More Canadians added to Canuck-filled UFC 124 card

By Mike Johnston

Three more of Canada’s top mixed martial artists have been added to what is becoming arguably the biggest MMA card in this country’s history. In addition to the UFC 124 headline bout between Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck, four other Canadians are currently scheduled to appear on the card, with more likely to be added.

Nova Scotia’s TJ Grant, coming off an impressive UFC 119 victory, takes on one of the division’s elite. His opponent is Ricardo Almeida, who is coming off a submission loss to Matt Hughes at UFC 117. Both men are known for their excellent grappling ability.

Alberta’s Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald returns to action after breaking his leg and ankle at UFC 113 in May, the last time the UFC visited Montreal. “As a fighter, I'm obviously eager to get back in there, and from a financial standpoint, I've been laid off for a while, and I'd like to get back to fighting and making some money,” he said in a recent interview. “But at this point in my career, especially since I just signed a new contract with the UFC and then the injury happened – and regardless of how the fight was going it was still considered a loss – it's important for me to be 100% when I return to the UFC.” His opponent, Rafael Natal, is coming off a decision loss to Rich Attonito in his UFC debut at Ultimate Fight Night 22.

Winnipeg’s Joe Doerksen, who just had a seven-fight win streaked snapped, returns to action against Dan Miller in a middleweight bout. Doerksen is coming off a first round submission loss to C.B. Dollaway at UFC 119. Miller recently earned a bounce back win over John Salter at UFC 118, following a four-fight losing streak.

It was announced several weeks ago that Ontario’s Mark Bocek would take on Dustin Hazelett in a lightweight matchup. This fight features two of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialists in the promotion. That makes five Canadians and counting for the December 11 event.

Also announced was a matchup between lightweights Jim Miller and the young Brazilian phenom Charles Oliveira. Miller’s only two career losses were decisions to current UFC champ and number one contender Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Oliviera is 14-0 in his young career and in first two UFC fights, he has come away with two “Submission of the Night” awards.

In other Canadian MMA news, Quebec featherweight Yves Jabouin will fight Brandon Visher at WEC 52 next month. Jabouin is coming off a “Fight of the Year” candidate against fellow Canuck Mark Hominick at WEC 49 in Edmonton.

For more info on UFC 124 visit ufc.com; for more on the WEC visit wec.tv; and for more MMA news and headlines follow me on Twitter @MikeyJ_MMA.