scheduled four round fight, the next three looked much like the first. Klenk would walk Andrade down for every second of every round.
Andrade would pull the best out of Klenk, but in the end the tenacity of the champion proved too much for Andrade and Klenk would win a unanimous decision to retain her title.
Another great evening for team TSMMA in the kickboxing arena. A highlight knockout by Nolam Wisser and title fight victories by Rachel Kendall and Robyn Klenk with victories by Kunkle and Baker mixed in. All eight represented Tiger Schulmann’s and if the crowd was any indication put on a great show!
