Howdy, and welcome to MM-Eh! -- Sherdog.com's column devoted to looking at MMA from the Canadian perspective. With no MM-Eh posted last week we have a ton to cover, so without further ado …
The UFC makes its return to England for the first time in five years this Saturday, and Canada's sole representative is current Maximum Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion, Victor Valimaki (Pictures).
Valimaki takes on heavy-handed Italian striker Alessio Sakara (Pictures), and he's extremely excited and eager to have the opportunity to show UFC fans his abilities in the cage.
Stay tuned to Sherdog to read a lengthy interview with "The Matrix." You'll be able to read his thoughts on Sakara, as well as his future in the sport.
Maximum Fighting Championship "Unplugged" 3
Speaking of Valimaki, the organization where he made his mark, the MFC in Edmonton, is finally holding its "Unplugged 3" card on Friday night.
I say "finally" only because many fans, myself included, have eagerly awaited the arrival of their newest "big thing," Hawaiian heavyweight fighter and B.J. Penn (Pictures) student, Scott Junk (Pictures).
In his first bout outside Hawaii, Junk will square off against Abbotsford, B.C.'s Dominic Richard.
Said MFC owner Mark Pavelich about Junk: "In his first fight he gave (former UFC heavyweight champion) Ricco Rodriquez a run for his money, and that was with almost no MMA training."
"Can you imagine how good he'll be when he gets more training?"
Shaun Krysa (Pictures)'s ECC 5 appeal review
As I've previously reported, a few weeks ago Chris Boreland of Boreland Combat Team submitted a formal appeal to the Nova Scotia Boxing Authority (NSBA) as a result of the loss attributed to his fighter, Shaun Krysa (Pictures), at ECC 5 "Night of Champions."
For those of you who are new to the circumstances, I'll include the pertinent paragraphs from my post ECC 5 article.
Next came the controversy. Krysa was on his knees in MacKay's full guard, when MacKay let loose a wicked up-kick that caught Krysa flush on the chin, knocking him back to the mat.
The move was illegal since Krysa was on his knees. The referee deducted one point, and then the cage-side doctor came in to examine Krysa. After a minute the fight was called off.
In an unusual and puzzling move, the announcer claimed that since the hit was an "accidental foul" the fight would be decided by judges' scorecard, even though it was only halfway through the second round.
Boreland had expressed his discontent immediately after the decision had been read, and after returning to Ontario filed the appeal with the NSBA. For several weeks he and NSBA Chairman Mickey MacDonald have been conversing via e-mail.
Boreland has been very vocal in his displeasure with what he claims was a biased and incorrect decision against Krysa. At first look, it does appear that he's correct, and that based on the Unified Rules of MMA MacKay should have been either disqualified or the fight ruled a "No Contest" based on MacKay's intent.
Unfortunately for Krysa, MacDonald dropped a bombshell when he told Boreland that Nova Scotia doesn't follow the Unified Rules. Instead, they have created an entirely new rule set, that of the NSBA. The NSBA rules are very similar to the Unified Rules for the most part, but in this circumstance they differ.
In the Unified Rules, for an accidental foul such as what happened at ECC 5, it states that, "If the referee determines that a contest or exhibition of mixed martial arts may not continue because of an injury suffered as the result of an accidental foul, the contest or exhibition must be declared a no contest if the foul occurs during (a) The first two rounds of a contest or exhibition that is scheduled for three rounds or less."
Regarding accidental blows in the NSBA rules, "154. If the referee sees or, after consultation with the judges, determines that a boxer has been accidentally injured in a boxing match and it is determined that (a) the boxer cannot continue, the referee shall immediately call a technical decision to be awarded to the boxer who is ahead in points on the scorecards."
I have spoken to several people knowledgeable about boxing, and they confirm that this is a common rule in professional boxing. Based on this criterion, the NSBA has decided that Boreland's appeal has no merit and the decision awarding MacKay the ECC lightweight championship will stand.
Obviously Boreland and Krysa are upset with this decision, but they appear to have found an ally from an unexpected source.
ECC Promoter Peter Martell recently provided the NSBA with video footage of the fight, and when I asked him about Boreland's appeal, said, "I'm on his side."
"Every organization, the UFC or PRIDE or whatever, they all have their times when they have something unusual that happens," Martell said. "We (ECC) just had ours, and the NSBA didn't do well with the test."
Many people in the industry agree with Martell, and numerous other fighters and fans have been left confused with this judgment.
I have mentioned numerous times in the past that the NSBA has impressed me very much with their acceptance of MMA into their purview. I think it's a shame that after all their hard work this one incident could give both the NSBA and by default the ECC a black eye that will take a long time to disappear.
At the end of the day, if an organization wants to prosper and attract high-level competition, a solid reputation is crucial.
Added Martell: "We want to run an organization with conscience and integrity."
bodogFight
It's no secret that I love MMA, but I'm having a terribly difficult time giving a rat's patootie about bodogFight. Combine the whole "pay-per-view in Canada airing one week after the event" thing, along with a lack of promotion, and I just can't bring myself to care.
It's a shame really, because there are some great fighters that participate, including perhaps the greatest of all, Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures).
Oh, by the way, did I mention that Fedor was actually born in Canada and moved to Russia as a teenager? True story. (Umm … OK, maybe I'm lying.)
Last weekend Episode 9 of Season 2 took place, headlined by Fedor versus Matt Lindland (Pictures).
In that episode, Canadian Bill Mahood (Pictures) took on and defeated Steve Steinbeiss. I can't really say that I knew anything about Steinbeiss other than that he is 2-0 in K-1, and the Sherdog Fight Finder stated that he is 1-0 (now 2-0) in MMA.
On a side note, Steve's brother Ray was on the same card replacing Jorge Masvidal, whose greatest claim to fame so far is appearing on Youtube in a street fight against one of Kimbo Slice's guys.
Although a Frenchman (from France, not Quebec), Kristof Midoux (Pictures) has many ties to the Canadian MMA scene, so I thought I'd mention that he also competed, this time a repeat of his last fight, a loss to Russian Roman Zentsov (Pictures).
Ultimate Cage Wars "April Anarchy"
Popular member of the International Fight League's Los Angeles Anacondas, Krzysztof Soszynski (Pictures) recently oversaw his own MMA event, UCW in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
According to Krzysztof, the card was full of incredible fights, but one in particular really blew both him and the crowd away.
Lethbridge's Victor Daychief defeated Brian MacEachern of Team Tompkins by a very close unanimous decision. I've heard several first hand accounts that claim that this fight was easily the best in UCW history.
Both Sam Stout (Pictures) and Chris Horodecki (Pictures) accompanied MacEachern to Winnipeg for support.
This UCW was the seventh, and Soszynski says that two more are planned for this year. Next will be on June 23, with special guest UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture (Pictures), who will also conduct a seminar on June 24. The final UCW of 2007 is planned for Sept. 29.
If you're a fan of the Anacondas heavyweight, and how could you not be, make sure you check out Sherdog.com's interview with him and his L.A. teammates Chris Horodecki (Pictures) and Shawn Tompkins (Pictures).
The "Crow" to appear in new MMA organization
David Loiseau (Pictures), Stephane Vigneault (Pictures), and Thierry Quenneville (Pictures) are set to appear in the cage this July, when well-known boxing referee Richard Steele's foray into MMA comes into fruition.
"Steele Cage Promotions," which has also signed Marvin Eastman (Pictures) at middleweight, will hold its inaugural event in The Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 7.
Joe Doerksen (Pictures) News
Perennial Canadian favorite Joe "El Dirte" Doerksen won his bout last weekend in Japan, defeating Kim Dae Won by triangle choke in 3:35 at DEEP's 29th "Impact."
The last we heard, Doerksen had just been signed to compete for PRIDE USA, so with the events that have recently occurred between the UFC and PRIDE, I hope we'll get a chance to see more of him.
Also on this card was female superstar Hisae Watanabe (Pictures), which means that Sherdog.com fans will soon have a 40-page report by her biggest crush, Sherdog's Jordan Breen. Hisae is Jordan's Kryptonite you see. (Sorry Jordan.)
Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) loses to Matt Serra (Pictures)
Well, it's been two weeks and I still haven't decided if I'm stuck in a dream. Like all the rest of you, I was 100 percent confident that GSP would steamroll through Serra.
When Georges was on his back getting drilled in his face, my jaw dropped further than it ever has before -- all the more room to eat "Humble Pie" I suppose.
Did anyone else laugh out loud when Georges giggled after he said that Serra beat him "Fair and square" when Joe Rogan interviewed him in the cage? If you remember, it was after GSP's victory over Sean Sherk (Pictures) that he claimed to have won "Fairly and squarely," much to the amusement of fans.
Good to see Georges still has a sense of humor.
I had assumed that because of GSP's loss, the tentatively planned UFC event in Montreal for later this year would be cancelled.
Not so, as Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press discovered when he spoke with UFC President Dana White recently. White made several complimentary statements towards our wonderful Country.
"Canada's been a phenomenal breakthrough market for us, the sleeper market," White told Davidson. "When we were looking at this thing, when we first purchased it, we had no idea that Canada would become so huge."
"When we see where our ticket sales are coming from, it is mind-boggling how many tickets are coming from Canada," White continued. "For every fight … I know now Canada is one of our biggest markets. I know that now. But when we bought it, I didn't expect it."
On putting on an event in Canada, White said: "Obviously it's better if you have Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) on the card. Because you've got one of the best fighters in the world who is a Canadian fighting on the card. But I tell you, we can go there without any Canadians and still kick ass up in Canada."
Finally, Davidson reports that White still wants to put on a show in Montreal this year.
"We're ready to roll," White said.
Upcoming Seminars
There will be a Georges ‘Rush' St. Pierre official autograph signing at Philthy McNasty's in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, on Saturday, April 21.
The event will run from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and will feature photograph taking, autograph signing, a question and answer period and more.
MMA Fight Gear will be there selling your favorite UFC, Punishment & Tapout gear.
Please call 905-319-8555 for ticket information (ask for Sean).
Kombat Arts Training Academy in Mississauga, Ontario, has announced that their seminar with former UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) on April 22 is sold-out. If you still want to go though, there will be limited seating for spectators, and tickets will be available at the door for $15.00. To find out more, check out www.pound4pound.ca.
Exciting Canadian middleweight Denis Kang (Pictures) soon returns to his former hometown of Vancouver, where fight fans will get the opportunity to join him for an MMA seminar, at Universal Mixed Martial Arts on Saturday April 28.
Seminar cost is $50 for two hours, and if interested please contact Dave Feser from the Carlson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Team at (604) 684-0991 or by surfing over to www.universalmma.com.
Another Georges St. Pierre (Pictures) seminar will occur in Richmond, B.C., Canada, on May 5 and 6. The seminar is at Kilgour Elementary School, 8580 Kilgour Place, Richmond B.C.
For more information contact Mark Friedman (778) 322-2195 or (778) 228-5875.
From www.rgda.org, Royler Gracie (Pictures) visits RGDA Canada Academies in Ontario. Multiple times World BJJ and ADCC Champion Royler Gracie (Pictures) is returning to Canada later this month. After Canada Royler will be with his main instructor in the USA David Adiv when the two will finalize plans for another Royler Seminar series. Adiv, a second-degree black belt under Royler is the co-leader of Royler's USA Association.
Wednesday, April 25 from 7-10 p.m. - RGDA Woodbridge - 905-265-0950.
Thursday, April 26 from 7-10 p.m. - RGDA Bolton - 905-857- 7009.
Friday, April 27 from 7-10 p.m. - RGDA Barrie - 705-733-8994.
Saturday, April 28 from 1-4 p.m. - RGDA Newmarket - 905-830-1245.
Private lessons are available by appointment. Contact each school for details.
Randy Couture (Pictures) will be in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to support Krzysztof Soszynski (Pictures)'s next UCW event June 23, and will be also giving a seminar Sunday June 24. Anyone interested in Randy's seminar can email Krzysztof at krzysztof@ultimatecagewars.com.