Grundy Combat Sports’ SuperCell Edwards makes US National Team for Kickboxing

Marcelis “SuperCell” Edwards, a Streator-native who fights out of Grundy Combat Sports in Mazon, is traveling to Abu Dhabi as part of the US National team after his victories in a Columbus, Ohio tournament got him qualified.

Edwards, who competes in the heavyweight division, got the call to travel to Columbus after a few other fighters had to drop out of the World Association of Kickboxing. His performance earned him a spot on the national team.

It’s been a long road for Edwards, who said he started fighting while growing up in Streator.

“All I did after school was get into these little street fights,” Edwards said. “I was bullied a lot as a kid and around my freshman year in high school, I always found myself getting into fights. My grandmother always told me that there’s no point in getting all these bumps and bruises for no reason and I should start taking combat sports seriously.”

At the time, there weren’t many combat sports gyms around. It wasn’t until Edwards was 18 years old, when he had his own transportation, that he got into kickboxing and MMA. He started taking kickboxing seriously when he started training with Nick Galvan at Grundy Combat Sports, 701 Park St., Mazon.

Galvan said Edwards making the national team is a great accomplishment that he has trouble putting into words.

“When I started the gym, I knew I would be able to help some people win local fights and fight around the area, things like that,” Galvan said. “But once Cell (Edwards) and I started training together, things clicked differently. You have different relationships with different fighters. Some communicate well and you can tell what’s benefitting them and what they’re taking to.”

Galvan, a Joliet native who now lives in Mazon, has been coaching Edwards for 15 fights. He said that’s the longest he’s ever coached a single athlete.

He said the size difference between his gym and some of the others became apparent when he saw other gyms bringing teams of 20 people to watch. For Edwards, it was just him and Galvan at the event.

That doesn’t mean Edwards is training with just Galvan, though: He said he’s learned a lot about fighting through his relationships with other fighters.

“I’ve learned to network with other fighters and gyms, just getting feedback from other coaches, just learning how to hone my skills and get a feel for the game, what’s to come and the different types of fighters,” Edwards said. “I’ve learned to retain as much information as I can because there’s always something new you can run into with combat sports.”

Edwards said he looks at every fight as another day in the office, the same way he would show up to work every day. That means training daily and taking every opponent seriously, no matter who he has across from him.

“Every show we’ve done before the national tournament, it was hometown guy, hometown guy, big ticket seller, hometown guy,” Galvan said. “Everywhere we’ve gone, it’s been hostile territory. We always get booed, and now we go to other people’s towns and they know who Cell is. They’re cheering for him because they know they’re about to see a good fight.”

Edwards is raising money to make the trip to Abu Dhabi, and he has a GoFundMe available at gofund.me/20ace4f1. Those interested in sponsoring Edwards can reach out to Grundy Combat Sports through its Facebook page, facebook.com/Grundycombatclub.