Windsor athletes win big in combat sports competitions across North America

Fourteen-year-old Jaden Major, who trains at Hybrid Training Academy in Windsor, earned a decision victory March 23, 2024, to secure the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) East Coast Classic Championship. (Source: Hybrid Training Academy Windsor/Facebook)

Young athletes from Windsor, Ont. are celebrating massive victories in combat sport tournaments across Canada and the U.S.

Fourteen-year-old Jaden Major, who trains at Hybrid Training Academy in Windsor, earned a decision victory Saturday to secure the International Kickboxing Federation (IKF) East Coast Classic Championship.

In August 2023, Major stepped into the ring for her first professional kickboxing bout and earned the IKF World Junior Flyweight Championship by defeating an opponent who went into the fight with a 7-2 record.

Major's next fight is expected to take place in July at the 2024 IKF World Classic in Las Vegas.

At the 2024 Youth and Junior Canadian Championships in Calgary, Alta., Border City Boxing's Jayden Trudell won gold Friday at the under-23 Calgary Cup Championship.

Adding to an already impressive résumé, the 19-year-old defeated an Alberta-based fighter by third-round technical knockout to secure the gold medal. 

At the youth level, Border City Boxing's Jarelyn Castillo earned gold in her division Friday to earn a spot on Team Canada and an opportunity to compete at the next under-19 world championship tournament.

Back in Ontario, 10-year-old Noah Zaidan won a gold medal at a jiu-jitsu tournament Saturday inside the Submission Academy in London, Ont.

According to his coaches, Zaidan competed in a more advanced age class (12 to 13 years old) who were about five pounds heavier than him.

Zaidan also trains out of Hybrid Training Academy in Windsor.