MFC 23 fight card and line-up finalized for Dec. 4 'Unstoppable' event

The Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) will cap its 2009 campaign with the organization's sixteenth straight sold-out show and an amazing lineup of fights set for MFC 23: Unstoppable.

MFC 23: Unstoppable will take place on Friday, December 4 at the River Cree Resort and Casino just outside Edmonton, Alberta, and will be aired live throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico on HDNet Fights.

With the MFC's middleweight title awaiting a new champion, there are three 185-pound fights on the card which will ultimately settle the issue of the top two contenders for the title belt. In the night's main event, submission specialists Dean "The Boogeyman" Lister (11-6) and Thales Leites (14-3) will clash with the winner taking the inside track towards a shot at the middleweight crown. Lister, who hails from San Diego, California, has targeted a title shot but he will have to overtake the multi-talented Brazilian to get it.

"I was ecstatic to sign both of these fighters to the Maximum Fighting Championship and when they agreed to fight each other right away, I knew this would be a main event the entire world would be watching," said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich.

In the co-main event, Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald will look to regain his footing in the MFC's middleweight division when he tangles with "King" Solomon Hutcherson. MacDonald (21-13), who will have a home-town crowd behind him, has built a strong reputation of knocking off former reality show standouts, but Hutcherson (11-5), who fights out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has designs on ending MacDonald's run towards a much-coveted championship belt.

The other key middleweight bout on the card pits Art "Pachuco" Santore (18-6) against Bryan "The Beast" Baker (10-1). Both California-based fighters are well-known for their knockout power which Baker flashed in his first-round finish of Rory Singer at MFC 20.

Also on the main card, Edmonton's Ryan "The Big Deal" Jimmo (11-1) will look to solidify his case for a shot at the MFC's light heavyweight title but to do so he will need to get past former MFC light heavyweight champion Emanuel "The Hardcore Kid" Newton (12-5-1). Jimmo has won 11 straight fights but needs a compelling finish to lock up his title opportunity while Newton, of Norwalk, California, beat Roger Hollett for the belt at MFC 19 only to drop it at MFC 21.

Another light heavyweight bout on the main card will feature Dwayne Lewis (9-4) of Fort McMurray, Alberta, facing hard-punching veteran Marvin "The Beastman" Eastman (16-11) of Las Vegas. For Lewis, it is a chance to make a name for himself on the big stage while Eastman will endeavor to show he is still a serious threat.

Rounding out the televised card is a welterweight war between Joe "Jitsu" Christopher (9-2) and Jesse Juarez (11-5). The two have built-up a bitter feud with their pre-fight hype so there is certainly going to be fireworks when Christopher, a native of Dallas, Texas, takes on Juarez, who fights out of Torrence, California.

There are a total of 10 fights on the MFC 23: Unstoppable card including two top-notch preliminary bouts. In a heavyweight battle, two home-town gladiators collide as Ryan "The Vanilla Gorilla" Fortin (5-1) squares-off against rival Nick "The Quiet Assassin" Penner (8-1). And in what should be a lightning-quick lightweight tussle, Ryan Machan (9-3) of Red Deer, Alberta, takes on "Rajin" Kajan Johnson (16-10) of Burns Lake, British Columbia.

Just a few tickets remain for MFC 23: Unstoppable. Remaining tickets can be purchased by calling the MFC Ticket Hotline at (780) 504-2024 or through Ticketmaster at (780) 451-8000, www.ticketmaster.ca, and Ticketmaster outlets.

KOS was really poked in the eye

Many people, me included thought Kos pulled a quick one during his fight with Anthony Johnson, but in fact Kos was poked in the eye. The knee had nothing to do with the eye poke, it was when AJ attempted to grab Kos for the knee that he intentionally poked Kos in the eye.  Take a look at the picture below, maybe it too will help many of you change your minds in regards to what we thought was a cheap move. 

c

via photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net

" Brock has only been fighting at 60% of his potential"!? Dana talks about Brock, Tito and the UFC fans with Cofield

 As usual Dana exaggerates the situation, a week ago Brock might never be fighting again!?  However it is scary especially for his opponents to realize that Brock has not been 100% in his last two fights, the real question is how much did it effect his performance? Would it be comparable to NOG's staph infection? Brock Lesnars return is going to be exciting below is a comment from his trainer.

On a blog post on Heyman Hustle, Paul Heyman had a message to Shane Carwin

“Brock Lesnar is sick. That’s bad news for no one but Brock Lesnar (and, well, I guess Dana White, too). But Brock Lesnar won’t be sick forever. He’s going to get better. He’s going to get healthy. And he’s going to go back into that Texas Chainsaw Massacre-like existence, training in the middle of the woods in the sub-zero temperatures of Alexandria, Minnesota. Sick today, healthy tomorrow.

And that’s bad news for Shane Carwin.”

Dana also talks in the video about his current relation with Tito, why he spends two hours before the fight talking to fans and on missing his favourite boxer Manny Pacquiao fight.

TUF 10's Darrill Schoonover recalled to active duty

Props: CurtisandKyle.com (via MMA FanHouse)

Quoteworthy:

"At first I was kind of pissed ... I was like, ‘I’ve already served my country for four years and been out for almost two years.’ I’m getting my fighting started and getting the ball rolling on that. I was kind of mad, but the very next day, I just accepted it. I’ll do what I gotta do, and then I’ll come back and work on my fighting."

Bittersweet. It is defined as defined (Dictionary.com) as "producing or expressing a mixture of pain and pleasure." That is the easiest way to describe Darrill Schoonover’s -- also affectionately referred to as "Titties" by opposing coach Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on the show -- feelings after he was recently recalled into the Army. He talked to Shambala Sports Radio and talked about the move. It is understood that he will be required to complete a stint of 400 days. Not all of which will be deployed, but he is anticipating that he is heading to Afghanistan for some if not most of that time. Luckily, Schoonover will be able to fight at the TUF 10 Finale if he makes it to the championship round of the 16-man tournament. He will head to the Army shortly after.

MONDAY MORNING BLACKBELT

Well guys another solid event!  I made some really good money on my Kos/nog/grove underdog parlay, it more than covered my Baroni and Tito picks.  Overall I was very satisfied with UFC106, and here's my recap and thoughts:

The prelims being shown for free on spike is great.  Even when they replay them as a filler fight on the ppv, it makes a great time to take a leak, walk the dog or grab a drink.  I think we had a coming out of sorts and a retirement of sorts on sat.  Kendall Grove looked amazing while Marcus Davis seems to be losing his skillset due to age right in front of our eyes!!  I'm going to address the Volkman/Thiago fight here too (since it's where it was supposed to be, great back and forth battle.  I don't understand the boos in the first round, it was a great round and there was a lot going on!

Well as you know I picked Baroni, but at the same time said he has to win in the first 90 seconds or he'll gas... I think I gave him too much credit!  I was however impressed with how many uppercuts Amir took, and seemed unfazed by, it was amazing.  Nog did exactly as I thought he would, and so did Kos.  By the end of that fight, I had forgotten about the drama!

I kept it all short and sweet up until now so I can really focus on Tito Ortiz, what a fucking self absorbed douche bag.  I was a big Tito fan and was really rooting for him to win this fight, but after his post fight antics... let me start from the beginning.  I gave the first 2 rounds to Tito (although rd 2 was very close).  While watching Forrest win the fight in the 3rd, I was asking my wife the whole time "is Tito gonna take the loss like a real man or make 101 excuses."  Now let me say this, I personally had the 3rd a 10-8 round and scored the fight 28-28, but have no problem with Forrest winning (but 30-27 is just plain ridiculous).  The comes the post fight interviews.  Mr. "I', 100%, my back feels great etc etc" all of a sudden has compressed/bulging disks (but can't remember if it's c6 or 7) and a "broken face."  Hey Tito (I hope you're reading) you don't have a broken orbital bone asshole, and if you do, produce x-rays and a Dr. that allowed you to fight!  ANYONE who has ever competed knows that you always have bumps and bruises, you either man up and fight on or pull out.  Tito is the master at hyping a fight, and he had me believing he was 100% and his back felt great, then he smacked me in the face.  You lost, who cares, ring rust, 18 month layoff, there are your "excuses" but the back?  You thank the Dr. who performed the surgery but say your back is still bad.  FUCK YOU MAN!!!

If I were Dana or the Fertita's, I would love the fact that Tito sells... but does he?  The arena looked empty and the people there were uneducated fans all in their affliction shirts. I tuned into the boxing match(Ward/Kessler) which was held in the mecca of poverty (oakland), and everyone was dressed "to the 9's."  Point is, mma (UFC) needs to class things up, and they can start by cutting Tito Ortiz from his contract today!  Let him go try and get another 7 figure contract in another company.  I'm sure you'd all be happy with Tito/Babalu or seeing this over rated douche get KO'd by an unrated Sokuju... or better yet, give Moussassi a "big name" to knock out.  My point is, there is no way you can pay this guy 7 figures to fight cans, and he will get beat by any B level UFC fighter.  Save your money and let another company try to pay him... hopefully they wouldn't either and we could be done with "I am a legend" Tito Ortiz!

sorry for the rant, this post was very heartfelt!  Have a great day guys!