Just like the A-Team, Brendan “Hacksaw” Blacquier likes it when a plan comes together... even when it was not the original plan to start with.
A mere one amateur fight in his mixed-martial-arts career, time was ticking down to Rumble in the Cage 40, and still the fighter could not find an opponent.
It proved no problem for Blacquier, who was forced in to pro duty as he pounded his opponent, Francois Bourassa, into submission a minute and 40 seconds into the first round as the referee waved No Mas to his continually-pounded opponent.
“We couldn’t find a 155er willing to come down (on the Thursday), being a work week, it was tough to find an amateur at 155,” said Blacquier.
Having a bit of a book on Bourassa upon learning it would be his first pro opponent, Blacquier quickly changed the strategy he had for an amateur opponent.
“Taking him down was the game plan right from the get go. I had seen some video on him and my coach had fought him too, so he knew his ground game was not as strong as mine was,” said Blacquier.
“That was the game plan the whole time, to take him down early and try and submit him or put him away with my punches.”
But it was Bourassa who was working for a guillotine choke on Blacquier, but he did not have optimum form to cinch the hold, in which Hacksaw was able to escape, and it left Bourassa in an extremely vulnerable position.
Blacquier quickly took advantage with his killer instinct.
“It was a side mount and it wasn’t tight... it was across my chin,” said Blacquier of Bourassa’s guillotine attempt.
“It wasn’t across the neck and I had an arm in too. I crawled up to mount and it’s usually a tough choke from there. I think if he would have hit it from the guard he would have had more of a shot at it.”
Instead, it was Brendan “Hacksaw” Blacquier that was able to take a shot, with numerous blows to Bourassa’s head, as he got prime attacking position after squirming out of the choke hold, which eventually had the referee stop the fight.
“I hit him with a couple of elbows and punches and it was over,” said Blacquier.
“It was awesome being packed with that many people in there. I thought the roof was going to blow off that place. I’ve been in the Taber arena playing hockey and it has never been that loud with people losing their minds.”
Blacquier was able to get into the right frame of mind, as he took in many of the 11 fights previous to him, as he sat at one of the benches at the Taber arena.
He was proud to see other Taberites in Peter Neufeld, Ian Odland and Brandi Merritt take to the MMA ring to help put on a Rumble in the Cage show for the hometown.
“It was a great night for fights. It was non-stop action all night long. Guys either wanted to bang or if it went to the ground it seemed like everyone was working for chokes or finishes really quick,.”
“You get a little more pumped up when you see your teammates slugging it out, out there. You want to put on a good show.”
It was Merritt and Odland’s first foray into the MMA ring and if they decide to take to the ring for a second time, Hacksaw had some words of encouragement from his huge learning curve from his transition fro his first to second fight.
“Cardio — cardio is everything, that’s what I found. You can have knockout power, but if you can’t go two or three five-minute rounds, your power doesn’t really have a back-up,” said Blacquier.
“You just don’t have any power left.”