Ryan Ford's debut with The Fight Club might have to wait.

MFC president Mark Pavelich, Ford's former manager, told Sportsnet.ca the Edmonton welterweight is still under contract with him.

According to Pavelich, Ford's contract states he cannot fight in any other mixed martial arts organization until July 27 without the written consent of Maximum Fighting Inc. Ford has said he'll be fighting for his new home on May 30.

Pavelich said that the parties are currently in court over breach of contract. However, Ford, who is now self-managed, doesn't believe he'll be prevented from taking the fight with TFC.

"I had a three-fight contract and it was for 18 months," Ford said. "I had to finish (the fights by July 27), and I did."

Ford said the MFC shouldn't be able to stop him from making a living just because he didn't re-sign with them and added his lawyer told him to "go ahead and sign with whoever you want."

While Ford has said publicly he will be fighting Dave Mazany on May 30, the date set for TFC 7, the cross-town organization has yet to advertise the bout.

TFC did release the news that Ford had joined its organization. Its March 31 release stated that the 27-year-old was introduced at its sixth show in March, adding the Shaw Conference Centre crowd "erupted in excitement."

Ford (8-2) became a local sports hero while fighting for the MFC for nearly two years, which included a total of eight appearances in the ring. His only two losses were against Pat Healy, both for the 170-pound title.

TFC, which is positioning itself as a rival to the MFC, recently posted a commercial on its website promoting the upcoming Full Throttle event.