Photo from AKA Facebook page
Sparks Fly At AKA 29 In Louisiana
American Kombat Alliance (AKA) presented AKA 29 this past weekend at the Sams Town Casino in Shreveport, Louisiana. The event was also aired live on Fite. The 12-fight card was action-packed from beginning to end. This card had it all with junior MMA, grappling, kickboxing, and MMA. The main event saw a decision finish which led to a near-after-bout battle leading organization personnel and commission members to intervene to prevent the bad blood from boiling over.
Bad Blood In AKA 29 Main Event
Juan Chavana vs Blake Franklin (lightweight kickboxing)
The main event saw Juan Chavana and hometown favorite Blake Franklin meet in a lightweight kickboxing showdown. Bad blood had already begun to brew at the weigh-ins the previous night when Chavana came in missing weight. Franklin was not happy about the miss and let Chavana know about it. The tension would remain thick in the air when the two fighters faced off before
The first round saw Chavana push the pressure and utilize a lot of volume output. Franklin used his wealth of professional boxing experience to land big hooks as Chavana was exiting from his barrage of strikes. So it started out as the lighter, higher volume striking vs the not as frequent, but much more powerful striking. Controversy continued throughout the matchup as we had a few stoppages in the action due to called low blows from Chavana. After a close three rounds of action, the judges revealed Chavana to be the main event winner. The cage nearly erupted into another battle with both fighters face-to-face in a heated moment. After Chavana was pushed by someone in the cage, members of the Louisiana Boxing and Wrestling Commission and AKA stepped in to quickly regain order.
Aftermath Of Main Event
In a Facebook post on his personal page released Sunday, Franklin stated, “My opponent’s appearing at the weigh-ins seven pounds over weight was disrespectful, a contractual violation, and totally unprofessional. I did my job.” Franklin also mentioned in his post that Chavana had made disrespectful comments to him before and during their contest and he felt backed into a corner in accepting the fight against an over-weight fighter. Chavana, likewise, posted on his personal Facebook page on Monday stating, “Some people can’t accept a loss and make excuses and complain. It’s pretty said. There was indeed a low blow in the fight, the only time I was warned by the ref. But lets be honest, you spent the entire fight complaining and faked low blows to take a breather. If you felt cheated I didn’t make weight I sincerely apologize. We tried coming to an agreement as far as weight and 50% of my purse.”
Full Event Results
Main Event (lightweight kickboxing)
Juan Chavana defeats Blake Franklin via decision
Co-Main Event (welterweight MMA)
Delanie Hall defeats Andrew Sosa via 2nd round TKO (corner stoppage)
Colin Herndon defeats Nathan Vines via decision (160lbs kickboxing)
Bryce Rozas defeats Alex Barrientos via 3rd round TKO (lightweight MMA)
Chris Balderas defeats Jose Duran via 2nd-round TKO (featherweight kickboxing)
Adam Roshell defeats Dhruv Shatoos via 1st-round TKO (featherweight kickboxing)
Jacob Benavides defeats Colin Richard via decision (flyweight MMA)
Chance Hammond defeats Steve Battley via points (165lbs grappling)
Ta’mere Sampy defeats Timoteo Lopez via decision (middleweight kickboxing)
Eric Cocker defeats Remy Hester via decision (lightweight grappling)
Mike Gaines defeats Ashton Bilbo via 1st-round TKO (bantamweight kickboxing)
Adorezen Freeman defeats Christian Gentry via decision (115lbs junior MMA)
