The Calgary Amateur Kickboxing & MuayThai Association produced another completely sold out show
with their 'Triple Impact' event scheduled for January 28th, 2006 in Calgary, Canada. This card was filmed
for upcoming broadcast on television.
As has been the case with the CAKMA events, this event was SOLD OUT before event day. Hundreds of people were
turned away at the door and many people were disappointed when they called to find out the event was sold out! Next
time, get your tickets early!
The event was scheduled with 10 bouts with a guarantee of at least 7 bouts. The day before the event, one bout
was cancelled due to not having the medical requirements in on time. Without the bout (an undercard fight), the event
still ran smoothly and on time and offered top quality action packed Muay Thai bouts and action.
All of the bouts were fought under full Muay Thai rules (Punches, kicks, elbows and knees) except for the first
bout which was fought under modified Muay Thai rules (no elbow attacks and no knee attacks to the head).
The athletes and coaches were professional to the 'T', helping the event run smoothly without a hitch. CAKMA
would like to thank the following coaches: Ajarn Mike Miles, Trevor Hardy, Al Sabey, Justin
Tavernini, Sifu Frank Lee, Kru Buck Grant, Luis Rosu, Jason St. Louis, and Dan
Pemble. Thank you so much as you all made this event exciting and memorable.
The bouts were co-sanctioned in Calgary by the Calgary Boxing & Wrestling Commission, nationally (amateur) by
the Canadian Muay Thai Council - Amateur (CMTC-A), and professionally by the World Muay Thai Council
(WMC) and the World Kickboxing Association (WKA). Thank you to so many volunteers, sponsors, the fight
doctor Andy Anton, Calgary EMS, the local media, and the viewing public for making this sport what it is in Calgary
(sorry if anyone was missed).
Finally mid way through the card during the intermission, it was announced that one of the officials group,
Mr. Tim Yorke made his retirement from the sport. He will be missed around the world for all the work he has
done for amateur Muay Thai and Kickboxing , all the people he has touched with his support for this sport, and
everyone wishes him the best with his future endeavors. Also CAKMA says thank you to the official's group who ran
the action in the ring , decisively, tight and fair.
The Main Event featured Trevor 'T.N.T.' Smandych (Mike Miles Muay Thai) battling against Gil Silva
(Portugal - Ginasio Superstar/Lisbon Arena). This turned out to be a good war between two very talented athletes. At
the beginning of round one Silva came out of his corner quickly and powerfully. Throwing six successive roundhouse
kicks in a row and following with aggressive knees and elbows, showing no respect for Smandych at all. Maybe Silva's
fight-plan was to intimidate Smandych or try and knock the Canadian out, but it did not work. As usual, Smandych just
weathered the storm and started coming back with some of his own hard shots which quickly brought down the intensity
from Silva . In this bout Smandych relied heavily on his punches and kicks. Sylva did an excellent job of kicking
and threw a ton of elbows, but none of them made it through Smandych's tight guard. Both athletes worked quite
intensely in the clinch with the upper hand being questionable. Smandych forced the fight and as each round
progressed he kept the pressure on the Portuguese athlete. As the bout progressed Silva slowed down considerably and
some of Smandych's body blows took some of the steam out of Silva. However, Silva was gung ho in this bout from the
starting bell to the final bell ending the bout. The bout went unanimously to Smandych but... Silva did an
exceptional job of making this bout extremely exciting and proving that he is a very talented athlete. Silva's
ability made this a challenging bout for the Canadian. Congratulations Trevor 'T.N.T.' Smandych on your first
fight in Calgary in 15 months and on your unanimous decision win.
In the semi-main event, Scott 'Pitbull' Clark (Mike Miles Muay Thai) stepped into the ring against
Portugal's Tierri 'Brutus' Mendes (Francisco de Holanda Gym). Both athletes bodies looked like they were
sculpted by the same renaissance artist. Both men were built solidly, impressively, and had very imposing physiques.
The bout started with both athletes testing the other and seeing how each other would react. Mendes demonstrated why
he is called 'Brutus' by pressing forward in the first round and showing little respect for Clark's skills. In the
first round Mendes demonstrated exceptional timing and physical strength when Clark would move in to knee, Mendes
would intercept and force Clark off balance. Mendes was very strong physically in the clinch and had a very
respectable arsenal of tactics and techniques during the clinch. In the second round, Clark set the brutal pace
which was to continue for the rest of the bout and kept Mendes guessing as to when a real attack was coming or when
it was just a body feint. During this round and the following ones, Clark would effortlessly make the transition
from one weapon to the next, demonstrating the art of eight limbs with what seemed to be a very natural ease. By the
middle of the bout, Clark had figured out how to deal with Mendes' very powerful strength, especially in the clinch.
He used some smart techniques to nullify the Portuguese athlete's strength and tactics. Each round had Clark
stepping up the intensity, and Mendes was having a little more difficulty keeping up the pace. But... Mendes proved
how strong and tough he was. He took a full roundhouse kick full on to the side of the head and did not wobble. He
took a strong knee to the head during the clinch and got up. As the bout progressed, and most notably by rounds
four and five, Mendes was having trouble keeping up with the blistering pace. He received several eight counts but
got up to continue. Mendes came to fight for the honor of his country, his team and himself and he proved what an
impressive athlete he was. At the end of the bout, the winner was Scott Clark by unanimous decision. This
'Pitbull' has bite! Clark though an amateur athlete, moves like a very talented professional and seems to just be
getting better and better with each bout. Congratulations Scott!
In the other semi-main event of the evening, Jesse 'Smiles' Miles (Mike Miles Muay Thai) stepped into the
ring against Ricardo Lopes (Portugal - Chakra Gym). Just as what had been described in earlier press releases,
there was a massive difference in height between these two athletes. Miles looked stockier than his much taller
opponent from Portugal. The bout began with Lopes moving forward showing little respect for Miles. Lopes shelled and
seemed content to block any of Miles blows, and then would try and counter with a strong punch, kick or knee. The
problem for Lopes on this bout was that Miles was very fast and when Lopes would throw a shot, much of the time,
Miles had angled or moved out of range. Miles figured out Lopes speed and tactics and by the second round Miles set
out with his own game plan. Miles would intercept or set up some very strong body shots (mixed in with a variety of
other blows moving up and down the body). By round three Lopes' body appeared pink from some of the blows delivered
to his body. Lopes' attempts to clinch the smaller Miles were immediately nullified by Miles timing and tactics
breaking any hold in the clinch Lopes had achieved. As the bout progressed, Lopes did not deliver as many techniques,
possibly from Miles strong body attack, or possibly from just finding it very difficult to 'find' Miles. The bout
went the distance, with Jesse Miles earning an unanimous decision, and proving he is capable of dealing with
opponents of any size! This was a crowd pleaser of a bout and both men did themselves and their countries proud.
Congratulations Jesse!
The remaining bout between Team Canada and Team Portugal, featured Canada's Misty Sutherland (Mike Miles
Muay Thai) against Portugal's Rita Rocha (Group Superstar - Never-Shake), this was the only female bout of
the evening. Sutherland moved up a division in this bout to face the physically larger Portuguese athlete.
Sutherland had more experience on her side to compensate for the size difference. As the full Muay Thai rules bout
opened, Rocha pressed forward hiding behind her shell, absorbing most of Sutherland's punches on the forearms and
countering very effectively. The first half of the round, Rocha showed no respect and moved forward impressively and
strongly forcing Sutherland backwards. Sutherland suddenly scooted off of the ropes and created a little distance
between herself and the Portuguese athlete. As Rocha moved forward, a perfectly timed defensive knee landed on the
midsection of Rocha who went down for the count and beyond. The doctor entered the ring and finally got Rocha back
to her feet to the approval of the audience. Rocha looked very good in this bout but did not expect the strong knee.
Misty Sutherland won the bout by KO to the body at 1 minute and 1 second of the first round. Misty,
congratulations on the win.
The undercard featured two bouts featuring Canada against the USA:
The first bout featured Lethbridge, Canada's John 'Lethal' Laing (Canadian Martial Arts Centre) against
the USA's Kurt Reinhard (Hybrid Academy of Martial Arts) in a full Muay Thai rules contest. In the first
round, Reinhard seemed to have the ability to control the fight, but was not having the success that many expected
in the clinch (which he is talented at). Laing's MMA ability helped immensely in nullifying the American's clinch
work. In round two, Laing was looking a little tired but suddenly and explosively he delivered a right cross.
Reinhard did not see it and the blow sent him down to the canvas. The referee stopped the fight and John Laing
racked up another win on his list of Muay Thai encounters. This bout proved how dynamic and explosive Muay Thai
bouts can be. Great work from both athletes. Congratulations John!
Lethbridge Canada's Brad Wall (Progressive Fighting Academy) squared off against the USA's Ben
Yelle. This bout was to go the distance. A good fight with lots of action on the outside and a little in the
clinch. Wall seemed somewhat tired in this match. Possibly the weight loss for the bout zapped a little of his
energy but this does not take away from Yelle and a very impressive work ethic. The American kept throwing his
techniques in combination and moved up and down the Canadian's body. In round two Yelle appeared to be tired and
many predicted he would not be able to keep his work rate at what it was. Everyone was proven wrong, Yelle just kept
working and working and working... (where were the batteries?). Wall did not give up during the fight as he
continually tried to press forward and attack. Wall's problem with this bout was that he seemed tired and threw
single shots and did not answer immediately (this was something Yelle did impressively). Wall kept moving forward
throughout the whole bout but Yelle was delivering two shots to every one of the Canadian's. Ben Yelle walked
away with a well deserved unanimous decision on this one.
On the undercard was a CMTC-A Canadian Welterweight Muay Thai Title bout. The contestant's were Calgary's
Phil 'No Fear' Leier (Mike Miles Muay Thai) and Edmonton's Levi Kump (Frank Lee's Martial Arts). These
two had met in a fight a year prior with Kump having won the earlier encounter. At that time, this was a great bout.
In the first two rounds of this bout Leier seemed stalled in the blocks. He was tentative in attacking and Kump just
pressed forward with a great arsenal of techniques and tactics. Kump appeared to be on his way to a shut out and
taking the title belt home with him. In round three Leier suddenly exploded and landed a few good rights and and
elbow. This immediately caught Kump's attention. Leier started countering effectively and was suddenly back in the
fight. This is the round that could have possibly went either way. In rounds four and five, Leier picked up the pace
and started an impressive work ethic. Kump was to prove he was still in the game by landing some beautiful shots of
his own but Leier would bounce back and as such, he convincingly took rounds four and five. The bout and title was
awarded to Phil Leier and the bout set the stage for a rubber match (Leier having a title defense possibly).
Kump just seems to be getting better and better and though he lost a close fight here, he has shown why he won the
Gold Medal in the 2005 WKA World Championships (great arsenal and super technique). This bout had the audience on
their feet (as did most of the other bouts). What a great fight this was from two talented athletes. Congratulations
Phil!
Darren Snell (Mike Miles Muay Thai) and Jordan Lannon (Frank Lee's Martial Arts) squared off
against each other in a superwelterweight full Muay Thai rules bout set to take place over 3 rounds. From the
opening bell, this was a war. Lannon pressed the fight and used all of his Muay Thai arsenal. In the clinch, Lannon
used a few impressive spins on Snell. Snell, always an athlete who brings impressive desire to a bout made this a
non stop rock 'em, sock 'em war. Darren Snell was awarded the decision and the win but this in no way
reflects anything negative on Lannon who has proven what a versatile and talented athlete he is. Congratulations
Darren.
The opening bout of the evening featured Calgary's Lindsay Rae (Mike Miles Muay Thai) battling against
journeyman athlete Graham Weenk (Alliance Martial Arts in Saskatoon). Though Weenk had significantly more
experience than Rae, Weenk had been out of the ring for awhile. These two athletes looked good and threw some hard
shots that if they had connected would have put the other to the moon. Not wild, but good defense and composure from
these two athletes. A very fair and competitive bout, Lindsay Rae was to walk away with the victory on this
one. Graham you looked good too. Lindsay congratulations on your win.
Keep your eyes peeled here for the next event. It will feature athletes from Japan against athletes from Canada.
