BY BRYAN LEVICK, BLEACHERREPORT.COM
Every time we speak to Maximum Fighting Championships President Mark Pavelich he leaves us with some great quotes, outlandish statements and a few daggers in the hearts of the other would be promoters he believes are in the sport for the wrong reason.
Many may find him brash and some have a hard time understanding his tactics, but regardless of how you may feel about Pavelich, the man is as passionate about the sport of mixed martial arts as anyone else. There’s a reason why his organization is still going strong after 14 years in the mixed martial arts business.
As quick as he is to support the fighters who do right by him he is as quick to attack the fighters who disrespect him, his family and his organization. Many a fighter has found themselves in his cross-hairs after missing weight or acting inappropriately. There are not many people that Pavelich trusts and that is why he has enlisted the help of several family members.
“The Maximum Fighting Championship is run by seven people and most of them have the same last name,” Pavelich told Alchemist Radio. “We are talked about in the same light as the UFC who are run by multi-millionaires, Bellator who are run by multi-gazillionaires and the WSOF who are run by; well we’re not really sure. It’s like being in an absolute war against people with tanks, guns and atomic bombs. The Pavelich family has slingshots and we’re still in the game.”
Pavelich is always very proud of the fighters he signs to compete in his organization and he does an incredible job of hyping up each and every fight on the card. On January 17, MFC 39 will feature a main event pitting their heavyweight champion Anthony Hamilton against TUF season 10 contestant Darrill Schoonover. Many fans will remember Schoonover solely due to the fact that Quinton “Rampage Jackson” saddled him with the nickname “Titties”, but don’t let Pavelich hear you call him that.
“My new nickname is the bully killer,” admitted Pavelich. “What I’ve done now is anyone who refers to Schoonover by that nickname; I will hang up the phone on them. People are stupid, I grew up in Detroit, Michigan and I grew up with bullies all day long. What bothers me most are people who point out the obvious. We’re making fun of someone who was overweight; I make fun of people who can defend themselves.”
“I know Quinton very well and I got along with him great when we were on Inside MMA together, but at the same time if he ever tried that s**t around me I would hit him over the head with a baseball bat. When Quinton did that on the show he was really trying to bully him and he knew Schoonover wasn’t in a position to do anything about it. In his last fight he put it on Paul Buentello, so it’s time to start putting it into perspective what level of fighter this guy is actually at. On top of it he has a massive chip on his shoulder.”
“These two are going to kill each other inside the ring on January 17th,” promised Pavelich. “If you watched Hamilton’s last fight you’ll know that Smealinho Rama is still looking for his head, he knocked it right it into the fourth row. By far the best knockout of 2013 and the funny thing is he looked like he was done for, I thought he was done. This will be his first title defense.”
Kurt Southern was able to extract some revenge on Jonatas Novaes at MFC 38 after their first bout at MFC 36 ending in controversy. There was footage that showed Novaes grabbing Southern’s gloves before latching on a fight ending submission. Southern also earned a title shot at MFC 39 with the 1st round knockout of Novaes and will take on little known Team Quest lightweight Tom Gallicchio who will be making his debut as a lightweight. These guys may have different personalities, but they have one thing in common; they want to hurt one another.
“These two will meet in the semi-main event and Southern will be looking to become one of the few Canadians to win a title in the MFC,” Pavelich said. “Gallicchio is from Team Quest and he’s never fought at 155 lbs. These two can pretend on Twitter that they like each other, but they don’t. When you’re fighting in front of this many people, you know they don’t like one another.”
“People say to me all the time that they’re not that familiar with Douglas Lima,” Pavelich stated. “Mark, I’m not that familiar with Patrick Cote or Paul Daley. These are all guys who fought for the MFC in the past. I did a lot of research on Gallicchio and that’s why I put him in this position. If you think I’m crazy, this guy is nuts. On January 17th on AXS TV, you’re going to see why I signed him.”
“I wish Southern would talk a little more because he’s an awesome guy. At the same time he possesses some form of evilness in his DNA. He doesn’t want to point spar his opponents, he wants to wreck them. When you fall down to the ground he wants to punch your face through the mat. I love that type of fighter.”
Anthony Birchak is the MFC bantamweight champion and seems to have all the tools to become a real superstar in mixed martial arts. We spoke with him before he defeated Tito Jones at MFC 38 for the title and he possesses all the characteristics to lead the MFC into the future, inside and outside of the ring.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Birchak is the franchise,” admitted Pavelich. “I’ve never said that in 14 years about any of my fighters. He’s been promoting MFC 39 more than any other fighter on the show and he’s not even fighting. That tells you right there what type of company guy he is. To say I am a fan of his is an absolute understatement. I like everything he does; he goes out of his way to promote the MFC. He’s a first class human being, he is awesome. You can see him defending his title at MFC 40 on May 9th.”
With fighters like Southern, Hamilton, Birchak and Sam Alvey representing the MFC the future is very bright for Mark Pavelich’s promotion. He has a solid relationship with AXS TV and the organization is beloved by the Canadian fans. He’s got some ideas in mind that will help build an even brighter future.
“I am starting to smell us getting into the United States in 2014,” admitted Pavelich. “We are working on some casino deals as we speak. I’m so excited because I’ve been holding my breath for 14 years. It’s a small miracle when you see what we do as a family. If you compare the budget we work with against some of these other shows, yet we’re still on the same playing field, it’s amazing. It comes down to great TV deals, great sponsors, great fighters and of course great fans.”
