MM-Eh! News and Notes from Canada
Andy Cotterill Apr 30, 2007
It's yet another busy week for mixed martial arts in Canada. MM-Eh!
takes a look at the results of Saturdays' KOTC in Vernon, BC,
discusses troubles in the Maritimes, and tells you where you can
see Patrick Cote
(Pictures), Kalib Starnes (Pictures), and Mark Bocek compete next.
King Of The Cage "Megiddo" Recap
The Multiplex in Vernon, BC, played host Saturday night to 12
fights in the latest installment of KOTC Canada "Megiddo."
BC's Gary Wright met Nova Scotia's TJ Grant (Pictures) in a welterweight championship bout. Both competitors showed a lot of skill in a spirited match, but in the end it was Wright who emerged from the fight with a decision win, and from the cage with the belt.
Tim Hague came into his match with veteran Ruben Villareal (Pictures) in the familiar role of underdog. "Warpath" was deducted a point in the first for a blow to the back of Hague's head.
Hague returned the favor by taking the second stanza decisively by scooping up his foe and slamming him to the mat with a crash that had the crowd cheering. The two big men went the distance, with Hague playing the spoiler for the win.
WarZone Edmonton
Edmontonian fans of MMA are some of the luckiest in the country, with at least three promotions to attend. WarZone is the latest MMA promotion to come to the Alberta capital when it debuts Sunday, May 6 at the Shaw Conference Centre.
WarZone appears to be an outlet for fighters denied entry into the city's largest promotion -- MFC -- due to their having fought in Edmonton for the MFC's competitor, KOTC.
ECC and MFC news
The MFC and Halifax's ECC have established a mutually beneficial relationship, providing a venue for each other's fighters to compete in a city far from home. This liaison now seems opportune, as ECC will soon be facing a challenge previously met by the MFC -- the arrival of KOTC to their city.
ECC had originally planned on holding its sixth card in Moncton, New Brunswick, sometime in June. That changed when it became clear that KOTC had aspirations of coming to Halifax at the same time. ECC went into emergency mode, quickly booking the Halifax Forum for June 23, the date ECC promoters believe was desired by KOTC.
This move has only delayed the inevitable, as KOTC still plans to come to the Nova Scotia capital on July 13, say sources. Following suit of the MFC, ECC President Rob Walker told Sherdog.com that if any fighter competes for KOTC in Halifax, they won't be welcome in his promotion any longer.
He said that he's just protecting his investment, and that he has no objection to a fighter joining KOTC in any other Maritime city.
MFC President Mark Pavelich said that he considers KOTC Canada to be a "garbage organization" that is trying to jump on the bandwagon that he built.
Pavelich also revealed some news about his next MFC card scheduled for June 22. The anticipated bout between light heavyweights Roger Hollett (Pictures) and Jason Day is off. According to Pavelich, Day is now co-owner of the "Rumble in the Cage" organization with Lee Mein (Pictures) in Lethbridge, Alta, and they are keeping all of their fighters competing there.
Hollett will now face Floyd Sword out of Greg Jackson's camp in New Mexico. Hopefully Sword will be a real test for Hollett, so he can finally show his detractors if he's the real deal or not.
The Hollett-Sword fight will also be for No. 1 contender status to meet MFC light heavyweight champ Victor Valimaki (Pictures), who is coming off a brutal stoppage loss to Alessio Sakara (Pictures) at UFC 70. Valimaki will also be on the card, and Pavelich is attempting to secure a certain former Ultimate Fighter contestant as opposition.
Scott Junk (Pictures) will be vying for the newly created MFC heavyweight championship against Jason Lambert (Pictures)'s North Country Fight Club teammate Wade Shipp (Pictures). Also competing will be Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures) against an as yet unknown opponent.
Kalib Starnes (Pictures) to meet Chris Leben (Pictures)
The Fight Network reported recently that Kalib Starnes (Pictures) and Chris Leben (Pictures) will meet in a battle of TUF veterans at UFC 71, May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Starnes is preparing in Florida with American Top Team, where right now a giant training camp is going on, comprised of notable fighters Denis Kang (Pictures), Thiago Alves (Pictures), Marcus Aurelio, Wilson Gouveia (Pictures), Din Thomas (Pictures), Antonio Silva (Pictures), and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures).
Starnes-Leben is not one of the five match-ups currently listed on UFC.com, however three of those match-ups are noted as being on the undercard, so there's a decent chance that the Canadian's fight will be broadcast live on the pay-per-view.
Patrick Cote (Pictures) to face Crafton Wallace (Pictures) at TKO 29
Patrick Cote (Pictures) returns to the familiar confines of Quebec's TKO on June 1 when he headlines TKO's "Repercussion" against fellow UFC veteran Crafton Wallace (Pictures).
Cote is coming off a unanimous decision victory to Scott Smith at UFC 67, while Wallace lost his two UFC appearances to Martin Kampmann (Pictures) and Nathan Marquardt (Pictures).
Also competing on the card will be Jonathan Goulet (Pictures), Stéphane Dubé, Valerie Letourneau (Pictures) in the first ever female MMA bout in Quebec, and hockey enforcer Steve Bosse in his MMA debut.
Mark Bocek ready for ADCC
Canadian mixed martial artist Mark Bocek gets set to test his submission grappling skills against the best this weekend, when he competes in the world's most prestigious sub-grappling tournament, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship, May 5-7 in Trenton, New Jersey.
Bocek won the 2006 North American Trials to qualify for ADCC and the chance to meet a literal who's who of the jiu-jitsu world, including Marcelo Garcia, Renzo Gracie (Pictures), Pablo Popovich, Kurt Pellegrino (Pictures), and UFC competitors Dew Fickett and Joe Stevenson (Pictures).
King Of The Cage "Megiddo" Recap
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BC's Gary Wright met Nova Scotia's TJ Grant (Pictures) in a welterweight championship bout. Both competitors showed a lot of skill in a spirited match, but in the end it was Wright who emerged from the fight with a decision win, and from the cage with the belt.
Kajan Johnson capitalized
when Canadian MMA fixture Jason St. Louis (Pictures) injured his MCL, giving the
quick thinking "Rajin" the opportunity to mount his wounded
opponent and punch out a submission due to strikes.
Tim Hague came into his match with veteran Ruben Villareal (Pictures) in the familiar role of underdog. "Warpath" was deducted a point in the first for a blow to the back of Hague's head.
Hague returned the favor by taking the second stanza decisively by scooping up his foe and slamming him to the mat with a crash that had the crowd cheering. The two big men went the distance, with Hague playing the spoiler for the win.
WarZone Edmonton
Edmontonian fans of MMA are some of the luckiest in the country, with at least three promotions to attend. WarZone is the latest MMA promotion to come to the Alberta capital when it debuts Sunday, May 6 at the Shaw Conference Centre.
WarZone appears to be an outlet for fighters denied entry into the city's largest promotion -- MFC -- due to their having fought in Edmonton for the MFC's competitor, KOTC.
ECC and MFC news
The MFC and Halifax's ECC have established a mutually beneficial relationship, providing a venue for each other's fighters to compete in a city far from home. This liaison now seems opportune, as ECC will soon be facing a challenge previously met by the MFC -- the arrival of KOTC to their city.
ECC had originally planned on holding its sixth card in Moncton, New Brunswick, sometime in June. That changed when it became clear that KOTC had aspirations of coming to Halifax at the same time. ECC went into emergency mode, quickly booking the Halifax Forum for June 23, the date ECC promoters believe was desired by KOTC.
This move has only delayed the inevitable, as KOTC still plans to come to the Nova Scotia capital on July 13, say sources. Following suit of the MFC, ECC President Rob Walker told Sherdog.com that if any fighter competes for KOTC in Halifax, they won't be welcome in his promotion any longer.
He said that he's just protecting his investment, and that he has no objection to a fighter joining KOTC in any other Maritime city.
MFC President Mark Pavelich said that he considers KOTC Canada to be a "garbage organization" that is trying to jump on the bandwagon that he built.
Pavelich also revealed some news about his next MFC card scheduled for June 22. The anticipated bout between light heavyweights Roger Hollett (Pictures) and Jason Day is off. According to Pavelich, Day is now co-owner of the "Rumble in the Cage" organization with Lee Mein (Pictures) in Lethbridge, Alta, and they are keeping all of their fighters competing there.
Hollett will now face Floyd Sword out of Greg Jackson's camp in New Mexico. Hopefully Sword will be a real test for Hollett, so he can finally show his detractors if he's the real deal or not.
The Hollett-Sword fight will also be for No. 1 contender status to meet MFC light heavyweight champ Victor Valimaki (Pictures), who is coming off a brutal stoppage loss to Alessio Sakara (Pictures) at UFC 70. Valimaki will also be on the card, and Pavelich is attempting to secure a certain former Ultimate Fighter contestant as opposition.
Scott Junk (Pictures) will be vying for the newly created MFC heavyweight championship against Jason Lambert (Pictures)'s North Country Fight Club teammate Wade Shipp (Pictures). Also competing will be Luigi Fioravanti (Pictures) against an as yet unknown opponent.
Kalib Starnes (Pictures) to meet Chris Leben (Pictures)
The Fight Network reported recently that Kalib Starnes (Pictures) and Chris Leben (Pictures) will meet in a battle of TUF veterans at UFC 71, May 26 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Starnes is preparing in Florida with American Top Team, where right now a giant training camp is going on, comprised of notable fighters Denis Kang (Pictures), Thiago Alves (Pictures), Marcus Aurelio, Wilson Gouveia (Pictures), Din Thomas (Pictures), Antonio Silva (Pictures), and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Pictures).
Starnes-Leben is not one of the five match-ups currently listed on UFC.com, however three of those match-ups are noted as being on the undercard, so there's a decent chance that the Canadian's fight will be broadcast live on the pay-per-view.
Patrick Cote (Pictures) to face Crafton Wallace (Pictures) at TKO 29
Patrick Cote (Pictures) returns to the familiar confines of Quebec's TKO on June 1 when he headlines TKO's "Repercussion" against fellow UFC veteran Crafton Wallace (Pictures).
Cote is coming off a unanimous decision victory to Scott Smith at UFC 67, while Wallace lost his two UFC appearances to Martin Kampmann (Pictures) and Nathan Marquardt (Pictures).
Also competing on the card will be Jonathan Goulet (Pictures), Stéphane Dubé, Valerie Letourneau (Pictures) in the first ever female MMA bout in Quebec, and hockey enforcer Steve Bosse in his MMA debut.
Mark Bocek ready for ADCC
Canadian mixed martial artist Mark Bocek gets set to test his submission grappling skills against the best this weekend, when he competes in the world's most prestigious sub-grappling tournament, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Wrestling World Championship, May 5-7 in Trenton, New Jersey.
Bocek won the 2006 North American Trials to qualify for ADCC and the chance to meet a literal who's who of the jiu-jitsu world, including Marcelo Garcia, Renzo Gracie (Pictures), Pablo Popovich, Kurt Pellegrino (Pictures), and UFC competitors Dew Fickett and Joe Stevenson (Pictures).
