It's a relatively quiet weekend fight-wise, but the business of MMA in Canada is anything but. This week we highlight KOTC's latest effort in British Columbia, Jason MacDonald (Pictures)'s next Octagon foe, and the "New York Badass" training with Canadian trainer Shawn Tompkins (Pictures).
This weekend will be a relatively quiet one for Canadian MMA with only one event happening, but it's a nice looking one from KOTC Canada. "Megiddo," named after the town in Israel that is better known as "Armageddon," comes to the Multiplex in Vernon, BC, on Saturday night.
Promoter Ken Kupsch told MM-Eh! that he thinks this card stacks up very favorably with previous ones. Headlining "Megiddo" will be a welterweight title bout pitting Dartmouth, Nova Scotia's TJ Grant (Pictures), against BC native Gary Wright.
Both fighters are currently undefeated and have a similar number of fights under their belts, with five for Wright and six for Grant. Eagle eyed fans will notice that Wright is filling in for Grant's original opponent, Rory MacDonald, who had to withdraw for personal reasons.
The co-main event features Jason St. Louis (Pictures) and "Rajin" Kajan Johnson, and Kupsch revealed that Ruben Villareal (Pictures) will return to KOTC to face Edmonton's Tim Hague in a heavyweight match.
Kupsch also said that he's extremely happy with the success seen so far by the KOTC brand, and they plan to come to more Canadian cities soon. Some possibilities include Vancouver, Vancouver Island, potentially Halifax this summer, and finally Winnipeg in 2008.
MacDonald to meet Singer at UFC 72
After Jason's disappointing loss against Rich Franklin (Pictures) at UFC 68, his manager Mark Pavelich told Sherdog.com that he'd like to see Jason meet someone like Martin Kampmann (Pictures) for his next match.
Despite his wishes, the UFC has revealed that Kampmann will instead meet Franklin at UFC 72 on June 16 in Belfast, Ireland. However, MacDonald will be on the same card, as The Ultimate Fighter 4 competitor, Rory Singer (Pictures), has confirmed that he'll be his opponent.
Baroni training with Tompkins
The "New York Bad Ass" Phil Baroni (Pictures), is currently training with the quickly expanding Team Quest chapter in Temecula, Calif. to prepare for his June Strikeforce meeting with Frank Shamrock (Pictures).
There has been an expanding saga of trash talk between the pair, with Shamrock going so far as to create parody videos of Baroni and releasing them on YouTube.
Baroni has been having a resurgent career of sorts, winning five out of seven since being released from the UFC in 2005. He made a big impact in PRIDE, where the Japanese fans enjoyed his brash personality and muscular stature.
Baroni has gone to Temecula to seek the assistance of Team Quest's striking coach, Canadian Shawn Tompkins (Pictures). Tompkins stock as an MMA trainer has skyrocketed in the past year. He assisted Dan Henderson (Pictures)'s transition from a Greco-Roman base to a very effective striker, and his "Team Tompkins" fighters -- Mark Hominick (Pictures), Sam Stout (Pictures), and Chris Horodecki (Pictures) -- have all made waves in their respective organizations.
Before Baroni meets Shamrock, Tompkins makes his second appearance as head coach of the International Fight League's Los Angeles Anacondas since taking over the duties from Bas Rutten (Pictures).
Jorge Gurgel (Pictures) insight
Popular UFC lightweight Jorge Gurgel (Pictures) spoke to MM-Eh! yesterday to give his views on his student TJ Grant (Pictures), prior to TJ's weekend meeting against Gary Wright for the KOTC Canada welterweight title.
His thoughts will be revealed in Sherdog.com's upcoming interview with TJ. In the meantime, we can say that Jorge confirmed he will be fighting in UFC 73, scheduled for July 7 in Sacramento, California. He also added that the rumor of his opponent being Jamie Varner (Pictures) is just that, a rumor.
"I'm not fighting Jamie Varner (Pictures)," he said. "I don't know who I'll be fighting, if you can believe that."
GSP update
Fresh off attending Georges St. Pierre (Pictures)'s autograph signing at Philthy McNasty's in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, last Saturday, I received this email from Ryan Pennell:
Hello, Andy. I have photos from the GSP appearance in Burlington, Ontario. I think you should mention in your next article that GSP was widely appreciated and loved by all the Canadians fans. Judging by the fans he is still the champ, he is the champ in all of our hearts. He did a great job representing Canada. - Thank you, Ryan and James
Great stuff guys … thanks for the update!
Abhaya Grappling Tournament
Rowan Cunningham (Pictures) and his Abhaya Academy in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, will host its second grappling tournament this Saturday. We'll will be there to scout the talent, so ask Rowan to point me out and come say hello.
Seminars
Apr 22 - 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.
Apr 25-28 - From www.rgda.org, multiple-time world BJJ and ADCC champion Royler Gracie (Pictures) visits RGDA Canada Academies in Ontario.
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.
Apr 28 - 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.
Apr 28 - GSP comes to Bowmanville, Ontario, for a five-hour seminar starting at noon. Location will be Ultimate Martial Arts Training Centre and the cost will be $200 and $40 for spectators. www.staredownfightwear.com
May 5-6 - 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.
May 5-6 - Trainer extraordinaire and creator of Miletich Fighting Systems, Pat Miletich (Pictures) makes the trek North in May to his MFS affiliated school in Edmonton, Alberta. There are still a few spots remaining, so if interested, send an e-mail to info@pbma.ca or call (403) 444-5999.
May 13 - Matt Hughes (Pictures) makes yet another trip north to give a seminar to a Canadian affiliate of Miletich Fighting Systems. Hughes makes quite a few trips up here, and I get the feeling from his personal blog that he continues to be surprised at the adoration he finds in the home country of his greatest opponent. The former UFC champ will be at the MFS in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and time will be determined later. Contact (306) 955-5425 if interested.
Jun 24 - 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.