Notes and quotes from fighters from the Great White North.
It’s been a busy week for rumours in the UFC.
One Canadian, Mark Bocek of Woodbridge, Ont., has been confirmed to be fighting at UFC 124, taking on Dustin Hazelett. While three others, have been rumoured to be fighting at the Dec. 11 show in Montreal, all serving as an undercard set-up for George St-Pierre’s big title defence against Josh Koscheck.
Let’s start with a young guy who is fresh off a big win just two weeks ago.
Grant hopes to keep things rolling
It appears Cole Harbour, N.S.’s T.J. Grant, who defeated Julio Paulino on the undercard of UFC 119 last month in Indianapolis, will be taking on Ricardo Almeida at the Bell Centre. This would be his third UFC in Montreal appearance.
It would also be a quick turnaround. Instead of his usual 4-5 month layoff between fights, this would come just 2 1/2 months after his previous appearance.
"That wouldn't be ideal, because when you train for a fight it becomes a lot of work," Grant said. "It's a lot funner when you can have a little bit of time in between and try to develop your skills. And I find it's better to enjoy it because that's when you see the most gain."
"But I'm not against it. If it's what they want, it's what will happen."
It appears it's what the UFC wants to happen. And on the other hand, this would allow him to keep his roll going after his last win -- even if he wasn’t overly thrilled with the way that fight went. Or the fact that his fight was one of a number that drew boos from the crowd.
"My initial reaction after the fight was that it was boring. But I worked hard in there," Grant said. "I kept attacking and I kept the pressure on. Really that’s all I could do."
Following the fight, Grant said he was looking for more exposure in his next bout and hoped to face a tough guy. This is definitely what he’s getting with Almeida, who represents a big step up in competition.
No more wrestlers for Grant. This is a third-degree black belt, who once upon a time was a split decision away from a shot at middleweight champion Anderson Silva’s title, that opportunity instead going to Quebec’s Patrick Cote.
And for those wondering whether Grant will be sporting that same playoff-calibre beard, he said he had to trim it down a bit because it was getting "too bushy." But that doesn’t mean he can’t grow it back.
"I’m undefeated with the beard," Grant said, chuckling.
More Canucks on the Montreal card?
Two other Canadians with experience fighting at Montreal UFC shows, have been reported to be on the slate -- actually, two guys who fought each other at the very first one in April 2008; namely Joe Doerksen and Jason MacDonald.
Doerksen is said to be taking on Dan Miller, while the wonderfully-named Rafael Natal has been tabbed as MacDonald’s opponent.
While not official, Doerksen told me Miller is whom he’s "expecting" to fight and whom he’s already training for.
Meanwhile Red Deer, Alta.'s MacDonald, who has been shelved with a brutal leg injury suffered at UFC 113 in May, said in his sportsnet.ca blog a fight against a good jiu-jitsu guy like Natal is a great opportunity for him.
Doerksen, who was the only Canadian to win his fight at the May event in Montreal when he submitted Tom Lawlor, is coming off a tough loss to a guy in C.B. Dollaway the Winnipeg fighter felt he "should have beaten" because he "has more tools." Unfortunately, Doerksen was a victim to an early guillotine choke by Dollaway early and as hard as he tried to wriggle out of it, he eventually had to tap.
"I get caught in that sometimes in the gym but nine times out of 10 I get out of it," Doerksen said. "But one time out of 10 I don’t and that night it was the one time out of 10."
Doerksen said he was a little depressed for a day and a half, but was back in the gym the Monday night following his loss.
"The first I could think of was the sooner (I fight again) the better."
Seems like he’s getting his wish.
Hague hoping for UFC callback
Another guy who’s only wish is to get back to the Octagon, (well that and a decision to fairly go his way) is Edmonton’s Tim Hague.
Hague has the distinction of losing his last two UFC fights by close decision -- and getting released after each.
That only tells half the story.
In February, he lost to Chris Tuchscherer by the slimmest of margins (29-28, 29-28, 28-28). But after the fight, one that many felt was completely dominated for at least two of the rounds, the crowd booed the announcement and Joe Rogan called it the worst decision he’s ever seen in his life.
Then he got another chance in the Octagon in May, as a last-minute replacement in his home country. This time he lost by unanimous decision to Joey Beltran, and while the scores were one-sided (30–27, 30–26, 29–28), many thought Hague should have earned the nod. Given that he stepped up on short notice, one might have expected him to get a reprieve.
Not so.
"After I lost to Beltran, I kind of had the feeling I would be released," Hague said. "When I got the news, I just texted (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva and said I appreciate the opportunity and sorry I wasn’t able to get into proper shape in the two or three weeks there but I’ll go win some fights and if you guys have me back, I’d love to come back. Word for word he said, ‘Sounds good.’
"So hopefully that means, ‘Sure we’ll have you back if you show us that you belong back.’"
Hague has been doing his best since to do just that. He's won two straight fights in his hometown promotion Aggression MMA, both just around the two-minute mark of the first. His last came a week ago against Travis Wiuff, a veteran of 62 fights who has who has competed in the UFC against the likes of Renato Sobral and Vladimir Matyushenko.
"I had a very good game plan," Hague said. "I knew that he likes to lunge in for a double jab and for takedowns and I planned on coming over the top with the right hand if he did and it worked very well. I had a feeling all throughout training camp that I could finish the guy early if I landed a big punch so I guess that's what I expected and that's what happened."
He has since landed a new sponsor, ERA fight wear (joining MacDonald), and has signed a six-fight deal with the Aggression organization, but it’s open to a return to the UFC. He’s currently scheduled to fight in Edmonton again in early December.
But he hopes he’ll instead be joining Grant, Doerksen and MacDonald in Montreal.
