The Northern Touch: News and Notes from Western Canada
Freedom Fight
Kelsey Mowatt Jul 8, 2005
This week the Northern Touch hears from Joe Doerksen as he prepares for
Saturday’s Freedom Fight in Gatineau, Quebec. Denis Kang also catches up with
Sherdog.com as he prepares for his Bushido 8 bout with Andrei Semenov. Lance Gibson updates us on his
team. And we take a final look at the Mind, Body and Soul Grappling
tournament that too place June 25.
Doerksen set for Santore at Freedom Fight
This Saturday’s Freedom Fight in Gatineau will feature a
middleweight bout between two well-established fighters in Art Santore and Joe Doerksen.
Santore brings his 10-2 record to the event with a current three-fight winning streak over Mike Seal, Justin Davis and Britsol Marunde. In Doerksen he takes on an Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran with a record of 30-6 who also is coming in with three consecutive victories, including his recent win over Patrick Cote at UFC 52.
“Training is going great,” he said. “I am in great shape, and looking forward to getting in there. Don't know what to expect. Never seen him fight. I don't really change my plan for different opponents. Just train and be ready, then get in there and go to work.”
In his last fight against Patrick Cote, Doerksen had set out to demonstrate more of his striking skills. Due to taking the fight on short notice, Doerksen felt the stand-up exchanges against Cote did no go as planned due to a lack of conditioning. Doerksen maintains this will not be an issue with Santore.
“I might throw a few shots in this fight,” he said. “During the Cote fight my lack of conditioning was a bit of an issue. I'm hoping that I'm better prepared this time, so we'll see what happens.”
A victory this weekend for either fighter could mean an appearance in the UFC.
For Santore, a defeat of one of the middleweight division’s most experienced and well-rounded fighters who happens to be a two-time UFC veteran may indeed result in attention from the North America’s largest promotion. In Doerksen’s case he hopes that by adding another win to his impressive record he may be asked back to the UFC for fight number three.
“Hopefully,” said Doerksen about returning to the UFC. “I had a good time there last time, and wouldn't mind going back. The main thing for me now is just to stay in shape and stay active.”
The final card for this weekend’s Freedom Fight is:
Krysztof Soszynski vs. Matt Horwich
Jon Fitch vs. Jeff Joslin
Richard Nancoo vs. Jeremy Bolt
Bill Mahood vs. Tim Mckenzie
Todd Gouwenberg vs. Lavar Johnson
Stephane Potvin vs. Tyrone Roberts
Richard Crunkilton vs. James Martinez
Craig Brown vs. Ricardeau Francois
Gary Goodridge and Tito Ortiz captain their respective nations at the event, which airs on The Sports Network the following week.
Kang Getting Ready for Semenov Round 2
The Northern Touch caught up with PRIDE Bushido fighter Denis Kang as he prepares for his upcoming fight with Andrei Semenov at Bushido 8. This fight will be the second meeting of the two middleweights, as they fought to a draw at the Russian M-1 event in December of 2003.
Both fighters have continued to progress since their initial meeting, and certainly there will be a lot at stake when the two meet July 17. Kang comes into the event with a record of 17-7-1 and has not lost in 13 consecutive mixed martial arts fights.
Semenov also impresses with a record of 25-5-2 and has only lost once, to Trevor Prangley, in almost three years. Kang consequently believes the fight will be extremely competitive, and is looking forward to their second meeting.
“I see this fight being a war,” Kang handicapped. “This being Semenov's first time in PRIDE he's most likely gonna come in ready to fight. The fact that we've fought before is also going to make it strategically interesting.”
Earlier this year Kang relocated from Vancouver, British Columbia, to begin training with the American Top Team in Florida, so far he has enjoyed his new surroundings.
“Training at ATT has been nothing but a blessing for me,” he said. “I have a large selection of skilled training partners every day, great coaches and a world class facility.”
Kang will attend this weekend’s Freedom Fight event to help training partner Bill Mahood in his fight against Tim McKenzie, and gave Sherdog.com a prediction for the bout:
“Unfortunately I could not help Bill get ready for his fight this weekend, as I was busy in Florida getting myself ready. I'm gonna go with Bill of course! I don’t know too much about Tim Mckenzie but he seems primarily like a grappler with little stand-up. I think Bill should win this one by TKO.”
Doerksen set for Santore at Freedom Fight
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Santore brings his 10-2 record to the event with a current three-fight winning streak over Mike Seal, Justin Davis and Britsol Marunde. In Doerksen he takes on an Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran with a record of 30-6 who also is coming in with three consecutive victories, including his recent win over Patrick Cote at UFC 52.
Despite not knowing too much about his opponent, Doerksen told
Sherdog.com that he maintained his consistent approach in training
to fight Santore, and will be ready for the event.
“Training is going great,” he said. “I am in great shape, and looking forward to getting in there. Don't know what to expect. Never seen him fight. I don't really change my plan for different opponents. Just train and be ready, then get in there and go to work.”
In his last fight against Patrick Cote, Doerksen had set out to demonstrate more of his striking skills. Due to taking the fight on short notice, Doerksen felt the stand-up exchanges against Cote did no go as planned due to a lack of conditioning. Doerksen maintains this will not be an issue with Santore.
“I might throw a few shots in this fight,” he said. “During the Cote fight my lack of conditioning was a bit of an issue. I'm hoping that I'm better prepared this time, so we'll see what happens.”
A victory this weekend for either fighter could mean an appearance in the UFC.
For Santore, a defeat of one of the middleweight division’s most experienced and well-rounded fighters who happens to be a two-time UFC veteran may indeed result in attention from the North America’s largest promotion. In Doerksen’s case he hopes that by adding another win to his impressive record he may be asked back to the UFC for fight number three.
“Hopefully,” said Doerksen about returning to the UFC. “I had a good time there last time, and wouldn't mind going back. The main thing for me now is just to stay in shape and stay active.”
The final card for this weekend’s Freedom Fight is:
Krysztof Soszynski vs. Matt Horwich
Jon Fitch vs. Jeff Joslin
Richard Nancoo vs. Jeremy Bolt
Bill Mahood vs. Tim Mckenzie
Todd Gouwenberg vs. Lavar Johnson
Stephane Potvin vs. Tyrone Roberts
Richard Crunkilton vs. James Martinez
Craig Brown vs. Ricardeau Francois
Gary Goodridge and Tito Ortiz captain their respective nations at the event, which airs on The Sports Network the following week.
Kang Getting Ready for Semenov Round 2
The Northern Touch caught up with PRIDE Bushido fighter Denis Kang as he prepares for his upcoming fight with Andrei Semenov at Bushido 8. This fight will be the second meeting of the two middleweights, as they fought to a draw at the Russian M-1 event in December of 2003.
Both fighters have continued to progress since their initial meeting, and certainly there will be a lot at stake when the two meet July 17. Kang comes into the event with a record of 17-7-1 and has not lost in 13 consecutive mixed martial arts fights.
Semenov also impresses with a record of 25-5-2 and has only lost once, to Trevor Prangley, in almost three years. Kang consequently believes the fight will be extremely competitive, and is looking forward to their second meeting.
“I see this fight being a war,” Kang handicapped. “This being Semenov's first time in PRIDE he's most likely gonna come in ready to fight. The fact that we've fought before is also going to make it strategically interesting.”
Earlier this year Kang relocated from Vancouver, British Columbia, to begin training with the American Top Team in Florida, so far he has enjoyed his new surroundings.
“Training at ATT has been nothing but a blessing for me,” he said. “I have a large selection of skilled training partners every day, great coaches and a world class facility.”
Kang will attend this weekend’s Freedom Fight event to help training partner Bill Mahood in his fight against Tim McKenzie, and gave Sherdog.com a prediction for the bout:
“Unfortunately I could not help Bill get ready for his fight this weekend, as I was busy in Florida getting myself ready. I'm gonna go with Bill of course! I don’t know too much about Tim Mckenzie but he seems primarily like a grappler with little stand-up. I think Bill should win this one by TKO.”
