For Campbell River fighter Kaitlynn Jorgensen, Feb. 22 in Vancouver at AMA 33 was a shot for the BC Featherweight Muay Thai Kickboxing Title.
In front of a sold-out venue, with a large cheering contingent of teammates, friends and family, Jorgensen faced off against fellow contender Stephanie Palisse in a four-round war.
When the dust settled, Jorgensen found herself on the wrong side of a razor thin split decision. The entire four rounds featured non-stop action, with both competitors throwing a high volume of strikes. Jorgensen commented after the fight, “I thought that we put on a great battle. I’m pretty happy with my performance although in the fourth round I wish I let loose a little more.”
Throughout the bout, Palisse would flurry with quick-punching combinations which Jorgensen would immediately counter with more powerful and damaging strikes. Jorgensen controlled the clinch and dumped her opponent (when a fighter throws or sweeps their opponent to the ground) in the second and fourth rounds. For judges scoring the fight, sometimes optics and striking volume score better than damage and control, and unfortunately for Jorgensen, this was the case for two of the three judges on Friday night.
Jorgensen showed no ill effects from the four-round battle and, although disappointed with the judges’ decision, she was gracious in defeat, saying, “The decision was a hard one to swallow, but when you leave it in the hands of the judges you have the possibility of it not going your way. With that being said, we are onto bigger things, and hopefully more belts in the future.”
Jorgensen, along with her team – dubbed Team Bastian – that trains out of the Heart and Soul Muay Thai gym in Campbellton, was not kidding about quickly moving on, as Jorgensen is eyeing a possible return to the ring in about a month.
For the rest of Team Bastian, March will be a busy month. Marlene Noel and Brenna Jardine have fights schedule in Calgary on March 2 and Morgan Holling will be stepping into the ring in Victoria on March 22.
