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.

NICK NEWELL BATTLES FOR THE XFC TITLE ON AXS TV

Undefeated Newell to fight Eric Reynolds for the first XFC Lightweight Title this Friday, December 7 at 10pmET

(December 6, 2012- Dallas, Texas) AXS TV Fights is LIVE from Nashville, Tennessee for “XFC 21: Night of Champions II” where undefeated one-armed MMA sensation Nick Newell meets Bellator Fighting Championship veteran Eric Reynolds in the main event Friday, December 7 at 10:00pm ET on AXS TV.

Nick “Notorious” Newell (8-0) has impressed and inspired fight fans with 6 of his 8 wins coming in the first round, including his recent August victory against Adam David Mays. AXS TV Fights aired the first round knockout as part of it’s XFC 19 – Charlotte Showdown LIVE fight coverage:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCoOirT2QeU.

However, his fight with experienced veteran Eric “It’s a Wrap” Reynolds (16-5) is sure to be the toughest test yet in his young career. Newell says that he’s ready and told Inside MMA’s Kenny Rice and Bas Rutten, “I’ve picked up some new tricks…I fight to win.” Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvRUfy8CJVA&feature=youtu.be

AXS TV Fight fans can predict the Newell vs Reynolds battle and even score the fight competing with others in real-time via the AXS TV Fights app now available free for iPhone and iPad. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/axs-tv-fights/id513941346?mt=8.

Fight fans can also connect with AXS TV Fights on Facebook and Twitter:

www.facebook.com/AXSTVFights

twitter.com/AXSTVFights

XFC 21:  NIGHT OF CHAMPIONS II
LIVE Exclusively on AXS TV
Friday, December 7 at 10pm ET / 7pm PT