Strong cast biding for shot at Leites

(PRESS RELEASE) -- Vindication is an impressive one with a final decision on who will face the Brazilian star in the main event expected in the very near future.

Leites (16-3), who defeated Dean Lister in a convincing unanimous decision at MFC 23 in December, is expected to headline MFC 25 which will take place on Friday, May 7 live at the Northlands Expo Centre in Edmonton , Alberta , and airing live on HDNet Fights throughout North America .

Among those on the short list is fellow Brazilian standout Jorge Santiago, a fan favorite in Japan who sports an impressive resume. Santiago (22-8), a member of American Top Team, holds career wins over former MFC light heavyweight champion Trevor Prangley, onetime MFC lightweight title contender Derrick Noble, and Jeremy Horn.

Another name that has recently surfaced as a possible opponent in Jesse “JT Money” Taylor , a former reality show cast member. Taylor (14-5) is coming off a victory over former MFC light heavyweight title challenger Jason Day and has fought a long list of known names including a pair of ex-MFC middleweight rivals, Chris Camozzi and Jesse Forbes.

Also in the mix is a well-known international name in “Professor X” Xavier Foupa-Pokam. The talented Frenchman (21-12) has fought all over the world and been in against several prominent names including Murilo “Ninja” Rua and Denis Kang. Foupa-Pokam joins Travis Lutter as those who have recently had their names added to the candidate list. Lutter (10-5) put some shockwaves into the MMA world when he came back from an 18-month layoff to make his organizational debut at MFC 22 and outlasted Jason MacDonald to take a unanimous decision.

MFC 25: Vindication already features a great lineup of fights including:

Ryan Jimmo vs. Wilson Gouveia, light heavyweight

Dwayne Lewis vs. Emanuel Newton, light heavyweight

David Heath vs. Solomon Hutcherson, middleweight

Luigi Fioravanti vs. Pete Spratt, welterweight

Tickets for MFC 25: Vindication are on sale now via the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024 or through Ticketmaster at www.ticketmaster.ca and charge-by-phone (780) 451-8000.