MMA, super boxing, and combat jiu-jitsu — all packed into a single night for a truly stacked card.
Rumble in the Cage 57 took place Saturday night at Exhibition Park in Lethbridge, Alta., delivering everything from devastating knockouts and slick submissions to back-and-forth brawls.
In the main event, Connor Krebs (2-1) leaned on his dominant takedowns and relentless ground-and-pound to hand Evan Piercey (2-1) his first amateur loss, earning a hard-earned unanimous decision in their lightweight matchup.
"I put in so much work for this," Krebs shared in a post-fight interview. "I'm grinding every single day, Monday through Sunday, sometimes two or three sessions."
"I knew I was walking into a serious fight tonight. This guy packs a punch."
Krebs managed to land multiple takedowns across all three rounds, which clearly factored heavily into the judges' scoring.
Piercey's previous two victories had come via first-round stoppages, so Krebs explained his strategy revolved around neutralizing his opponent's striking as much as possible.
"I knew he was dangerous off the back, so my game plan was simple — drag him into deep water, take him to the mat, and stay away from those big shots," Krebs explained.
"I think we pulled that off pretty well tonight."
This represented Krebs' most demanding challenge in his still-young career, and now that he's claimed the win, he's looking ahead to a title opportunity.
Krebs mentioned he'd love to see himself on the XFFC 17 card in Grand Prairie, though he remains flexible about pursuing any championship bout across Canada.
"I'll have them mail me photos of the belts so I can figure out which ones match my suits."
Croden Finishes It Quick
The co-main event carried plenty of anticipation, with both Melissa Croden (3-0) and Sierra Dinwoodie (3-1) carrying perfect records into their 150-pound amateur catchweight clash — and every win for each fighter had come by finish.
But the bout wouldn't last long. Croden dropped Dinwoodie with a brutal right hand just 20 seconds into the opening frame.
"When I stepped in there, I felt as loose and relaxed as I possibly could," Croden told reporters after the fight.
"Honestly, I was caught off guard — I was expecting a much longer, harder battle."
Croden noted she's headed to New Mexico to train at Jackson Wink MMA Academy for two weeks, a trip she had organized well before the fight.
She explained finding female training partners in Calgary can be challenging, so she's traveling south to pick up additional sparring time.
Once she returns, Croden said her next steps remain wide open, including the possibility of turning professional.
"I'm planning to make the jump to pro sometime this year, but if another amateur bout pops up, depending on how things line up, I'd definitely consider it," Croden said.
"I've had conversations with Alaska Fighting Championship and Invicta, so hopefully I'll start making moves in that direction soon."
Elsewhere on the card, Jake Maier edged out Richie Hall via split decision in their amateur catchweight matchup at 175 pounds, while Dan Kovalchuk dispatched Alejandro Castillo Dumas quickly, securing a guillotine choke submission at 0:56 of the first round.
Jared Shipley also got the job done against Sean Carroll in a brawl-heavy contest, picking up the TKO at 1:21 of round one.
Sean Bone and Dustin Heintz both won their respective super boxing bouts, while Mark Arreola vs Brandon Conway, Andrew Mavridis vs Kurt Spizwaka, and Izzudeen Atmeh vs Raj Mahil all concluded as draws.
In the only combat jiu-jitsu match of the night, Colton Boxell emerged victorious over Derek Gatz.
