Cellar fighters Caleb Merth, Tom Krenzel, and C.J. Hays competed in the 3 River Throwdown XVII event on September 11 in Onalaska, WI. Our team went 1-2 on the evening, with C.J. Hays bringing home an awesome win and both Caleb and Tom showing a great deal of heart and skill in the cage.

C.J. Hays started off our night with excellent patience and defense against a powerful striker. Early in the first round, C.J. timed a perfect body lock into a clean takedown. After dominating his opponent in side control, C.J. passed to full mount and locked up a tight head and arm choke, forcing a tap at just 1:24 of the first round. Congratulations C.J. — great display of control and technique!

Tom Krenzel started slow and faced some early adversity. With his back to the cage he dug in and landed a monster hook that floored his opponent. Tom went to the ground for some great ground and pound, but his opponent survived the round. In the second round, Tom was taken down off a caught kick. Tom locked up his guard and didn’t take much damage, but he was unable to show his bottom Jiu Jitsu game and spent most of the round on bottom. In the third, Tom was too persistent going for the takedown and his opponent showed strong defense. Tom lost the fight by decision.

Caleb Merth looked great during the warmups, but had a tricky time finding his timing in the cage. During one of the first real exchanges of the fight, he got caught by a solid right hand. Caleb dropped to the ground and his opponent quickly attacked with the RNC. Caleb lost by submission.

The losses are tough, especially after long training camps, but they’re part of the game. Although these were difficult lessons learned for Tom and Caleb, we’ll make changes in the gym and come back even stronger. We’re extremely proud of C.J. for his hard work during camp and his dominant win, and we look forward to seeing all three fighters back in action soon. Good work guys!