Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Preliminary Fights
Kyle Sandford vs. Michael Lachance
The fight began with a few strikes being traded standing, but quickly went to the ground, where Sandford was easily able to control the action. From the ground, Sandford, with Lachance in his guard, quickly slapped on a solid armbar that ended the bout at 1:19 of Round 1.
Kajan Johnson vs. Thierry Quenneville
Both fighters came out with explosive energy. Johnson showed his quick hand speed, possibly convincing Quenneville to take the fight to the ground. With the fight on the ground, Johnson gained the dominant top position and had Quenneville backed up in the corner, but the action was stopped and restarted standing because of inactivity.
The fight stayed on the ground for the majority of the second round, with Quenneville on top preventing Johnson from reversing or standing back up, despite numerous attempts. The fighters stayed quite inactive on the ground during the second round, forcing many spectators to ask why the ref was not restarting the fighters on their feet. After two rounds, Quenneville earns the split decision.
Main Card
Jeff Joslin vs. Jonathan Goulet
Joslin came out strong, landing a solid right early, rocking Goulet. Goulet took the fight to the ground, where Joslin made several submission attempts, with Goulet able to escape from all of them, including a solid triangle choke that looked like it might end Goulet’s night. Although Goulet was able to escape Joslin’s attemts, he did not offer much of an offense himself, spending the duration of the bout fighting Joslin off rather than attacking him. Despite this, a decision was rendered by the judges, awarding Goulet the unanimous decision, and handing Joslin his first loss in the sport.
Cameron Brown vs. Yan Pellerin
Coming off a tough loss to Patrick Cote at TKO 13 in September, Pellerin came out strong, dominating the fight both standing up and on the ground. Brown seemed to pose no threat to Pellerin, who quickly took the fight to the ground, where he easily got the mount. Taking advantage of this position, Pellerin began raining down strikes on Brown, forcing the ref to step in and halt the action in the first round.
Ryan Diaz vs. Steve Claveau
Also coming off a loss to Mark Hominick at TKO 13, Ryan Diaz came back to prove that he is still a dangerous contender in the Superlightweight division. The fighters went to the ground early in Round 1, with Claveau on top for the most part. Both men were trading hard strikes, with the bout looking fairly evenly matched, until Claveau fell into a solid triangle choke from Diaz, putting him right to sleep. Diaz wins at 4:45 of Round 1 via triangle choke.
Pain Peters vs. Stephane Laliberte
Pain Peters, making his first appearance in the lightweight division, looked to be in better shape than normal, and admitted after the fight at the press conference that he finally feels like an athlete. The two stood and traded strikes, with both fighters giving and receiving their share of punishment. After going to the ground, however, it was Pain who began to control the action, demonstrating his improved grappling skills and ending the bout at 3:37 of Round 1 via rear naked choke.
Pete Spratt vs. Georges St.Pierre
In one of the most anticipated fights of the night, Pete “The Secret Weapon” Spratt took on Georges “Rush” St. Pierre. This fight was supposed to have happened at TKO 13 in September, but was postponed due to an injury suffered by St. Pierre. Spratt, a Muay Thai fighter, would have preferred to stand and strike with St.Pierre. But St.Pierre, a BJJ fighter, had no interest in standing with The Secret Weapon, easily scoring a takedown.
Once on the ground, St.Pierre seemed to be in total control, gaining side control more than once and almost securing a rear naked choke. With St.Pierre raining down strikes from the mount, Spratt, in an attempt to escape, rolled over, leaving his back wide open. St.Pierre took advantage of the opportunity and locked on a rear naked choke. Spratt attempted to stand back up, but St.Pierre had his choke securely locked on. Falling to the ground, with St.Pierre still on his back, Spratt tapped at 3:42 of round 1 to a rear naked choke.
St.Pierre now makes his way to Las Vegas and UFC 46 in January to take on Karo Parisyan.
Patrick Cote vs. Steve Vigneault
Canadian Light Heavyweight Championship
Steve Vigneault, Canadian Light Heavyweight Champion, faced off against #1 Contender Patrick Cote for his final challenge before he planned to step down as champ. Cote, however, had his sights set on taking Vigneault’s belt from him before he could retire it. Admitting to being in the best shape of his life, Cote entered the ring and proved it. His superior boxing skills were evident from the opening bell, surprising many spectators who had Cote highly ranked as the underdog in this matchup. Cote knew what he wanted, came in and took it, knocking out Vigneault at 1:08 of Round 1 and becoming the new Canadian Light Heavyweight Champion.
Shawn Davidson vs. David Goulet
Canadian Lightweight Championship
In the main event of the night, and arguably the fight with the weirdest ending in since Lindland vs. Vitale, Shawn Davidson took on David Goulet, with the Canadian Lightweight Championship on the line.
Davidson had a great armbar attempt early in the first round, but Goulet was able to escape from it after some time. Goulet, from inside Davidson’s guard, was able to throw down a number of hard-hitting strikes. The action-packed bout ended with Goulet on top throwing down strikes on Davidson when all of a sudden, and without referee intervention, Goulet jumped up and ran to his corner in victory. The ref, looking confused, told the two to keep fighting. Goulet ran back in and jumped on the back of an obviously dazed Davidson and tried to secure a submission, before the ref stopped the action.
In the post-fight press conference, Goulet explained that while he was hitting Davidson he saw his eyes roll back and knew that he had enough. “He has a wife, kids and a job,” explained Goulet, “The ref told us to keep fighting, but I didn’t want to hit him anymore, so I tried for a submission.” In one of the most confusing and bizarre endings to a fight I’ve ever seen, Goulet walks away with the win and the Canadian Lightweight Championship.
Lisa Pancino
Lisa@mma-fighter.com
