Novaes slides into showdown with Southern at MFC 36

Brazilian star signs four-fight deal that launches at Reality Check

Submission ace Jonatas “Peixe Frito” Novaes has been selected by the Maximum Fighting Championship to join its lightweight ranks and he immediately jumps into a spot on the upcoming MFC 36: Reality Check lineup.

Novaes (10-4) replaces David Castillo for a tilt against Kurt Southern (10-3) at MFC 36 which takes on Friday, February 15. Castillo has been sidelined by a serious neck injury discovered during medicals.

Both the Novaes-Southern matchup and the recently altered middleweight tussle between Clay Davidson (filling in for the injured Luke Harris) and Jason Zentgraf will be featured bouts on the MFC 36: Reality Check main card which will air live on AXS TV Fights from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.

“I’ve been training hard and I had a feeling that something good was going to happen for me,” said Novaes. “To get the opportunity to fight in the MFC and on AXS TV and against a good opponent like Kurt, I’m very excited about everything.

“This is a great opportunity for me and I’m very happy. I’m going to train even harder now and make something big happen.”

Novaes (Twitter: @jonatasnovaes) enters the MFC having won five of his last six fights and is coming off the first knockout of his career – a 51-second destruction of Drew Fickett back in June. That victory boosted Novaes to 75^th in the world rankings compiled by Fight Matrix (http://www.fightmatrix.com/mma-ranks/lightweight/2/).

The 31-year-old, who is originally from Conceicao da Barra, Brazil, boasts seven career wins via submission, and seven of his 10 wins have come inside the first round.

A decorated jiu-jitsu practitioner, Novaes, who now lives in Chicago and has agreed a four-fight deal with the MFC, has earned a plethora of titles in various grappling tournaments highlighted by championships at the Pan-American and American Nationals as well as major meets in Brazil, Las Vegas, Toronto, Dallas, and Chicago.

“I’m a jiu-jitsu guy because that’s what I’ve been doing my whole life but in MMA I’m a complete fighter,” noted Novaes. “You saw that in my fight against Fickett when I knocked him out with a head kick. I’ve worked on my stand-up, my wrestling, everything to make me a complete fighter.”

A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Southern (Twitter: @kurtsouthern) rides a three-fight win streak into the matchup – a run highlighted by a first-round submission victory over MFC lightweight title hopeful Mukai Maromo.

Southern’s current streak – the third three-fight run of his career – includes wins over Jorge Britto and Brad Cardinal, and he has picked up notable career victories over Martin Grandmont, Evan Sanguin, and Kevin Manderson.

Tickets for MFC 36: Reality Check are on sale now and available via www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024.

Middleweight mania coming to MFC 36

Silva vs. Flynn, Zentgraf vs. Harris on tap for Reality Check

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Maximum Fighting Championship has bolstered its lineup for MFC 36: Reality Check with a pair of key fights in the middleweight division featuring fan favorites.

Newly signed Jay “Da Spyda Killa” Silva (8-6) will meet Jacen Flynn (10-3) in one middleweight matchup, while Jason “The Savage” Zentgraf (6-1) will collide with Luke Harris (9-2) in the other.

Both critical contests in the MFC’s talent-laden 185-pound division will be part of the AXS TV Fights main card broadcast taking place live on Friday, February 15 from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The AXS TV Fights main card launches at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

“The MFC really started to produce exceptional talent in the middleweight division in 2012, and these two fights – part of our first show in 2013 – is a direct result of that talent influx,” said Mark Pavelich, Owner/President of the Maximum Fighting Championship.

“There was a huge level of excitement around the MMA world when we signed Jay Silva, and immediately Jacen Flynn jumped at the opportunity because he wants to prove he’s much better than when we saw last time out.

“As for Jason Zentgraf, he wanted to step up in competition and he matches up very well with Luke Harris. And Luke is very eager to start a new winning streak. Both these guys want to be front and center in the title picture so it is a fitting matchup – and I believe it will be a very exciting one as well.”

Silva (Twitter: @jaysilvamma) will be making his organizational debut and he enters the MFC ring having won three of his last five fights including the biggest victory of his career as the Huntington Beach, California, product is coming off a stellar second-round submission of Kendall Grove.

In Flynn (Twitter: @JacenFlynnMMA), Silva meets an opponent who has nine victories by way of submission and holds career wins over notables Denis Kang, Dean Lister, and Edwin Dewees. Flynn, who fights out of Twin Falls, Idaho, had his four-fight winning streak snapped at MFC 34 when he dropped a first-round TKO verdict in a title eliminator to now-reigning MFC middleweight champ Elvis Mutapcic.

Zentgraf (Twitter: @JasonZentgraf) rides into MFC 36 carrying a three-fight winning streak capped most recently by his first-round submission over Cody Krahn at MFC 34. The Missoula, Montana, product has flexed his substantial submission skills, earning all six of his wins via tapout and five of those six victories coming inside the opening round.

“I’m totally pumped for this fight,” said Zentgraf, who opened up the opportunity by extending a challenge to fight Harris on the MFC website.

At MFC 34, Harris (Twitter: @HayabusaHarris) saw his impressive nine-fight unbeaten run come to an end with a first-round TKO setback against Joseph “Leonidas” Henle. The St. Albert, Alberta, product has won all nine of his bouts by way of first-round submission, including a quick stoppage of Edwin Dewees at MFC 33. Already an accomplished judo player, Harris was awarded his second black belt and now holds that prestigious level in both judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Adding to the middleweight frenzy at MFC 36, an undercard bout has also been set in the division. Coming off his thrilling victory at MFC 35, Paul “The Punisher” Grandbois (5-4) will toe the line with Cody “Genghis” Krahn (11-6) in a showdown of rival Edmonton, Alberta, fighters.

Last time out, Grandbois (Twitter: @PunisherPG) put forth the performance of his career with a Knockout of the Night finish and a potential MFC Fight of the Year for his second-round TKO finish of Jason Kuchera. Five of Grandbois’ wins have been via T/KO with four of those five coming in the opening round.

Krahn has lost two straight with his last victory coming at MFC 31 when he submitted Ryan Chiappe. All 11 of Krahn’s win have come in Round 1, three via knockout and eight by submission.

Tickets for MFC 36: Reality Check are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 758-1632.