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Four Fights Booked for MFC 37: True Grit on May 10


Maximum Fighting Championship, one of the world's premier mixed martial arts organizations, is excited to announce four major bouts for MFC 37: True Grit taking place on Friday, May 10.

Airing live on AXS TV Fights from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, MFC 37 will be headlined by a showdown for the Maximum Fighting Championship's heavyweight title as Smealinho "The Prince" Rama takes on Chris "Beast Boy" Barnett.

MFC 37 will also mark the debut of the Maximum Fighting Championship's new bantamweight (135-pound) division, and sparking that launch will be a clash of hot prospects as Anthony Birchak squares off against Ryan "Baby Face" Benoit.

Two more fights have also been finalized. In middleweight action, surging title hopeful Jason "The Savage" Zentgraf will face the biggest test of his career as he meets judo and jiu-jitsu talent Luke "Hayabusa" Harris. And in a hotly anticipated lightweight clash, Kurt "The Hurt" Southern takes on "The Afrikan Assassin" Mukai Maromo.

"Our last few events have demonstrated the priority we have put on exciting fights, and I fully expected MFC 37 to keep that momentum going in a big way," said Mark Pavelich, Owner/President of the Maximum Fighting Championship.

"I'm excited to have Smealinho Rama and Chris Barnett battle for the heavyweight title, and I am really anticipating an electrifying debut of the bantamweight division with Anthony Birchak and Ryan Benoit. And of course, having guys like Jason Zentgraf, Luke Harris, Kurt Southern, and Mukai Maromo already signed and ready to work tells me that MFC 37 is going to keep our streak of fantastic shows rolling right along."

For the first time since 2007, the Maximum Fighting Championship will crown a new heavyweight champion when Rama (Twitter: @SmailRama) collides with Barnett (Twitter: @Beastboy61).

Rama (6-0) is currently ranked 33rd in the world and had a spectacular 2012 campaign during which he was named Fight Matrix's Rookie of the Year and received the MFC's Submission of the Year. The 20-year-old from Calgary, Alberta, is coming off the sixth straight first-round victory of his burgeoning career with his knockout win over Mike Hackert at MFC 36.

Not only did Rama blast through Hackert in only 2:28, but the lightning-quick big man steamrolled through his other two opponents in MFC action, needing less than five minutes combined to finish those two bouts.

Fighting out of Tampa, Florida, Barnett (7-1) is ranked 50th in the world, and has notched five wins by way of knockout. The 26-year-old, who has won two straight fights, will be making his organizational debut at MFC 37.

A former football player with the University of South Florida, Barnett, who was born in Zaragoza, Spain, is a black belt in tae kwon do and also an extensive background in wrestling and jiu-jitsu.


Rising prospects collide in the MFC's inaugural bantamweight bout:

Anthony Birchak (9-1) was the first fighter signed to the MFC's promising 135-pound division, and the Tucson, Arizona, product will tangle with Ryan "Baby Face" Benoit (6-1). Birchak has won three straight bouts all by knockout after opening his career with five of six victories coming via submission.

Birchak (Twitter: abirchakMMA) joins the MFC fresh off a first-round destruction of Matt Leyva, needing only 1:22 to register the third knockout of his career.

But fast-rising sensation Benoit, who fights out of Dallas, Texas, is also on a roll, having put four straight wins under his belt. Four of Benoit's career wins were notched inside the opening round, and he has needed less than 5:30 minutes combined to put away his last three opponents.

Benoit (Twitter: babyfacebenoit) should be a familiar face to AXS TV Fights viewers having previously fought three times on MFC's broadcast partner.


Middleweight fight with title ramifications:

In two fights under the MFC banner, Jason Zentgraf (7-1) has racked up a pair of tidy submission wins, and the Missoula, Montana, fighter has his eyes set upon a shot at MFC middleweight champion Elvis Mutapcic.

To get that opportunity, Zentgraf (Twitter: @JasonZentgraf) will need to get past divisional stalwart Luke Harris (9-2) who is coming off his own title eliminator bout – a first-round submission loss to onetime challenger Joseph Henle at MFC 34.

Most recently, Zentgraf took a second-round submission win via armbar over Clay Davidson at MFC 36. Following a career-opening loss, Harris, who will have the home-town advantage fighting out of Edmonton, Alberta, rattled off nine straight wins before his loss to Henle. In addition to his stellar list of judo accomplishments, Harris (Twitter: @HayabusaHarris) recently added a black belt in jiu-jitsu to his resume.


Lightweights at the forefront:

After both suffered losses at MFC 36, Kurt Southern (10-4) and Mukai Maromo (8-3) will be looking to get back to winning ways at MFC 37.

This will be a rematch between the two from a matchup back in 2010 in which Southern captured a first-round submission via triangle choke.

Southern (Twitter: @KurtSouthern), who fights out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, dominated the opening two rounds against Jonatas Novaes with a combination of strikes and wrestling prowess. But Novaes escaped with the win, capturing his opponent in a tapout-enducing armbar in Round 3 which snapped Southern's three-fight winning streak.

Maromo (Twitter: @AfrikanAssassin) was also submitted at MFC 36 but under even greater circumstances. The native of Zimbabwe who fights out of Edmonton, Alberta, had proclaimed himself to be the uncrowned champion of the MFC's lightweight division, but he was tapped out via North-South choke by Graham "Cracka" Spencer in the third round of their title bout.

The loss ended an impressive run for Maromo who earned his second straight MFC Fight of the Year in 2012 along with the MFC Knockout of the Year plus Inside MMA's Rising Star Award.

Two more fights will be announced shortly for the MFC 37: True Grit main card, along with a sizeable undercard featuring numerous local standouts.

Bombastic Benoit Brands Birchak Ahead of MFC 37


Ryan Benoit may be dubbed "Baby Face" because of his age and youthful looks but he fully grasps the meaning of an age-old adage.

The sentiment "Jack of all trades ... Master of nothing" goes a long way to describing Benoit's feeling towards his upcoming opponent, Anthony Birchak, whom he'll meet at MFC 37: True Grit in the Maximum Fighting Championship's very first major bantamweight bout.

Benoit respects Birchak's talents. He just doesn't feel there's much depth to any of his skills.

"He's a respectable opponent, but I've watched him before and I don't think he's all that much," said Benoit (Twitter: @babyfacebenoit).

"He's fought some tough dudes but he's never fought anybody like me."

Well-rounded is something Benoit takes pride in, yet his philosophy goes beyond the standard level of acceptance for the term. The 23-year-old from Dallas, Texas, is a firm believer that there are, in fact, two distinct levels of being well-rounded.

Essentially, there's well-rounded, and then there's really well-rounded.

"I'm what I consider well-rounded. Birchak seems OK at everything but not especially good at anything," declared Benoit.

"If you want to compete in a straight stand-up fight, I'll do very well at that. I actually think his striking is his weakness so if he wants to test me on the feet I'm more than ready for that. I've wrestled at a high level and he's not going to stop me with that. He can't take me down.

"He's going to see some things that he never expected. He might be well-rounded but not what I'd call well-rounded. He's not well-rounded enough."

Benoit (6-1) will square-off against Birchak (9-1) in the semi-main event of MFC 37 airing live on AXS TV Fights on Friday, May 10 from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The televised card launches at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

After honing his well-rounded craft in Texas, Benoit is eager to make his first appearance in the Maximum Fighting Championship ring, and he's squarely targeted getting past Birchak en route to becoming the MFC's inaugural bantamweight champ.

"I'm super excited because I've wanted to be in the MFC for a long time. It's a high-level promotion, definitely one of the top ones in the world," said Benoit.

"This door is now open and it's like a dream come true. I want to go through even bigger doors and I'm really viewing this opportunity as a chance to really expand myself and have more and more people know who I am."

And while wrestling is certainly Benoit's fallback area of expertise, he's made it clear that fighting with a more electrifying approach is much more to his liking. Lay-and-pray is absolutely not in the game plan.

"I've developed a Chuck Liddell style," he explained. "Definitely wrestling is my background and it's my comfort zone, but I love to strike and I like to kick a lot. I think you'll see I'm pretty explosive on my feet."

Degenhardt versus Alvey Added to MFC 37: True Grit


The Maximum Fighting Championship is excited to announce the addition of a middleweight bout to the lineup for MFC 37: True Grit taking place on Friday, May 10 in Edmonton, Alberta.

Hometown striker Chase "Deggy" Degenhardt (8-3) will face the toughest test of his career as he takes on former MFC title challenger "Smilen" Sam Alvey (19-5, 1 NC) on the main card airing live on AXS TV Fights from the Shaw Conference Centre beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

Degenhardt (Twitter: @ChaseDeggy) boasts six knockouts on his career resume, and is coming off a second-round stoppage of Chad Sherman on the undercard of MFC 35. The Edmonton, Alberta, product, who will ride a two-fight winning streak into the matchup, has notched notable victories over Dan Chambers and Chuck Pelc.

Meanwhile, Alvey will be looking to rebound following his narrow decision defeat to Elvis Mutapcic in their MFC world middleweight title bout at MFC 36. The 26-year-old, who trains in Temecula, California, came up just short in a hard-fought encounter against the reigning champ as the two went punch-for-punch in an action-packed stand-up battle.

Alvey (Twitter: @smilensam) has notched 11 wins by way of knockout and added a pair of victories by submission. His career is highlighted by a pair of four-fight winning streaks, and an impressive seven-fight run that included wins over Karl Amoussou and Jason Guida. Alvey recently married "America's Next Top Model" winner McKey Sullivan and the couple are expecting their first child.

The Degenhardt-Alvey matchup joins four other bouts already slated for the MFC 37 main card:

Chris Barnett (7-1) vs. Smealinho Rama (6-0), MFC heavyweight title

Ryan Benoit (6-1) vs. Anthony Birchak (9-1), bantamweight

Jason Zentgraf (7-1) vs. Luke Harris (9-2), middleweight

Kurt Southern (10-4) vs. Mukai Maromo (8-3), lightweight

An additional fight will be added shortly to round out the main card, and a full slate of preliminary bouts will be announced in the near future.

Brothers Make Pro MMA Debuts at MFC 37 Fighting Each Other in Brother vs. Brother Bout


The Maximum Fighting Championship announced on Tuesday that for the first time in the history of any major mixed martial arts promotion, two brothers will fight each other in a professional bout.

Thomas and Mike Treadwell, who are not only siblings but also live together, will battle in a heavyweight matchup on the undercard of MFC 37: True Grit taking place at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, on Friday, May 10.

“Absolutely, undeniably, one of the craziest and most anticipated fights in MFC history,” said Mark Pavelich, Owner/President of the Maximum Fighting Championship.

“Who hasn’t wondered what it would be like to watch two brothers fight? I remember from my own childhood, the most violent fights I was ever involved in myself were against my brother. We’d practically tear the house down because I was the younger brother out to prove myself against the older brother.

“I have a distinct feeling Treadwell vs. Treadwell will have that ‘Prove who’s really the toughest’ mentality and be a spectacularly wild fight.”

This will be the professional debut for both brothers who share a condo in Edmonton, Alberta.

“We’re taking brotherhood to the next level,” said Mike Treadwell, 30, who previously served in the Canadian Armed Forces and has a background in security.

“This is something we’re excited about, and I think people are going to be very excited to see,” added Thomas Treadwell, a 20-year-old specialty mechanic.

While there are several significant brother combinations in mixed martial arts including Rodrigo and Rogerio Noguiera, Frank and Ken Shamrock, and Nick and Nate Diaz, plus former MFC welterweight champ Pat Healy and his twin Ryan, a brother versus brother showdown hasn’t happened until now.

“It doesn’t matter the names of the competitors – brothers are fighting, that’s all it will take to get people excited,” noted Mike.

The level of interest from friends and colleagues has overshadowed the small wave of negative feedback the brothers have received from certain family members, though another brother, Russ, will corner Thomas.

“Dad was angry and thinks we’re idiots. Mom knows but we don’t talk about it with her. Everyone else seems supportive,” said Thomas.

“The moment I mentioned to just a handful of people that this fight was going to take place, their reaction was pure fascination and then instantly it turned to a state of unbridled enthusiasm to see it for themselves,” offered Pavelich.

Facebook Fights Fired Up for MFC 37: True Grit on May 10


For the first time in organizational history, the Maximum Fighting Championship will bring all the heated action of an event undercard to a live audience around the world via Facebook.

At MFC 37: True Grit, fans will be able to see a five-fight preliminary bout lineup streaming live on the Maximum Fighting Championship's Facebook page. Simply go to www.facebook.com/MaximumFighting and click 'LIKE' to watch the fistic fireworks.

The MFC has set three of the five fights slated for the True Grit undercard which will get under way at 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT on Friday, May 10 from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.

The main card of MFC 37: True Grit, headlined by the showdown for the MFC world heavyweight title between Chris "Beast Boy" Barnett and Smealinho "The Prince" Rama, will be airing live on AXS TV Fights beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

Two middleweight fights will spark the undercard action at MFC 37. In what should be a rugged tussle, "The Loudmouth Assassin" Marcus Hicks will put a three-fight winning streak on the line against Jared "The Yeti" McComb. At MFC 36, Hicks notched a second-round submission victory over Paul Grandbois, while McComb will look to get back to winning ways after having his four-fight winning streak stopped at MFC 33.

In the other middleweight matchup, former Knockout of the Night winner Paul "The Punisher" Grandbois, who was the runner-up in voting for the MFC's Fight of the Year in 2012, will take on hard-throwing striker Allen Hope. Back in April 2011, the two previously clashed with Hope earning the sixth knockout victory of his career in a first-round stoppage.

And as previously announced, the MFC 37: True Grit undercard will feature the much-anticipated "Brother vs. Brother" fight as Mike Treadwell squares off against his younger sibling Thomas Treadwell in a heavyweight clash.

Two more fights will be added shortly to the live Facebook undercard for MFC 37.

Benoit Enjoying Verbal Strikes with Birchak Ahead of MFC 37


The two new stars in the MFC's newest division are physically the smallest men on the roster, but they have created one of the biggest buzzes of any fight in company history.

And for Ryan "Baby Face" Benoit he's enjoyed every minute of the ongoing war of words he's engaged in against upcoming opponent Anthony Birchak. All of their heated banter is leading to a hotly anticipated battle in the MFC's debuting bantamweight division at MFC 37: True Grit.

"The Twitter battles and words back in forth have been fun to me. I've never had so much public hype on a fight so it's something kind of new to me but it's all fun and games," said Benoit.

"I've never truly gotten angry about any of the comments. I just laugh and try to think of something better to say.

"The real battle will be in the ring. Talking trash to me is just for the attention and helps promote the fight and ourselves as fighters. It's something we will have to get good at and used to as fighters as we grow bigger and bigger in our careers."

The next big step comes Friday, May 10 when Benoit (6-1) and Birchak (9-1) forget about the barbs and instead exchange strikes and submission. Their fight highlights the AXS TV Fights card emanating live from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

The verbal rivalry took an interesting turn last week when Birchak and the hosts of an online radio show all stated that Benoit was no big test and that the fight would come to a quick conclusion. Benoit wasn't the least bit concerned about the on-air shot he was taking, opting to patiently wait for the right time to shoot back.

Ready ... aim ... fire!

"Anthony is going to be on the list of my quick finishes," stated Benoit.

"His wild brawling and swinging to a takedown won't work on real skilled fighters.

"I have a feeling his career is about to have a big setback of losses after this because his poor skills are about to be exposed. There is a reason I was begging for this fight and everyone will see why May 10th."

Benoit (Twitter: @babyfacebenoit) may very well know what he's talking about, having racked up four of his six wins inside the opening round plus five career victories coming by way of knockout. The Dallas, Texas, product is keeping a relatively standard method to his training camp, raising the focus in just a few specific areas.

He's not at all worried about Birchak's plan of attack. Instead he's focused on making sure things go his way once the opening bell rings.

"I honestly see the fight going however I want it to," said Benoit. "If he tries to take me down, it's bad news for him. My ground game has yet to be exposed, and in all reality, the world hasn't even seen how good my stand up is yet."

An impressive outing for the winner of this showdown will put them into a fight to become the MFC's first bantamweight champion. Benoit wants to makes sure he's first in line to the crown.

"Being in the MFC is dream come true in my career," Benoit stated. "I feel very blessed to even be able to get on the show and now the exposure I'm getting as a fighter and a person is amazing.

"I really want that beautiful MFC belt and I'm curious already to see who I will be fighting for it and I'm ready to bring a real belt back home to Texas and show everyone what a Dallas fighter is all about."

With an injury suffered in training, Chase Degenhardt has been sidelined and will be unable to compete at MFC 37: True Grit taking place on Friday, May 10. In Degenhardt’s place, Jay Silva will step in to face “Smilen” Sam Alvey in a middleweight bout as part of the card airing live from the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, on AXS TV Fights beginning at 10 p.m. ET/8 p.m. MT/7 p.m. PT (check local listings for channel designation).

Silva (8-7) will be out for redemption after he suffered a first-round knockout loss to Wes Swofford at MFC 36. The Huntington Beach, California, product boasts five knockouts on his career log, and has notable wins coming in a first-round knockout of Jaime Jara and a second-round submission of Kendall Grove that earned him the nickname “Da Spyda Killa.”

Alvey (19-5, 1NC) was also on the MFC 36, going the distance but dropping a five-round hard-fought tussle for the MFC middleweight title. Alvey, who fights out of Temecula, California, boasts 11 knockouts on his career resume.

Barnett Injured, Out of MFC Heavyweight Title Fight vs. Rama


Due to a failed medical, Chris Barnett has been pulled from the MFC 37: True Grit main event for the Maximum Fighting Championship heavyweight title fight against Smealinho Rama.

An examination of Barnett's eyes revealed three holes in a retina, and a review two of Barnett's doctors as well as Dr. Shelby Karpman, Edmonton Combative Sports Commission's head physician, concluded that Barnett would be risking serious damage to his eyes including possible blindness should he be struck again. Upon the doctors' verdicts, Barnett has been pulled from the fight.

"I'm disappointed for Chris Barnett, but definitely more so for Smealinho Rama who trained so diligently for the title shot he desperately wanted," said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich.

"Rama is such a talented young fighter and on top of that a really good kid. I promised him that he's not going anywhere – he's the undisputed No. 1 contender and he'll get that title shot right away."

Rama will be paid his show purse for the title bout which was slated for Friday night at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. The Calgary, Alberta, fighter will also be immediately put into a title fight at the MFC's next event.

"It's an absolute shame that it came down to this, and it didn't have to go this way for Rama at all. Had Barnett's manager Mickey Dubberly been more professional and more on top of things, we would have been notified at least two weeks ago that there was an issue with the medicals. Instead we find out one day before he's scheduled to leave.

"With proper notice we could have found a suitable replacement and had the title fight but because of irresponsible management, Rama and the MFC fans have been robbed of that opportunity."

The MFC 37 card airing live on AXS TV Fights will now see the much-anticipated bantamweight fight between Ryan Benoit and Anthony Birchak move into the main-event spot. As well, a middleweight tussle pitting Allen Hope against Paul Grandbois moves from the undercard to the opening fight on the TV broadcast.