The first Hard Knocks Fighting card held in Estevan blew people away. The second certainly did nothing to kill the buzz around the sport in the Energy City.
There were all kinds of intriguing storylines at Hard Knocks 21, and they weren't all in the heat of battle.
It had already been a great evening of entertainment when, in the main event, Derek Daku only needed 12 seconds to knock out opponent Dusty Shingoose in the second fight of his career.
The 46-year-old Daku has become something of a hero to local athletes who one day want to get onto a card of their own. And on Saturday, he followed up his breakthrough performance in October with another crowd-pleaser.
A large part of Daku's appeal, other than being a hometown fighter, is that he's old enough to be a father to most of the other fighters, including the youngster he took on Saturday.
But it's more than that. He's a genuinely nice guy who doesn't take himself too seriously and is loving his newfound success.
It would be great to see Daku take on Devon Smith at the next card in June. Smith has scored knockouts in both of his Estevan appearances.
Turning to another local fighter, how about Wade Baldwin's effort in his scrap against Steven Arens?
Baldwin went right after Arens in the first round, seemingly determined not to suffer the same fate he did at Hard Knocks 16 when he was knocked out early. He appeared close to finishing it off in the first round, but Arens hung on.
By the second round, both heavyweights had nothing left and they really looked like those old cartoons where the two guys whiff on everything.
Still, they kept at it, summoned the tiny bit of energy left in the tank and pushed the fight to the third round, where Arens won by technical knockout.
There was much more, including an elaborate ruse at intermission that ended with a marriage proposal in the octagon.
The question was popped, the answer was given ("F--- yeah!") and everyone was happy.
More good news: we only have to wait two months for more live MMA action.
Josh Lewis can be reached by phone at 634-2654, by e-mail at [email protected], on Twitter at twitter.com/joshlewis306 or on his Bruins blog at estevanmercury.ca/bruinsbanter. OK, turning on the fire alarm was a clever tactic to get Weyburn confused, but shutting off the lights Piestany-style might have worked better.
