Archive for the ‘MFC (Maximum Fighting Championships)’ Category

MFC 23 main event to feature Thales Leites vs Dean Lister on Dec. 4

Friday, October 23rd, 2009

dean lister ufc fight night 8

The Maximum Fighting Championship wasted no time in finding a top-notch opponent for the recently signed Thales Leites as another big-name middleweight has joined the fray.

Former Abu Dhabi world champion Dean Lister signed a multi-fight deal last night and immediately agreed to meet Leites at MFC 23: “Unstoppable” on Friday, December 4 at the River Cree Resort and Casino. The bout will be the main event of the fight card broadcast live throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico on HDNet Fights.

“This is an outstanding matchup and I am particularly pleased that both Dean and Thales agreed to fight each other so quickly – no discussion, no delays. Just signed, sealed and delivered,” said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich.

“It is a great fight. Both guys have a lot to prove and both guys want the MFC title belt. There’s a lot at stake in this fight and that’s when things get very interesting.”

With the signings of Lister and Leites along with the return of Jason MacDonald, the recent main-event victory by Travis Lutter, and other names such as Bryan Baker and Solomon Hutcherson, the MFC’s middleweight division has suddenly become very deep in experienced talent.

“I couldn’t be happier about reloading our 185-pound division,” noted Pavelich. “For too long the division was pretty empty but now the cupboard is full – and full of names that the fans want to see fight.”

Lister (11-6) is one of the most-decorated submission fighters in the world of mixed martial arts, and he holds career victories over such notables as Jeremy Horn, Yuki Sasaki, and Alessio Sakara. Seven of Lister’s nine submission wins have come inside the first round.

The San Diego, California, product has numerous other grappling credentials on his resume. In addition to his Absolute Division championship at the 2003 Abu Dhabi, Lister captured victories in tournament superfights in 2003 and 2005, and he holds the event record with four straight wins in the ‘03 event. Lister, a master of foot and knee locks, is a two-time U.S. national sambo champion, a four-time U.S. national champion in Machado Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and a U.S. national champion in Gracie jiu-jitsu.

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Thales Leites joins Maximum Fighting Championships (MFC)

Friday, October 16th, 2009

The detractors have said their piece — now it’s time to prove them wrong.

That is the sentiment coming from the camp of Thales Leites, who has officially signed on to join the middleweight ranks in the Maximum Fighting Championship. In all likelihood, the standout Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace will make his debut with the organization at MFC 23: Unstoppable on Dec. 4 – quite possibly against another top-ranked title contender, Bryan Baker.

Leites sports a strong 14-3 career record with nine of those victories coming by submission – a list that includes Drew McFedries, Ryan Jensen, and Jose Landis-Jons. The six-foot-one native of Rio de Janeiro also holds wins over Nate Marquardt and Pete Sell, and he has not been stopped in any of his three defeats. Leites’ manager, Ed Soares, immediately declared that Leites is eager to show what he truly can do.

“He’s looking forward to getting back on the right path, getting wins and putting on a great show,” said Soares.

“I think he’s going to go out and prove people wrong. There’s not much to say. Talk is cheap. Thales is going to show everyone what he can do.”

Leites last fought in Canada against Anderson Silva, unquestionably one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. It was a disappointing night for Leites – a result that called into question his willingness to engage and do battle. That situation, Soares indicated, won’t be repeated.

“Thales is very excited about going out and showing everyone what he’s capable of doing,” said Soares. “It’s not a new Thales. There were a lot of changes going on in his life before the Silva fight and he wasn’t as focused as he should have been but he still went five rounds with Silva when Forrest Griffin couldn’t get out of the first round.

“Thales is very eager to go out and finish a fight. It doesn’t matter who is opponent is, Thales is going to look to finish the fight. He has the heart of a lion and he’s going to go and leave it all out there in the ring. I feel he’s at the top of the MFC middleweight division right now but he’s got to go out and get the win and have an impressive performance.”

Leites has obvious credentials as a submission specialist, but Soares also noted the 17-fight veteran has improved his stand-up skills of late – a much-required attribute should a showdown with Baker come to fruition.

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MFC 22 ‘Payoff’ results and quick recap: Lutter, McKee victorious

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

The Canadian based mixed martial arts promotion Maximum Fighting Championships (MFC) hosted the twentieth event of its existence earlier tonight (Oct. 2) from the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The premium satellite and cable channel HDNet aired the action live, but for those who missed it, here’s how it all went down.

In the featured fight of the night, Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald and Travis “The Serial Killer” Lutter squared off in a battle of former UFC middleweight standouts looking to get their careers back on track after dropping their last two bouts inside the Octagon.

McDonald — a hometown favorite in Alberta — had a lot of trouble with the methodical Lutter. “The Athlete’s” gameplan was clearly to stay away from Lutter’s world class ground game, but he was pretty unsuccessful in his attempt to do so.

“The Serial Killer” was able to control the first two rounds of the fight by maintaining dominant positions on the ground. He mounted the Canadian fighter numerous times and also nearly finished the fight on a couple separate occasions with rear naked choke attempts.

MacDonald tried to mount a late rally in the third round against a tired Lutter, but it was a clear case of too little, too late as he was unable to finish the fight and consequently came up short on the judge’s scorecards.

Company lightweight champion Antonio McKee was all set to defend his title in the co-main event against journeyman and thirty-one fight veteran Carlo Prater, but the bout was switched to a non-title affair at the last minute when both fighters failed to make weight.

McKee, who is the self proclaimed “best wrestler in MMA,” has a reputation for grinding out his wins by using the dreaded “lay and pray” technique, and he lived up to that label in this fight en route to a unanimous decision victory.

“El Nigro” scored takedowns at will and forced Prater to fight nearly the entire three rounds off his back. It wasn’t all that exciting, but that doesn’t take away from the domination laid down by the champion in this fight.

Six other UFC veterans – Marvin Eastman, Pete Spratt, Mike Nickels, David Heath, Luigi Fioravanti, and John Alessio – were also in actCion on the card.

Check out the full results for MFC 22: “Payoff” below:

Travis Lutter defeated Jason MacDonald via unanimous decision
Antonio McKee defeated Carlo Prater via unanimous decision
John Alessio defeated Luigi Fioravanti via knockout (punch) at 1:34 of round three
Mike Nickels defeated David Heath via submission (rear naked choke) at 4:02 of round three
Ryan Jimmo defeated Marvin Eastman via split decision
Pete Spratt defeated Nathan Gunn via knockout (punch) at 4:19 of round two
Dwayne Lewis defeated Jared Kilkenny via technical knockout at 3:31 of round one
Jason Heit defeated Paapa Inkumusha via technical knockout at 4:59 of round two
Joe Christopher defeated Andrew Buckland via submission (guillotine choke) at 1:54 of round one
Nick Hrynchshyn defeaed Jesse MacDougall via technical knockout (strikes) at 4:29 of round two

Next up for the promotion is MFC 23: “Unstoppable” on December 4 at the same location, the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. That event will also air live on HDNet.

Stay tuned to MMAmania.com for all your MFC news and fight coverage.

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Posted in David Heath, Jason MacDonald, John Alessio, Luigi Fioravanti, MFC (Maximum Fighting Championships), MMA, Marvin Eastman, Mike Nickels, Pete Spratt, Travis Lutter | No Comments »

MFC 22: ‘Payoff’ to air LIVE via HDNet on Oct. 2

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009

DALLAS (September 29, 2009) – A number of UFC veterans will step into the MFC ring on Friday, October 2 at “HDNet Fights Presents: MFC 22: Payoff” LIVE from the River Cree Resort and Casino. The action airs exclusively throughout North America on HDNet beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET.

One of the best line-ups in the Maximum Fighting Championship’s history has been set for “MFC 22: Payoff.” In the main event Jason ‘The Athlete’ MacDonald (21-12) returns to the organization where he began his career, facing The Ultimate Fighter 4 winner, Travis ‘The Serial Killer” Lutter (9-5). In the co-main event of the evening, MFC lightweight champion Antonio “Mandingo” McKee (22-3-2) defends his title for the first time against Carlo Prater (24-6-1).

In other action, MFC fan favorite, John ‘The Natural’ Alessio (25-13) will fight Luigi Fioravanti (15-5) in a welterweight clash and Pete ‘The Secret Weapon’ Spratt (19-15) goes toe-to-toe with Nathan Gunn (7-0) in a battle of strikers.

The live broadcast will also feature Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo (10-1) against the rugged veteran Marvin “The Beastman” Eastman (16-9-1). David Heath (12-5) also takes on Mike Nickels (7-2) in a light heavyweight match up.

For more on MFC 22 click here.

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