The big news out of Canada this week is Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) stepping in on short notice to fight Matt Hughes (Pictures) for the interim UFC welterweight title on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas.
This will be the third fight between St. Pierre and Hughes. Hughes won the first at UFC 50 via armbar late in the opening round, and GSP won the rematch at UFC 65 via TKO midway through the second round.
A number of opponents were considered to replace Serra, including Jon Fitch (Pictures), Josh Koscheck (Pictures) and Thiago Alves (Pictures). However, St. Pierre and his camp went to the UFC and asked for the fight with Hughes.
Taking the fight on only five weeks notice was not a problem for St. Pierre. He looks forward to the rubber match, and Hughes has also made it clear that he wanted a third showdown with St. Pierre.
UFC Coming to Canada
After a year's effort, it seems to be all but officially announced that the UFC will come to Canada in spring 2008.
A source told Sherdog.com the UFC would be holding a show at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, in April. Quebecer Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) and Ontario's Jason MacDonald (Pictures) are penciled in to appear on the main card.
This news came before St. Pierre stepped up to fight Hughes at UFC 79, though. It is uncertain if this would affect GSP as a potential headliner for an April UFC. Needless to say, St. Pierre headlining would be a strong boost to the gate by attracting Canadian fans.
Upset at MFC 14
The Maximum Fighting Championship held its 14th show this past weekend at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton. In the main event, Brad Zazulak upset six-time UFC veteran Shonie Carter (Pictures).
Carter suffered an injury to his right arm early in the bout and conceded defeat two minutes into the first as a result of the injury.
Although the victory will go down in the books as an injury stoppage, Zazulak was in control of the entire bout and took the fight to the more experienced Carter.
In other action, Ryan Ford, Stjepan Vujnovic (Pictures) and Ryan Heck all kept undefeated records intact.
Brad Zazulak def. Shonie Carter (Pictures) TKO (injury) 2:09 R1
Ryan Ford def. Mike Sorenson TKO (strikes) 0:51 R2
Ryan Heck def. Donald Sanchez (Pictures) decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) R3
Stjepan Vujnovic (Pictures) def. Ryan McGillivray technical submission (triangle choke) 2:48 R2
Ryan Jimmo (Pictures) def. Nick Goetz rear-naked choke 0:44 R1
Ray Penny def. Dwayne Lewis decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) R3
Jason Kuchera def. David Lainoff TKO (strikes) 0:23 R1
Daniel Ferguson def. Josh Krytejo guillotine choke 2:51 R1
Sean Wright def. Dave Logan technical submission (guillotine choke) 0:42 R1
Gavin Neil def. Jason Zorthian triangle choke 2:20 R1
Jason Biggeman def. Kevin Dolan TKO 4:21 R1
Troy Sorenson def. Randy Valette armbar 2:33 R2
MFC in the Future
The MFC is taking a break for Christmas but will be back with MFC 15: Rags to Riches on Feb. 22 in Edmonton.
No fights have been announced, but the promotion is hoping to showcase two title fights on the card, MFC media director Scott Zerr confirmed with Sherdog.com. It is expected that Ryan Heck will get a shot at the vacant lightweight title.
Zerr also confirmed the MFC's plans to expand outside of Edmonton, possibly in the summer or early fall.
"We will be leaving Edmonton in 2008," he said. "Right now we are looking at Florida and Texas as the place to hold out first MFC show in the United States."
MFC heavyweight champion Scott Junk (Pictures), light heavyweight champion Roger Hollett (Pictures) and Pro Camp fighter Adam Braidwood are all out for the foreseeable future with knee injuries.
Braidwood's injury will keep him off the MFC 15 card. A football player for the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, Braidwood can only fight in February or March each year due to his football schedule. By not fighting at MFC 15, he will be out of the ring until early 2009.
Xtreme MMA 2 Results
David Loiseau (Pictures) promoted his sophomore affair this past weekend in Victoriaville, Quebec.
In the main event, UFC veteran Jonathan Goulet (Pictures) defeated Dan Chambers (Pictures) via referee stoppage in the first round. Also, heavyweight prospect Martin Desilets (Pictures) returned to the ring after a 14-month absence to knock out Stephen Davis in the first round.
Other results:
Jacob MacDonald (Pictures) def. Shawn Marchand (Pictures) decision R3
Derek Gauthier def. Kris Parti TKO R1
Tommy Pariseau def. Stephane Denis (Pictures) decision R3
Yan Pellerin (Pictures) def. Mike Weichert KO R1
Mike Dizak def. Eugenio Carpine submission (Kimura) R1
Michel Boissonneault def. Louis-Christophe Laurin submission R3
Nordin Tahleb def. Louis Phillipe Carlos decision R3
Gabriel Lavallee def. Dimitri Waardenberg submission R2
Brandon Cult def. Alexandre Jr. TKO R2
Upcoming Canadian MMA events
Nov. 30: UCW 10 in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Dec. 14: TKO 31 in Montreal, Quebec
Dec. 15: KOTC in Moncton, New Brunswick
Dec. 31: Rumble in the Cage 27 in Lethbridge, Alberta
Jan. 26: Freedom Fight 2008 in Hull, Quebec