Aggression MMA 7: ‘Confrontation’ weigh-ins at West Edmonton Mall
By Trevor Robb
EDMONTON — The card is full. The fighters are all signed in. Now it’s time to square off!
Aggression MMA 7: ‘Confrontation’, is set to go on Friday, June 10 at the Shaw Conference Centre, but before the fighters touch gloves on Friday, they must first make weight.
On Thursday, June 9, the weigh-ins for ‘Confrontation’ took place at West Edmonton Mall, as each fighter was weighed-in and then squared-off against their adversarial counterpart, in front of a hoard of media and gathering mixed marital arts (MMA) fans.
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- Nick ‘The Juggernaut’ Hinchliffe, left, (18-7) squares off against Ryan ‘The Real Deal’ Ford, right, (15-3) at the weigh-ins for Aggression MMA 7 ‘Confrontation, at West Edmonton Mall on Thursday, June 9, 2011. Photograph by Trevor Robb.
“We’re just as, if not more excited about this card, than any of the cards that we’ve put on,” said Aggression MMA co-founder, Moin Mirza in an interview with the West Edmonton Local.
That’s maybe because the card features a main event that includes rising Edmonton-born star, Ryan’ The Real Deal’ Ford (15-3), versus Nick “The Juggernaut’ Hinchliffe (18-7). The local welterweight (Ford) is coming fresh off an impressive win over Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) star, Karo ‘The Heat’ Parisyan, at MMA Live 1 on May 19, 2011, in London, Ontario. Now, after signing a four-fight deal with Aggression MMA, Ford is set to make his second appearance with the promotion.
“Ryan is the local breakout star who is probably destined to go to the next level faster than anyone else, we feel, in western Canada,” said Mirza.
Hinchliffe, from Nanaimo, B.C., is a well rounded fighter, with 14 of his 18 wins coming from a split even, seven submissions and seven knockouts. Hinchliffe is coming fresh off a majority-decision victory over Ryan Machan.
“Nick’s a very heavy hitter, in TFC (The Fight Club) in December he went five rounds with Bastien Huveneers for the title, so we know he can go the full three rounds,” said Aggression MMA co-founder, Harvey Pantsar. “It’s going to be an interesting fight, I’m getting goosebumps thinking about it.”
Local Talent
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- Former Edmonton Eskimo turned MMA fighter, Rio Wells (4-1) weighs-in at 169.4 pounds at the weigh-ins for Aggression MMA 7 ‘Confrontation, at West Edmonton Mall on Thursday, June 9, 2011. Photograph by Trevor Robb.
The card on Friday features fighters from all across western Canada, but a solid portion come straight from Edmonton. Here in the west end, the ‘Legends Gym and Training Centre’ on 11500-170 St., is home to many skilled up-and-coming fighters. Ryan ‘The Kid’ McGillivray is one particular fighter out of ‘Legends’ gym who is coming off a part on the UFC- Ultimate Fighter Season 13.
On Friday, two fighters out of ‘Legends’ will showcase their talent, Steve Beaumont (2-0) and former Canadian Football League defensive back and three-year Edmonton Eskimo, Rio Wells (4-1).
“That’s always been our focus, is to really profile up and coming local talent, who we think has the potential to take the next step to a bigger promotion like the UFC,” said Mirza.
Wells is fresh off a four-fight contract with The Fight Club (TFC), and is now fighting for the first time with Aggression MMA. Under his training at ‘Legends’ gym, Wells said he has become a more complete fighter.
“I’m slowly changing. My first couple fights I came out, I was gun-ho just to go in there and brawl and throw punches and hit somebody and try to knock him out,” said Wells. “But now, working with Paulo and Kevin, they want me to be more patient, the knockout’s going to come.”
Making the jump from the CFL to MMA has proven to be a challenging experience for Wells in terms of both training and preparation.
“The training is way more intense,” said Wells. “You’re using every muscle in your body to engage in this fight, and you got to do everything that’s supposed to be done to make this happen, it takes a lot of commitment.”
So far, Wells has won four out of five fights, with all four victories coming from TKO/KO finishes.
Aggression MMA 7: ‘Confrontation’ goes live at the Shaw Conference Centre at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 10. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Weigh In Results:
- 170lbs – Ryan Ford (169.8 pounds) vs. Nick Hinchliffe (170 pounds)
- 185lbs – Luke Harris (185.8 pounds) vs. John Troyer (185.4 pounds)
- 185lbs – Jason Gorny (184.6 pounds) vs. Elmer Waterhen (185.4 pounds)
- 170lbs – Rio Wells (169.4 pounds) vs. Mark Burns (170.4 pounds)
- 170lbs – Paapa Inkumsah (169.8 pounds) vs. Dajan Kajic (170.4 pounds)
- 155lbs – Steve Beaumont (155.2 pounds) vs. James Haddad (156 pounds)
- 150lbs – Mark Sawka (149.8 pounds) vs. James Edwards (148.4 pounds)
- 145lbs – Levi Kump (143.6 pounds) vs. Matt Trudeau (144.2 pounds)