In front of an enthusiastic crowd at the Batesville Civic Center in Batesville, Wolfpak MMA fighter Nick Delahoussaye showed the audience that he doesn’t work by the hour on Saturday (July 13).
Delahoussaye, in his second professional mixed martial arts fight, defeated Joseph Pernal by submission in the featherweight division at the event titled “Trogon Fighting Alliance 1.” Delahoussaye pushed his professional record to 2-0.
The two faced off to start the fight. Delahoussaye ended up going to the ground after a failed kick. Pernal got on top of him, but Delahoussaye didn’t panic. He was able to secure Pernal’s right arm and get on top of it synching down. Pernal’s left arm was free to do the only thing he could do and that’s tap out with Delahoussaye winning the fight in under a minute in the first round.
“I knew he was wanting to get in and get aggressive on me,” said Delahoussaye. “I missed my hay kick that we’ve been drilling for eight weeks. He ended up getting in on my for a little bit, but I caught his arm from my back and got the submission as quick as I could.”
When Delahoussaye got the tap out win, he jump to the top of the cage and flexed for the fans that were showing their approval of the decision.
The 21-year-old said the support he got from his fans was tremendous.
“This is the best showing I’ve had from fans at one of my fights,” said Delahoussaye. “They’ve been with me since day one, and it means so much that they can come out and celebrate this with me.”
Wolfpak MMA Owner and Coach Tony Delahoussaye said the way Nick Delahoussaye trains for a fight is key for him.
“We work on the stuff he needs improvement on way more than the stuff he’s good at,” said Coach Delahoussaye. “Of course, we work on the stuff he’s good at as well. We try to put him in bad situations a lot, so he can adapt immediately.”
Wolfpak MMA Jiu-Jitsu Coach Jason Aldridge said Nick Delahoussaye’s progress as a fighter is on the right track.
“Overall, he’s done great,” said Aldridge. “He’s improving with every fight. We always see something new coming out of Nick. Whether it be a submission or attacking something, he is always looking to finish the fight as early as possible. That’s something that a lot of fighters don’t look for these days. They’re trying to pace it out a lot. When the finish is in, he’s finding it and he’s taking it.”
Nick Delahoussaye will be working on getting another fight before the end of the year. Delahoussaye, who began is fighting career as a amateur in 2020, has won both of his pro fights by submission in the first round. Delahoussaye was excited about his standing in MMA after Saturday.
“I’m a hot commodity to all of these promoters around here,” said Delahoussaye. “I’m probably looking at something a lot bigger and better here soon.”
By Andy Collier, Sports Editor, The Bolivar Bullet