The UFC has announced the full 11-bout bill for its initial Canadian foray. Heavyweights Brad Morris and Cain Velasquez (Pictures) will face each other in Montreal's Bell Centre on April 19, as well as middleweights Ed Herman (Pictures) and Demian Maia (Pictures).
Velasquez seems to be the underdog at 2-0, but his impressive wrestling résumé, including 2005 Pac-10 Wrestler of the Year honors, has garnered him praise from his American Kickboxing Academy teammates.
Herman looks to make it four wins in a row when he fights Maia, an undefeated Brazilian who took his first UFC win by submission over Ryan Jensen (Pictures).
Current UFC 83 Card:
Matt Serra (Pictures) vs. Georges St. Pierre (Pictures)
Travis Lutter (Pictures) vs. Rich Franklin (Pictures)
Nathan Quarry (Pictures) vs. Kalib Starnes (Pictures)
Charles McCarthy (Pictures) vs. Michael Bisping (Pictures)
Mark Bocek (Pictures) vs. Mac Danzig (Pictures)
Joe Doerksen (Pictures) vs. Jason MacDonald (Pictures)
Jason Day (Pictures) vs. Alan Belcher (Pictures)
Rich Clementi (Pictures) vs. Sam Stout (Pictures)
Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures) vs. Jonathan Goulet (Pictures)
Brad Morris vs. Cain Velasquez (Pictures)
Ed Herman (Pictures) vs. Demian Maia (Pictures)
ECC 7 ‘Bad Blood' Update
There have been several changes to this weekend's lineup for Extreme Cage Combat's seventh card, due mostly to the tragic death of fighter Rene Ayangma several weeks ago. Ayangma's Team Bueno teammates had considered pulling out of the card entirely, but they have decided instead to participate in his honor. Team Bueno's Chris Currie will be stepping into Ayangma's spot to take on Kyle Sandford.
Another death has also affected the card. Light heavyweight Ray Penny's father recently passed away, and he has understandably withdrawn from his scheduled bout with Ryan Jimmo (Pictures). Our condolences to Ray and his family.
Replacing Penny will be Jeff Lundburg, a 300 pounder who will be making the cut to 265 to meet Jimmo at heavyweight. Jimmo started his career as a heavy, but he had planned to remain fighting at light heavyweight, where he recently defeated Craig Zellner (Pictures) at MFC 15.
After this ECC, Jimmo and Matt MacGrath (Pictures) will fight a pair of brothers in Edmonton at MFC 16 on May 9. Jimmo will meet Steve Steinbeiss, and MacGrath will take on Ray Steinbeiss (Pictures). If MacGrath wins this weekend and at MFC, and if Ryan Ford beats his MFC opponent, then Ford and MacGrath could vie for the inaugural MFC world welterweight title.
Weigh-ins for ECC will be at Bubbles Mansion and are open to the public.
Lineup:
Jason MacKay (Pictures) vs. Shaun Krysa (Pictures)
Matt MacGrath (Pictures) vs. Travis Axworthy (Pictures)
Ryan Jimmo (Pictures) vs. Jeff Lundburg
Kyle Sandford vs. Chris Currie
Peter McGrath (Pictures) vs. Louis-Christophe Laurin
Tannaya Hantelman (Pictures) vs. Jenna King
Adam MacDonald vs. Richard Arsenault
Craig Skinner (Pictures) vs. Tim Skidmore (Pictures)
Jaret MacIntosh vs. Rene Grenon
Jason Rorison vs. Ryan Kenny
Colosseum Fighting Championship 8
Colosseum Fighting Championship will present "Caged Colosseum Mayhem" May 30 at the Winnipeg Convention Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba. For the first time in Canadian history, a Pride veteran will take on a UFC veteran when Eric Shafer squares off against Travis Galbraith (Pictures). Both will be trying to work their ways back into the big show.
Former UFC star David Heath (Pictures) and Marcus Hicks will look to get back on the winning track against each other, and heavyweight Rodrigo Munduruca returns to action to put his undefeated record on the line. Middleweight Chris Fontaine will also meet up with the undefeated Jeremy Lang in one of his toughest tests to date.
Card:
Eric Shafer vs. Travis Galbraith (Pictures)
David Heath (Pictures) vs. Marcus Hicks
Rodrigo Munduruca vs. TBA
Chris Fontaine vs. Jeremy Lang
Kevin Manderson (Pictures) vs. Lindsey Hawkes
Justin Bernard vs. Markhaile Wedderburn
Dominick Blais vs. Kajan Johnson
Sean Quinn vs. Zach Wolff
Serge Rochon vs. Paul Matsumoto
Ronson Sabourin vs. Roland Delorme
Andre Pavlic vs. TBA
Colin Lemieux vs. TBA
Warrior Xtreme Combat Results
The small province of Nova Scotia seems to be getting a disproportionate amount of MMA action, with four organizations holding events there. The newest addition to the fray is Warrior Xtreme Combat, and its first card was held Saturday at the Agridome, located in Truro's Exhibition Park in Bible Hill.
There was a big group of Maritime talent populating the card, with most of the athletes being extremely new to the sport. WXC promoter Kevin Thibault hopes to have several cards per year in the Halifax region.
Results:
Iraj Hadin def. Jonny Roscoe
Josh Strickland def. Jason Cecil (Pictures)
Dana Dickeson def. Stephen Davis
Chris Doucet def. Kris Parti
Jason Vautour def. Terry Kerr
Liam Campbell def. John Swinamer
Jeremy Henry def. Mike Thibodeau
Matthew Vienneau def. Larry Sockabasin
The scheduled bout between Dan Fowler and Shane Daley was cancelled due to an abscess in one of Daley's teeth. They had hoped to rebook the match at this weekend's ECC in Halifax, but unfortunately Daley's tooth is not cooperating, and the fight will not be happening.
The Fight Club 2 ‘Feel the Pain' Results
Nick Penner def. Bobby Kalmakoff
Markhaile Wedderburn def. Neil Berry (Pictures)
Jason Alexander def. Kevin Dolan
Tim Smith (Pictures) def. Dan Walders
James McCutcheon def. Cody Graber
Larry Lytle def. Richard Menard
Trevor Daley def. Kevin Logan
Curtis Demarce def. Tim Brown
Phil Wark def. Tony Bibby
Nolan Clark def. Alex Bogle
KOTC ‘Gold Rush' Results
Gary Wright def. Aaron Bruce
Jared Kilkenny (Pictures) def. Chris Peak
Rob Konopski def. Scott Stewart
Kate Roy def. Rachael Swaetz
Dan Shenk def. Jordan Boudreau
Aaron Bernardo def. Trevor Nielson
Zach Gate def. Ryan Knysh
Jordan Bills def. Nolan Nelson
Chris Lesley def. Chris Gammon
Ruben Brownlee def. Frank Wright
Canadian Calendar
March 14: Xtreme MMA - Victoriaville - PQ
March 15: Extreme Cage Combat 7 - Halifax
March 15: All Martial Arts Challenge - North Vancouver
March 29: HCF "Crow's Nest" - Gatineau, Quebec
April 4: KOTC "Brawl in the Mall 3" - Edmonton
April 11: TKO 33 - Oranjestad, Aruba
April 11: UCW 11 - Winnipeg
April 12: Phoenix Fight Promotions II - Halifax
April 19: UFC 83 - Montreal
April 19: Gladiator Fighting Series - Trail, B.C.
May 9: MFC 16 - Anger Management - Edmonton
May 30: Colosseum Fighting Championships 8 - Winnipeg
July 26: Freedom Fight "Title Quest"