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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.

Maromo caps night of knockouts at MFC 34

‘Afrikan Assassin’ awesome, Mutapcic & Flynn set for middleweight title showdown
 
Mukai Maromo erased all doubt arising from his earlier controversial win over Adam Lynn, using a spectacular display of striking skills to knockout his rival in the main event of the Maximum Fighting Championship’s MFC 34: Total Recall.
 
Fighting in front of his home-town fans in Edmonton, Alberta, and live on AXS TV Fights across the United States, Maromo blitzed Lynn with a vicious assault showcasing hand speed, damaging elbow strikes and uppercuts, and destructive knees. “The Afrikan Assassin” was all over Lynn early in the second round, pinning him in the corner and sending the sold-out crowd at the Mayfield Conference Centre into a frenzy with his punishing strikes. But the former U.S. Marine didn’t go away easy until a final knee caught him square on the chin, sending Lynn face first to the canvas.
 
Maromo (8-2) stood over his fallen foe as the referee stepped in to stop the assault at 1:26 of Round 2. Maromo’s fifth consecutive win also earned him the Knockout of the Night award – the second of his career. It was a gut-wrenching loss for Lynn (17-10), who not only failed to make weight causing the bout to be reduced from a title fight to a three-round, non-title affair, but had also lost a highly contentious split-decision to Maromo at MFC 33.
 
The Maromo result capped an exhilarating night of knockouts, two of which cemented the pairing that will vie for the MFC middleweight title in October. A beautiful combination from Joseph “Leonidas” Henle dropped Luke Harris to the mat, and Henle jumped in to finish matters just 1:57 into their bout. Henle (8-0-1) captured his fifth straight win in his MFC debut, while Harris (9-2) saw his nine-fight winning streak – all first-round submissions – come to a screeching halt.
 
Henle, who fights out of Thousand Oaks, California, will meet Elvis “The King” Mutapcic for the MFC’s 185-pound division belt after Mutapcic destroyed Jacen Flynn with a rabid ground-and-pound attack, and getting the victory only 1:39 into their matchup. Like Henle, it was a grand MFC debut for Mutapcic (11-2) who roughed up Flynn (10-3) in the opening seconds and never looked back. Mutapcic, who is originally from Bosnia and now fights out of Des Moines, Iowa, is slated to meet Henle for the title at MFC 35: Explosive Encounter on Oct. 26.
 
The MFC’s re-ignited heavyweight division was launched in impressive fashion as Mike “The Honey Badger” Hackert proved to be the undisputed No. 1 heavyweight in Canada with a quick demolition of Tim Hague in a rematch of their original bout from May that Hackert won via decision. Hackert left no doubt as to his standing in the rankings as he brutalized Hague with lightning-quick punches followed by an attack to the body that crumpled Hague to the canvas. Hackert, who was outweighed by 40 pounds, continued to bang away at Hague’s body before sealing the deal with more ground-and-pound at the 2:27 mark of Round 1.
 
Hackert (6-1) earned his first stoppage victory (five previous wins all by decision) in his first MFC fight, while Hague (14-7) came up short in his MFC debut.
 
The Submission of the Night award went to debuting Montana fighter Jason “The Savage” Zentgraf (6-1) who seized an opportunity and finished off Cody Krahn (11-5), coaxing a tapout via bar-arm choke at 1:15 of Round 1.
 
The MFC 34 main card was rounded out by the return of welterweight prospect Dhiego “Maluco” Lima, who started slowly but regained the form he had shown prior to the only loss on his record – a decision defeat to reigning MFC 170-pound division champ Nathan Coy.
 
Lima (7-1) began to pick apart opponent Nick Hinchliffe (19-9) in Round 2 and by the end of the fight, Hinchliffe was badly damaged by accurate punches and vicious leg kicks. Lima, who fights out of Atlanta, Georgia, showed all the signs that he had recovered from a couple of serious injuries, taking a unanimous decision with 30-27 counts on all three judges’ scorecards.

MFC 34 Other Results:
 
Derek Boyle (8-5) def. Dan Ring (5-1) – TKO, 0:20, Round 1
 
Derek Parker (4-1-1) def. Paul Grandbois (4-4) – Tapout via rear-naked choke, 3:24, Round 1
 
Smealinho Rama (3-0) def. Lee Mein – TKO, 2:49, Round 1

Tickets for MFC 35: Explosive Encounter go on sale Monday, Aug. 13 and are available exclusively through the MFC Ticket Hotline by calling (780) 504-2024.

The Reincarnation of Judo in MMA with Luke Harris

Middleweight contender puts skills at test against Joseph 'Leonidas' Henle at MFC 34

By MFC Staff

Until very recently, judo never seemed to get its rightful place alongside other martial arts and tactics such as wrestling, striking, Muay Thai, and of course jiu-jitsu.

But many stars in mixed martial arts are demonstrating how valuable a weapon judo can be. One of them proponents is Luke Harris, who will certainly see his skill set put to the test at MFC 34: Total Recall when he faces Joseph “Leonidas” Henle in a featured middleweight matchup.

“Wrestling is certainly a cornerstone of MMA, but judo is kind of meld between wrestling and jiu-jitsu,” explained Harris, a black belt in judo who also boasts a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

“Judo is a style that can work very well against wrestlers. And now we’re seeing more judokas competing in MMA at a higher level – people like the Nick and Nate Diaz and Ronda Rousey. But you still have to work on every aspect. No one skill is going to be enough.

“Right now, judo is a little bit of an unknown and it can be very effective so you’re going to see more and more of it.”

Harris (9-1) and Henle (7-0) will lock horns at MFC 34 taking place on Friday, August 10 at the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The HDNet (soon to be rebranded AXS TV) Fights card will air live beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

Modification is a key word in Harris’s fight vocabulary. It not only describes what must be done with his judo talents when it comes to mixed martial arts combat, it’s always the perfect way to describe his overall approach to game planning for each new opponent. There’s no one specific area that the Edmonton, Alberta, fighter is focused on when it comes to strategy for battling Henle. It’s more a matter of refining and adapting.

“I’m always modifying certain things,” explained Harris. “I dedicate a percentage of training on each area like striking, strength and conditioning, jiu-jitsu, and then just modify that percentage to whomever I’m fighting.

“For Henle, I’ll probably take the percentage of wrestling up a bit but I’m not going to discount the ground work either. He’s got a submission win over Constantinos Philippou so I can’t negate the jiu-jitsu, and I have to still keep working on wrestling and stand up.”

Harris utilized his judo to near-perfection in last bout, making short work of veteran Edwin Dewees at MFC 33. After taking a Dewees right hand to the face, Harris locked up his opponent and then ferociously put him on his back with a throw akin to an old-school wrestling hip-toss. From there, Harris put his submission skills to work and quickly forced a tapout via a guillotine choke.

“You definitely learn about yourself with each win ... you just believer in yourself more and it adds more confidence,” noted Harris. “That fight went as planned, not that I wanted it to go that fast but just the way it went. I had hoped to take him into deeper waters and drown him, but the opportunity was there and I took it.”

That win was Harris’s ninth straight – all coming via first-round submission. In those victories, Harris has averaged an in-ring time of 2:01.

While making quick work of his foes has become a routine thing for Harris, he isn’t expecting such an easy task ahead of him in Henle. And while the victory over Dewees did win over some of his critics, Harris hasn’t paid much mind to the negative comments. A win against Henle, however, would go a long way to muzzling the naysayers even more.

“Honestly, I’m never too concerned about what people say. I take it the same way Mark Pavelich takes it when people talk about him. If you’re in a successful spot, you’re going to earn a lot of critics.

“I kind of look at it like watching ‘TMZ.’ If you’re going to be a celebrity or the face of an organization or a front-runner, people are going to talk about you and some it is going to be negative.

“I do this because I love it. I love to train every day. I don’t care what those people say. I care only about the people around me and that’s it.”

Tickets for MFC 34: Total Recall are on sale now and are available exclusively through the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024.

‘Leonidas’ links up with MFC

Henle to face Harris in middleweight showdown at MFC 34: Total Recall

Joseph “Leonidas” Henle is coming to the Maximum Fighting Championship with a message.

He has been waiting for a stiff challenge for some time, and now faced with the biggest step up in competition of his career, Henle is eager to prove himself.

“The last three or four guys I’ve fought, I knew I was the better guy and my opponent knew I was the better guy,” Henle explained.

“That made things hard to get motivated. Now there’s going be this other guy across the ring, and I don’t know if he’s better than me or not. That gets my blood pumping. I can’t wait to put it on him and show him he’s not at my level.”

The man that Henle (6-0-1) will make that self-discovery against will be Luke Harris (9-1) when they clash at MFC 34: Total Recall. The fight, which will be a featured bout on the HDNet Fights main card emanating from the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, will be Henle’s organizational debut after signing a multi-fight deal with the MFC.

“I’m very excited to be in the MFC. I’m amped to be a part of it,” said Henle, who learned a lot about the organization from frequent training partners Emanuel Newton, the former MFC light-heavyweight champ, and current MFC welterweight contender Jamie Toney.

He ultimately decided it was the place to be after discussions with MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich.

“I really like Mark’s attitude,” added Henle. “I follow him on Twitter and I’ve listened to his interviews. I like that he’s aggressive and how he talks about his fighters and his organization. It got me fired up and wanting to work for a guy like that.”

Henle holds three submission wins of his own and has registered three victories inside the opening round including a first-round knockout of Gabriel Lopez. Harris, meanwhile, has racked up all of his victories inside the opening five minutes – all by way of submission including his tidy verdict over Edwin Dewees at MFC 33 back in May.

Henle, who fights out of Thousand Oaks, California, has started his homework for Harris, who rides a nine-fight winning streak into the matchup. The 28-year-old former reality show standout is well aware of Harris’s judo and jiu-jitsu talents, but a game plan is well in the works.

“If I stick to my game plan it’s going to be a long night for him … or a short night, I don’t care which,” said Henle.

“The thing about a jiu-jitsu black belt is that they turn into a brown belt pretty quick after getting hit with a couple punches. And once you hit them with a couple knees, they become a white belt.

“I know Harris is an excellent fighter and he’s a great grappler. What people have seen from me is good grappling but that’s all they’ve seen. I’m fighting a guy with good ground skills and that’s a challenge for me, but I want an exciting challenge. It takes me back to when I first started fighting. I was out to challenge myself and to see if I was the better than the other guy.”

Tickets for MFC 34: Total Recall are on sale now and are available exclusively through the MFC Ticket Hotline at(780) 504-2024.

Harris-Dewees matchup added to MFC 33

Submission specialist to meet veteran competitor on Collision Course main card

A new bout featuring a pair of high-profile names has slid into position on the main card of the Maximum Fighting Championship’s MFC 33: Collision Course lineup.

Meeting at a catchweight of 195 pounds, veteran Edwin “Bam Bam” Dewees (37-15) will clash with submission specialist Luke Harris (8-1) in a featured matchup that will be part of the HDNet Fights live broadcast on Friday, May 4 from the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.

The televised card, topped by the MFC welterweight title fight between Ryan “The Kid” McGillivray and Nathan “Soul Force” Coy, kicks off at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

The Dewees/Harris matchup will take the spot vacated by the postponed contest pitting Dwayne Lewis against Aron Lofton. That rematch has been shelved due to Lewis sustaining a hand injury in training.

Dewees, who hails from Phoenix, Arizona, has collected 30 submission wins over his career, and will make his organizational and 2012 debut at MFC 33. The 29-year-old has fought a who’s who of big-name competition throughout his career including such notables as former MFC middleweight champion Patrick Cote, Rich Franklin, Chris Leben, and Frank Trigg. Dewees, who fought three times in 2011, is a former reality show standout alongside Cote, Matt Serra, and Jorge Rivera.

Harris returns to the MFC looking to avenge the only loss of his career, suffered back at MFC 13 via a first-round TKO loss to Brad Zazulak.

The 34-year-old, who will have plenty of home town support fighting in Edmonton, has not lost since his pro debut and already has two victories under his belt in 2012. A Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, Harris’s wins have all come inside the opening round, and he holds first-minute victories over veterans Elliot Duff and Dan Chambers.

Tickets for MFC 33: Collision Course are going fast and are available exclusively through the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024.

RYAN FORD PROVES ONCE AGAIN THAT HE’S “THE REAL DEAL” AT AMMA 9

Sold-out event featured all knockouts and submissions

Edmonton, Alberta (Canada): It was a night filled with finishes at Aggression MMA’s fight event in Edmonton this past Saturday, February, 11^th, as the AMMA fighters did what they do best: entertain. Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford (17-4) secured his fifth victory in his last six fights, while Victor “The Matrix” Valimaki (17-8) ended a three-fight skid with his first win since 2009. In addition, top prospects “Big Bad” Stephen Beaumont (5-0), Sheldon Westcott (6-1-1), and Luke Harris (7-1-0-1) all grabbed big submission victories. The standing room-only crowd witnessed incredible fight action, and in the end, it set the tone for a big 2012 for Aggression MMA.

“What an awesome night of fights! From Ryan Ford to Victor Valimaki to Luke Harris…all our guys really laid it on the line for the fans,” said Aggression MMA Co-Owner Harvey Panesar. “The standard has been set for 2012, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure we raise it at every event.”

“The fight went well,” said Luke Harris. “I planned to stand and bang a bit more, but it’s hard to pass up a submission opportunity when it comes up. Next, I plan to fight again as soon as possible. After that, it’s the BJJ Pan-Ams. I’m planning on a very active year.”

Here are some of the highlights of AMMA 9:

-         Victor Valimaki earned a shot at the Aggression light heavyweight belt with his TKO win.

-         Matt Bagshaw showed his grappling skills with his brutal heel-hook submission of Greg Welsh in the unofficial “Submission of the Night.”

-         After his rear-naked choke submission victory over Nick Heynen, Stephen Beaumont asked Aggression MMA officials for a shot at the AMMA lightweight title. His request was granted.

“We are very proud of our fighters,” stated Aggression MMA Co-Owner Moin Mirza. “Every fight had a decisive finish, and I can’t really think of a better way to send fight fans home happy. If this past weekend’s event was any indication, it’s going to be a big year for Aggression MMA.

“But it’s time for certain Aggression fighters to step up their level of competition. Stephen Beaumont showed he's ready for the next step and I'm hoping other guys will follow suit.”

Here are the full results of the night’s fights:

Co-Main Events

Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford defeated Ricky Goodall via TKO (elbows) at 3:37 of the 1^stround

Victor “The Matrix” Valimaki defeated Tim Chemelli via TKO (punches) at 1:21 of the 2^nd round

Main Card

Stephan Beaumont defeated Nick Heynan via submission (rear-naked choke) at 2:57 of the 1^st round

Sheldon Westcott defeated Jay Jensen via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:26 of the 1^stround

Matt Bagshaw defeated Greg Welsh via submission (heel-hook) at 0:38 of the 1^st round

Jarod McComb defeated Chase Dagenhardt via TKO (doctor stoppage) at 0:45 of the 3^rdround

Luke Harris defeated Elliot Duff via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:52 of the 1^stround

Undercard

Paulo Azambuja defeated Adrian Cardinal via submission (rear-naked choke) at 0:17 of the 1^st round

KB Bhullar defeated Simon Shirt via TKO (punches) at 4:28 of the 1^st round

Stay tuned for more details on the next exciting Aggression MMA fight event! For more information, please visit our website at http://www.aggressionmma.com/