Daily Herald
Caleb Ermine lost his Xtreme Cage Wars Fighting Championship MMA title bout on Friday in North Battleford after a controversial stoppage by someone who wasn’t even in the ring.
The Sturgeon Lake First Nation fighter, who trains under Lucian Phillips at LDP Martial Arts in Prince Albert, had his fight with Dauda Keita, a 22-year-old Saskatoon-based fighter, stopped by the promoter.
In an email, Phillips described what happened.
“The fight was stopped early by the timekeeper, who is also the promoter and a judge, by ringing the bell before Caleb had a chance to get out of a bad position,” Phillips wrote. “The ref had no intention of stopping the fight but Dave (Lochert), who is the promoter, timekeeper and judge, kept ringing the bell to signify the fight was over.
“Under the unified rules, the ref is the only person who has the power to stop the fight. It is my belief that the fight was stopped early by someone who did not have the power to do so.”
With the loss, Ermine falls to 2-1 at 155 pounds and 2-6 overall. It doesn’t look he’ll have a chance for a rematch.
Phillips has seen enough.
“My gym will no longer have any more involvement with the XCW.”
Fortunately for local fighters, they’re not the only game in the area.
The Hard Knocks Fighting Championship, which has no affiliation with the XCWFC, has said it intends to return to Prince Albert in November.
