King of the Cage "Capital Chaos" is set to go off tonight at the Robert Guertin arena in Hull, Quebec. Why on a Wednesday? I have no idea. What I do know is that the two co-main events looks terrific, with BJJ prodigy Mark Bocek taking on Westerner Garett Davis (Pictures); and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia's TJ Grant (Pictures) versus Saskatchewan's Elmer Waterhen.
That all changed when KOTC came calling.
Grant's trainer and manager Scott MacLean said that this opportunity was too good to pass up, and that if TJ wins he'll likely be getting a shot at the welterweight belt.
There are only ever a small handful of fights that have the potential to be the most exciting fight of the year, and several of them are this week. The first is in KOTC, when Mark Bocek will be taking on Garett Davis (Pictures).
Just by looking at his record of 6-6-0, Davis's abilities are misleading. After starting his career at 0-6, the Marcus Soares' student renewed his commitment to the sport and has since gone undefeated in six fights.
Davis was also one half of the best fight that I have ever seen in person, when he defeated highly touted Rowan Cunningham (Pictures) in the third round at the first Extreme Cage Combat, 11 months ago.
He'll have to make sure he brings that A-game to Hull though, as his opponent, Mark Bocek, is no slouch either.
The name Mark Bocek is only now starting to enter the consciousness of MMA fans, but to fans of Brazilian jiu-jitsu that's a different matter.
Bocek is a BJJ prodigy who started his training under Rickson and Renzo Gracie (Pictures), and is the first ever Canadian-born BJJ black belt. Besides that claim to fame, he has won numerous tournaments, the most recent coming last year when he won the North American Abu Dhabi Combat Club trials.
I spoke to Bocek last week to get his thoughts on his upcoming fight.
Bocek started by saying that he feels100 percent and can't wait to fight.
When asked about his plan for Davis, he said that he never overlooks anybody, but he'd "like to take him down and put him in an uncomfortable position."
Unlike many BJJ practitioners who transition to MMA almost as an afterthought, Bocek tells me that it's been his plan the whole time.
"I got into jiu-jitsu to eventually get into MMA, and I wanted a good base."
When I asked him how he sees his match against Davis going, he replied, "I don't take fights I don't think I'm going to win."
I wish that I was able to make the trip to Quebec to see this event, and if any of you are in that area, you'd be insane not to go.
ECC5 – Night of Champions
The Maritimes only MMA organization, Extreme Cage Combat, is really starting to come into its own.
When they started a year ago, they were forced to rely heavily on out of area fighters, with a few untested locals to fill their cards. Now they're at the point that they have a fair stable of experienced, local guys to draw from.
This weekend will be their fifth event, titled "Night of Champions," in which three inaugural belts will be awarded. All three are excellent matches, and each has the potential to be a barnburner.
Light heavyweight Roger Hollett (Pictures) will be taking his 4-0 record into the cage to meet his toughest competition so far in 6-foot-7 Ricardeau Francois (Pictures). Hollett is the fighter that ECC is grooming to be the face of their organization, and after Saturday night either he or Francois will be the ECC 205 pound champion.
Vying for the ECC lightweight championship, Titans MMA Jason MacKay (Pictures) will match his unblemished 4-0 record against that of Team Boreland's Shaun Krysa (Pictures). Both fighters are extremely well rounded, and MacKay's trainer Rob Walker tells me that he's trained like never before, and his cardio is the best it's ever been.
Finally, Rowan Cunningham (Pictures) seeks to acquire the ECC welterweight championship belt to match the APEX belt that he already holds. His opponent, Cory MacDonald, has the same 4-1 tally as Cunningham, and is looking to make his mark outside of Quebec.
Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) MMA Seminar
Kombat Arts Training Academy in Mississauga, Ontario, continues to hold amazing seminars for their members and others.
Next up is the current UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre (Pictures), who'll be joining them April 22 for a four and a half hour seminar. Fee will be $100 and space is limited.
Register in person at Kombat Arts Training Academy, or online at www.pound4pound.ca.