The Cellar Gym is extremely proud to have had 3 members represent the USA in Brazil last week at the Kickboxing World Championships.

The Cellar’s Owner/Head Instructor, Chris Cichon fought for Team USA at the -75kg (165lbs) weight class, Antonio Dvorak fought in the +91kg (heavyweight) division, and Cellar instructor, Justin Whiley joined Team USA as a team coach.

The 2013 WAKO World Championships in Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil brought together the best fighters from 47 countries to compete head-to-head in K-1 Rules and Low Kick Rules Divisions. Each participant was the national champion of their respective country.

The tournament began on September 29 with fighters weighing-in and doing all of their required medicals. The following day was reserved for rules meetings, officials meetings, and the random drawings of each bracket.

Fights began on Tuesday October 1st and The Cellar’s Antonio Dvorak was scheduled to face Morocco’s Hicham Achlahi. Achlahi was the far more experienced fighter with over 100+ fights on his record, but Dvorak took control of the fight from the opening bell, landing strong leg kicks, and accurate punches that backed up his heavyweight opponent. Antonio Dvorak won the match by unanimous decision and helped gain some momentum for Team USA by earning the team’s first win after a difficult first day of competition. The Cellar’s Chris Cichon received a bye on Tuesday and was scheduled to fight Wednesday morning.

Early morning on Wednesday October 2nd, The Cellar’s Chris Cichon stepped into the ring to face Argentina’s Lucas Cristobal. Cichon jumped to an early lead against the Argentinian fighter landing strong leg kicks and precise boxing techniques, but the match heated up a notch in the 3rd round. Cristobal landed a right hand on the button and dropped Cichon for a second. After the 8-count Cichon came storming back and dropped Cristobal with a head kick and finished the fight with an impressive margin of points.

Late Wednesday Afternoon Antonio Dvorak stepped back into the ring for his quarterfinal match against Russia’s Nadyr Gadzhiev. Dvorak was again the far less experienced fighter, but he stayed toe-to-toe with the Russian National Champion. At the final bell Gadzhiev won the match by a slim judges decision, but Dvorak gave him a run for his money. Antonio Dvorak made a huge statement finishing in the Final 8 of the tournament after entering the competition as the least experienced fighter in the division. The next day Gadzhiev was forced to withdraw from his semi-final match for unknown reasons; he settled for the bronze medal.

In the final fight of the day Chris Cichon fought for the second time on Wednesday when he put on the gloves for his quarterfinal fight against Russia’s Khasan Khaliev. Khaliev entered the ring with a record of 94-2. He is Russia’s National Champion at 75kg (165lbs), the WAKO Pro European Champion, and the winner of the 2011 WAKO World Championships. Cichon knew he was entering the ring as the underdog, but embraced the opportunity with a nothing-to-lose mentality. He brought a tough fight to Khaliev that went back and forth throughout the match. The fight was dead even going into the final round, but Khaliev eventually pulled out a small lead to finish the match. Even though Cichon lost the decision, it was a great performance for him and Team USA. Later that night many officials were buzzing about the American that gave the Russian his closest match in years! Khasan Khaliev went on to win his semi-final and final matches by large margins and capture the Gold Medal.

Even though The Cellar was unable to bring home any medals for Team USA, we are extremely proud of our fighters performance and the way they represented the USA with Pride! Congratulations to Antonio Dvorak, Chris Cichon, Justin Whiley and all of Team USA Kickboxing!