By KOTC Staff
Zach Blaber continued his winning ways this past Saturday at King of the Cage Canada’s “Chiller” card in Yellowknife, by earning a split decision victory over Canadian middleweight champ Elmer Waterhen in a 215lb catch-weight tilt. Although the win extended Blaber’s win streak to five and his overall record to 6-2, the surging fighter wasn’t overly thrilled with his latest performance.
“I did not have my best performance in there,” said Blaber. “I had trouble getting my timing and became very frustrated with myself. I think Elmer did a great job! He was unpredictable on his feet and slippery on the ground.”
Interestingly, both Blaber and Waterhen earned a 30-27 scoring from one of the three judges, with one official recording it 29-28 for Blaber.
“I don’t think that you are ever confident when it goes to the judges but I think my aggressiveness, takedowns and ground control awarded me the decision,” said Blaber, when asked whether he was confident he had won the bout after the final bell sounded.
The fight’s outcome aside, KOTC Canada matchmaker Orest Zmyndak reports that the “Chiller” main event was a thrilling and memorable tilt for fans in attendance at the Yellowknife Arena.
“The main event had the whole town talking the next day,” said Zmyndak. “With Blaber being from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, he was clearly the rabid fan’s favourite. Zach was more dominant in the ground game with numerous takedowns which probably was the deciding factor with the judges. Elmer punished Zach with his leg kicks and punching ability, though Zach did catch Elmer with a punch in the first round, that after the fight, Waterhen commented on how hard the guy can punch.”
“Both fighters were warriors as Elmer sustained a five stitch cut on his head and Zach had possible rib and liver injuries,” Zmyndal added. “Even though he didn't get the decision, Elmer proved to be a true warrior in taking this fight with the larger Blaber and truly won the crowd over with his heart.”
The defeat was Waterhen’s first in four fights, as heading into the September 17th bout, the Saskatoon fighter had scored consecutive wins over Samurai Khardassian, Jason Gorny and Brad Stewart.
As Zmyndak alluded to, “Chiller” presented Blaber a rare opportunity to compete in the Northwest Territories and the 29 year-old-fighter thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“It was amazing,” said Blaber. “A dream come true; the event was well put on, and the fans were loud and extremely grateful to all the fighters.”
Now having recorded a win over one of the promotion’s most resilient and experienced fighters in Waterhen, it remains to be seen what’s next for Blaber as the 2011 year starts to wind down.
“Well I believe I have a lot more work to do,” Blaber noted when asked when he would like to fight next. “So I will focus on that until my manager Kevin Royle tells me what’s next !”
