FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CAGED CONFLICT VICTORY MMA SET TO ROCK CLUB SODA THIS SATURDAY MONTREAL (QUEBEC) August 19, 2013 – Although the summer of 2013 may be slowly coming to a close, the heat will reach its apex this Saturday as warriors from all over Quebec and Ontario will converge on the center of La Belle Province’s metropolis. Fans of Victory MMA, Montreal’s only amateur mixed martial arts promotion, have been treated to spectacular events since its inception in the summer of 2011, but none have been bigger than what is on tap this Saturday, August 24 at 8 PM (doors open at 7 PM) at Club Soda as part of VICTORY MMA 10: CAGED CONFLICT. The evening’s fight card, sanctioned by the Fédération Québécoise de boxe mixte amateur, will see a first for the promotion as it will be presented in the traditional octagon, the battle ground most associated with mixed martial arts. The card is headlined by two championship matches as well as the semi-finals of a tournament to crown a new middleweight (185 lbs.) champion. A DATE WITH DESTINY The goal of an amateur mixed martial arts promotion is to help athletes evolve and, for some, hone their craft on the way to the professional ranks. In that respect, the Caged Conflict main event will have its share of poetic justice. On June 25, 2011, Victory MMA 1, the promotion’s inaugural event, was held. The card on that night saw a young man, not yet 20 years of age, compete in his first amateur bout as part of the undercard. He lost via rear naked choke in the third round but gained something more valuable than a win on that night: experience. Over two years later that young man, Mathieu Desrosiers of Blainville, Quebec, is set to go into battle once again. This time he’s not a rookie; this time it’s in the main event; this time it’s for the championship. Since that faithful night in 2011, Desrosiers has been undefeated in Victory MMA and will be looking to cement his legacy with the promotion by bringing home the welterweight (170 lbs.) championship. However, that may be easier said than done. The real test for Desrosiers may be how he is able to adapt as only three days before the fight, his opponent, Bruno-Pierre Dubois, was injured in training and forced to withdraw. There was some concern as to whether the main event could go on as finding a suitable replacement on such short notice, for such an important bout, proved to be no easy task. However, a solution was found in the form of Bethany, Ontario’s Josh Williamson. Originally booked in an undercard bout, Williamson has stepped up to the plate for what is the biggest showcase of his career thus far. A training partner of former Victory Lightweight champion Joe Elliott, he has won his last two fights and has no intention of making the long drive back to Bethany without some extra weight in his bag in the form of the Victory Welterweight championship belt. HARD-HITTING ACTION In the co-main event of the evening, fans will be treated to a good old fashioned brawl as Victory MMA Heavyweight (206 lbs. +) champion Martin Trempe is set to defend his crown against Kingston, Ontario’s Jonnathon Marconi. Trempe won the championship last May with a devastating knockout and is looking for yet another name to add to his list of victims. He is currently riding a four fight winning streak at the amateur level and is a force to be reckoned with once the bell rings. Marconi comes into the fight with more of a grappling background, hoping those skills will help to neutralize the champion’s greatest asset: his punching power. Another chapter is set to be written in the never-ending war of strikers versus grapplers. MIDDLEWEIGHT GOLD RUSH The last time Victory MMA had a champion in the 185 pound weight class, Rémy Bussières held the gold… The same Rémy Bussières who is still undefeated as a professional and will be making his debut with Bellator, the #2 MMA promotion worldwide, this fall. This Satuday night however, four men will be competing for a chance to one day soon fill Bussières’ shoes. The first semi-final bout scheduled for this tournament will see Montreal’s Simon Lagarde, trained by local MMA pioneer Donald Ouimet, square off with Val d’Or’s Ralph D. Jean-Pierre. Lagarde impressed Victory fans last February by scoring a knockout victory in under 2 minutes in his promotional debut. In contrast, Jean-Pierre is no stranger to high level competition, having held the middleweight championship for Gatineau’s Hybrid Combat promotions. Despite owning his own gym in his hometown, Jean-Pierre recently affiliated with the Canadian chapter of the world-renowned Brazilian Top Team in order to improve his ground game. Semi-final #2 will be a battle of Ontario vs Newfoundland as Orillia’s Mike Fox will make his debut taking on Labrador’s favorite son, Colin Baikie. Fox is the true underdog in this tournament, coming in with no amateur MMA experience but is a force to reckoned with in training. He entered the tournament just recently, replacing an injured fighter. He definitely has nothing to lose and all to gain on Saturday night. In contrast, his opponent, Tristar prodigy Colin Baikie, has built quite a reputation for himself in the amateur ranks. He has won his last three fights and is showing no signs of slowing down from that incredible pace. A win here is incredibly important for all competitors as it will provide them with an opportunity to be in the main event for the title at Victory’s next card, scheduled for Friday, November 29. Will Jean-Pierre and Baikie, the tournament favorites, score victories on the road to a dream match? Or can Lagarde and Fox write the first chapter of a Cinderella story in their quest for championship gold. ALSO IN ACTION Saturday’s undercard will feature many other up and coming young talents from Quebec and Ontario. Karate Sportif Mascouche gym, a new player in the amateur mixed martial arts game, will have two fighters competing on this night to much local fanfare. The Karate Sportif brand is very respected in martial arts circles and their coaches will look to maintain that level of excellence in this, their new sphere of combat sports. Amateur mixed martial arts is an incredible live attraction and a fun night out for any fight fan. The always intense atmosphere is only increased by the intimate setting that is Club Soda. This is your chance to see the action up close and personal. Tickets for the event are still available via the Club Soda box office at clubsoda.ca, by calling (514) 286-1010, extension 1 or at the door on the night of the event. Club Soda is located near St-Laurent Metro at 1225 St-Laurent in Montreal. Fans can attend the weigh-ins free of charge on Saturday at 4 PM outside at the corner of St-Laurent and Ste-Catherine. For more information on Victory MMA, please visit victorymma.tv. To obtain press credentials, please contact Patrick Lono at [email protected].
Posted on: Sat, 24 Aug 2013 01:28:20 +0000
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