Southern, Alvey, Harris lead pack of winners at MFC 37

The Maximum Fighting Championship debuted its bantamweight division at MFC 37: True Grit on Friday night, and the result was one of the greatest fights in the history of the company.

A furious and fast-paced thriller between Anthony Birchak and Ryan “Baby Face” Benoit yielded several submission attempts, punishing strikes, and devastating ground-and-pound throughout a 15-minute battle for the ages at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.

The fight was a brilliant display of resiliency by both fighters as each had their moments to secure victory only to see it slip away and give their opponent an opening.

The packed house and fans watching live on AXS TV Fights were treated to a stellar showing that finally produced a unanimous decision verdict in favor of Birchak (10-1), who not only earned his fourth straight win but also claimed a title shot and a chance to become the inaugural MFC bantamweight world champ. Birchak, who hails from Tucson, Arizona, will fight for that crown later in 2013.

Benoit (6-2) had his own four-fight winning streak snapped but it wasn’t without a heroic effort from the product of Dallas, Texas.

Former MFC middleweight title contender “Smilen” Sam Alvey moved right back into the title picture as he finished off veteran Jay Silva at 1:05 of the third round. Alvey (20-5), who fights out of Temecula, California, nearly ended things midway through Round 2 with flurry before finally turning the lights out on Silva’s night with another heavy-handed barrage. Silva (8-8) needlessly protested the stoppage as it was evident he’d been put away by Alvey, who earned the Knockout of the Night.

The Submission of the Night was a walk in the park for Kurt “The Hurt” Southern, whose wrestling acumen paved the way to a tidy victory over Mukai Maromo.

Southern (12-4) scored a pair of impressive takedowns in the opening moments and never let the feared striking abilities of Maromo get unveiled. Southern negotiated his way into a North-South choke and eventually coaxed the tapout from Maromo at 2:54 of Round 1. In an unusual twist, Southern mirrored the same result over Maromo (8-4) that felled the “Afrikan Assassin” in his last outing – a third-round loss by North-South choke to Graham Spencer in their MFC world lightweight title bout at MFC 36.

And with Spencer focusing on a future in the featherweight ranks, Southern put the call out for a rematch against Jonatas Novaes, who bested him by third-round armbar at MFC 36, but this time the return encounter would be for the MFC’s lightweight crown.

Also registering an impressive submission win at MFC 37 was hometown hero Luke “Hayabusa” Harris. The St. Albert, Alberta, product masterfully utilized his judo black belt skills, tossing Jason Zentgraf to the mat in the early going, and then positioning himself for a display of his jiu-jitsu talents. Harris (10-2) needed all of 2:21 to end it, picking up the 10^th first-round submission of his career with a unique neck-crank choke from side control. The loss was the first in the MFC for Zentgraf (7-2) and brought a halt to his four-fight winning streak.

For the first time in organizational history, the Maximum Fighting Championship aired preliminary bouts streaming live on Facebook, with the infamous “Brother vs. Brother” matchup the highlight of the MFC 37 undercard. In the end it was younger brother Thomas Treadwell scoring the victory over older sibling Mike Treadwell with a submission due to strikes at 2:22 of Round 1.

Other results:

Peter Neufeld (7-3) def. Garrett Nybakken (5-6) – Unanimous decision

Allen Hope (8-10) def. Paul Grandbois (5-6) – TKO, 1:54 Round 2

Jared McComb (5-2) def. Marcus Hicks (14-22) – Tapout via rear-naked choke, 3:09 Round 1

Maged Hammo (5-2) def. Allan Munroe (5-5) – Tapout via rear-naked choke, 2:53 Round 1

For more information, please contact:

Scott Zerr, Director of Media & Fighter Relations

Maximum Fighting Championship

Cell: (780) 914-5813

Fax: (780) 444-5966

Email: scott@maximumfighting.com

Web: www.maximumfighting.com

Follow the MFC on twitter.com/maximumfighting

Follow me on Twitter twitter.com/scottmaxfight

Benoit enjoying verbal strikes with Birchak

#BWBrawl at MFC 37 on May 10 will settle heated squabble

The two new stars in the MFC’s newest division are physically the smallest men on the roster, but they have created one of the biggest buzzes of any fight in company history.

And for Ryan “Baby Face” Benoit he’s enjoyed every minute of the ongoing war of words he’s engaged in against upcoming opponent Anthony Birchak. All of their heated banter is leading to a hotly anticipated battle in the MFC’s debuting bantamweight division at MFC 37: True Grit.

“The Twitter battles and words back in forth have been fun to me. I’ve never had so much public hype on a fight so it’s something kind of new to me but it’s all fun and games,” said Benoit.

“I’ve never truly gotten angry about any of the comments. I just laugh and try to think of something better to say.

“The real battle will be in the ring. Talking trash to me is just for the attention and helps promote the fight and ourselves as fighters. It’s something we will have to get good at and used to as fighters as we grow bigger and bigger in our careers.”

The next big step comes Friday, May 10 when Benoit (6-1) and Birchak (9-1) forget about the barbs and instead exchange strikes and submission. Their fight highlights the AXS TV Fights card emanating live from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

The verbal rivalry took an interesting turn last week when Birchak and the hosts of an online radio show all stated that Benoit was no big test and that the fight would come to a quick conclusion. Benoit wasn’t the least bit concerned about the on-air shot he was taking, opting to patiently wait for the right time to shoot back.

Ready ... aim ... fire!

“Anthony is going to be on the list of my quick finishes,” stated Benoit.

“His wild brawling and swinging to a takedown won’t work on real skilled fighters.

“I have a feeling his career is about to have a big setback of losses after this because his poor skills are about to be exposed. There is a reason I was begging for this fight and everyone will see why May 10^th.”

Benoit (Twitter: @babyfacebenoit) may very well know what he’s talking about, having racked up four of his six wins inside the opening round plus five career victories coming by way of knockout. The Dallas, Texas, product is keeping a relatively standard method to his training camp, raising the focus in just a few specific areas.

He’s not at all worried about Birchak’s plan of attack. Instead he’s focused on making sure things go his way once the opening bell rings.

“I honestly see the fight going however I want it to,” said Benoit. “If he tries to take me down, it’s bad news for him. My ground game has yet to be exposed, and in all reality, the world hasn’t even seen how good my stand up is yet.”

An impressive outing for the winner of this showdown will put them into a fight to become the MFC’s first bantamweight champion. Benoit wants to makes sure he’s first in line to the crown.

“Being in the MFC is dream come true in my career,” Benoit stated. “I feel very blessed to even be able to get on the show and now the exposure I’m getting as a fighter and a person is amazing.

“I really want that beautiful MFC belt and I’m curious already to see who I will be fighting for it and I’m ready to bring a real belt back home to Texas and show everyone what a Dallas fighter is all about.”

Tickets for MFC 37: True Grit are available at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024.

Smealinho Rama vs Chris Barnett at MFC 37

On May 10th at MFC 37: True Grit, two of the most dynamic and promising heavyweight fighters in mixed martial arts will meet in the ring for the main event. The prize will be the undisputed World Heavyweight Championship title. Smealinho Rama (6-0) and Chris Barnett (7-1) have each earned their place at the MFC's "big boy" table and on May 10th it will be time to see who gets to eat.

Smealinho "The Prince" Rama is currently the #1 ranked heavyweight fighter in Canada. Coming off a first round TKO finish of previously top ranked Mike Hackert at MFC 36 in February, he now gets the call to compete for the title after only having competed in professional mixed martial arts for 13 months. At just 21 years of age, Rama is a significant force in the heavyweight division - an undeniable talent brimming with confidence.

In his 6 fights (which have lasted a total of only 14:06 combined), Smealinho has won half by TKO and half by submission, with all wins coming in the very first round. Not one to opt for the slow and steady route, Rama fought and won 5 times in 2012, building momentum, sharpening his skills and looking markedly better in each outing. This led Rama to his fight with Mike Hackert, who then held the rank of #1 heavyweight in the country. Rama finished Hackert with punches at 2:28 of the first round. His style of fighting and his achievements are very impressive, yet what is equally impressive is how Rama does it all with the calmness of a veteran fighter.

Chris "Beast Boy" Barnett is an athletic virtuoso: a tae kwon do black belt with boxing experience who played Division 1 football for the University of South Florida. At 5'9" and 265 pounds, Chris possesses a level of athleticism normally reserved for men far smaller than himself. He overflows with charisma and consistently pleases fans with his fighting style. He has competed in MMA for 4 years, finishing 5 of the 8 opponents he has faced by KO or TKO. Looking to the immediate future, Chris has said that Smealinho Rama is precisely the kind fighter he wants for his next fight: a legitimate contender. Well aware of the level of skill possessed by his opponent, but eager to build his legacy, Chris Barnett predicts a win over Rama via TKO in the 2nd round.

These are two fighters who are not at all hesitant to put everything on the line and engage in the kinds of fights MMA fans have come to love and appreciate.  Rama has stated that he doesn't want to be a "decision fighter."  "I want to finish every fight and make it exciting... and I want the fans to love it." Barnett has similarly stated that he is all about putting on a show and that he believes it to be his job to "humble fighters with massive egos." Here we have all the makings of a heavyweight slugfest where nothing is held back, where the level of talent is extremely high, and from which a new MMA star will emerge.
Tickets for MFC 37: True Grit are on sale now and available at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024.

Facebook fights fired up for MFC 37

Five-bout True Grit undercard streaming live on May 10

For the first time in organizational history, the Maximum Fighting Championship will bring all the heated action of an event undercard to a live audience around the world via Facebook.

At MFC 37: True Grit, fans will be able to see a five-fight preliminary bout lineup streaming live on the Maximum Fighting Championship’s Facebook page. Simply go to www.facebook.com/MaximumFighting and click ‘LIKE’ to watch the fistic fireworks.

The MFC has set three of the five fights slated for the True Grit undercard which will get under way at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT on Friday, May 10 from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.

The main card of MFC 37: True Grit, headlined by the showdown for the MFC world heavyweight title between Chris “Beast Boy” Barnett and Smealinho “The Prince” Rama, will be airing live on AXS TV Fights beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

Two middleweight fights will spark the undercard action at MFC 37. In what should be a rugged tussle, “The Loudmouth Assassin” Marcus Hicks will put a three-fight winning streak on the line against Jared “The Yeti” McComb. At MFC 36, Hicks notched a second-round submission victory over Paul Grandbois, while McComb will look to get back to winning ways after having his four-fight winning streak stopped at MFC 33.

In the other middleweight matchup, former Knockout of the Night winner Paul “The Punisher” Grandbois, who was the runner-up in voting for the MFC’s Fight of the Year in 2012, will take on hard-throwing striker Allen Hope. Back in April 2011, the two previously clashed with Hope earning the sixth knockout victory of his career in a first-round stoppage.

And as previously announced, the MFC 37: True Grit undercard will feature the much-anticipated “Brother vs. Brother” fight as Mike Treadwell squares off against his younger sibling Thomas Treadwell in a heavyweight clash.

Two more fights will be added shortly to the live Facebook undercard for MFC 37.

Tickets for MFC 37: True Grit are on sale now and available at www.ticketmaster.ca or by calling the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024.

ON SALE NOW Maximum Fighting 37 TRUE GRIT LIVE MAY 10. 2013 EDMONTON CANADA