Mixed martial arts fighter Sampson Barney, left, delivers punches to opponent Chris Durette during the Canadian Amateur Combat Sports Council’s Western Canadian MMA Championships Friday night at the Port Theatre. Durette was awarded a split-decision victory in the welterweight match.
GREG SAKAKI/The News Bulletin
Nanaimo News Bulletin
MMA fighters get banged up
A PHYSICAL SPORT takes its toll on competitors.
The card wasn’t as massive as anticipated, but it was still an action-packed night of fighting on Friday.
The first Canadian Amateur Combat Sports Council Western Canadian MMA Championships brought 15 fights to the Port Theatre stage.
“I thought it was exciting. Lots of fights, a lot of different variety of fighting,” said Don Arnott, event promoter. “Some good groundwork-type fights and some good boxing-type fights. It was a good combination of everything.”
The tournament format meant athletes had to survive two or three fights to become champion, and that proved problematic in such a physical sport. There were finals in three of the weight classes, but in the other three weight classes, a default champion had to be crowned as competitors were too beat up to step in the ring.
“They were pretty banged up and they just couldn’t continue,” Arnott said.
The most entertaining final might have been in the light heavyweight division, where Qualicum’s 40-year-old Stacy Hadikin earned a unanimous decision over 25-year-old Ryan Bennett. Both competitors were knocked down during the match but Hadikin had the clear edge.
Nanaimo’s Clayton Brawn won the middleweight division in another good bout. His opponent Garrett Okeymow had the upper hand most of the fight and almost stopped Brawn with mounted punches, but Brawn scored a late knockout.
The most competitive division was the welterweight division, where Calgary’s Don McLeod needed to win three fights to capture the Western Canadian championship. McLeod put Wainwright, Alta.’s Chris Durette on the mat with a heavy knee to the torso a minute into the fight.
Nanaimo’s Josh Shepherd, an undefeated veteran at So You Wanna Fight events, kept up that streak in winning the lightweight division Friday night. Shepherd was challenged in his first bout but overwhelmed Port Coquitlam’s John Houston in his second match.
In the featherweight class, Oren Hanscomb of Campbell River was declared the winner when the other finalist, Nanaimo’s Ross Walker, hurt his shoulder in the semis.
The heavyweight winner, Reece Doherty of Fort St. John, won the title uncontested as both of the other heavyweights got injured in their match.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
The card wasn’t as massive as anticipated, but it was still an action-packed night of fighting on Friday.
The first Canadian Amateur Combat Sports Council Western Canadian MMA Championships brought 15 fights to the Port Theatre stage.
“I thought it was exciting. Lots of fights, a lot of different variety of fighting,” said Don Arnott, event promoter. “Some good groundwork-type fights and some good boxing-type fights. It was a good combination of everything.”
The tournament format meant athletes had to survive two or three fights to become champion, and that proved problematic in such a physical sport. There were finals in three of the weight classes, but in the other three weight classes, a default champion had to be crowned as competitors were too beat up to step in the ring.
“They were pretty banged up and they just couldn’t continue,” Arnott said.
The most entertaining final might have been in the light heavyweight division, where Qualicum’s 40-year-old Stacy Hadikin earned a unanimous decision over 25-year-old Ryan Bennett. Both competitors were knocked down during the match but Hadikin had the clear edge.
Nanaimo’s Clayton Brawn won the middleweight division in another good bout. His opponent Garrett Okeymow had the upper hand most of the fight and almost stopped Brawn with mounted punches, but Brawn scored a late knockout.
The most competitive division was the welterweight division, where Calgary’s Don McLeod needed to win three fights to capture the Western Canadian championship. McLeod put Wainwright, Alta.’s Chris Durette on the mat with a heavy knee to the torso a minute into the fight.
Nanaimo’s Josh Shepherd, an undefeated veteran at So You Wanna Fight events, kept up that streak in winning the lightweight division Friday night. Shepherd was challenged in his first bout but overwhelmed Port Coquitlam’s John Houston in his second match.
In the featherweight class, Oren Hanscomb of Campbell River was declared the winner when the other finalist, Nanaimo’s Ross Walker, hurt his shoulder in the semis.
The heavyweight winner, Reece Doherty of Fort St. John, won the title uncontested as both of the other heavyweights got injured in their match.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
No comments:
Post a Comment