TORONTO — There aren’t many opportunities for Ontario mixed martial artists to fight at home these days, but Friday at Substance Cage Combat 2.0 a number of the province’s top fighters got a chance to compete in front of their fans — and many of them made the most of it.
The second incarnation of SCC, a promotion run by CEO Neil Forester, was held on Friday night at Toronto’s Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre, and overall it was a solid show that let a number of up-and-coming fighters — and some veterans, too — strut their stuff live and up close for their hometown fans.
In the main event of the evening, Alex Ricci of Woodbridge, Ont., defeated Bellator veteran E.J. Brooks by unanimous decision, all three judges scoring the bout 29-28 in the Canadian’s favor. Although Ricci was outwrestled in the first round and lost it, he was able to stop the majority of his opponent’s takedown attempts in rounds two and three and come away with the victory. With the win, Ricci improved to 8-2 in his mixed martial arts career and with a few more impressive victories it’s possible he gets the call up to the UFC, which is what he told Sportsnet.ca contributor James Lynch earlier this week is his goal.
In the co-main event of the evening, Kyle Nelson of Huntsville, Ont., upped his perfect MMA record to 6-0 with a quick, 42-second guillotine choke submission victory over Oshawa’s Ainsley Robinson. The fight was basically over as soon as it started, and Nelson, who fights at 145 pounds, is certainly proving himself to be one of the top prospects out of the province.
Elsewhere on the main card, 31-year-old Adrian Wooley of Burlington defeated American Jeimeson Saudino by unanimous decision in a very fun fight. The first round was jam-packed full of action as Wooley ate a number of hard strikes by Saudino yet kept coming back for more; the second was the opposite with Wooley being the one throwing the strikes. But in the third, Saudino was taken down and controlled for five minutes as Wooley fought smart and did what he had to do to get the win. At the end of three rounds, all three judges scored the contest 29-28 for Wooley, who showed that he can still put on a show for the fans.
It should also be mentioned that in the first three bouts of the evening, which took place on the preliminary card, three representatives of local Ontario gyms picked up wins as Abdulah Teymouri, Maxi Li, and Ahmad Kakar all got their hand raised. As well, in a bout between Americans that took place on the main card, Jeremy Osheim defeated Todd Stoute by unanimous decision.
Finally, in one of the most impressive performances of the night, Mike Malott of Nova Scotia upped his record to 4-0 in MMA with four finishes as he absolutely destroyed Allan Wilson with a knee and punches in the first round. Malott looks like a serious prospect in the lightweight division, and don’t be surprised if the young Maritimer one day makes his way to the UFC, especially if he keeps finishing his opponents in brutal fashion.
Overall, it was a solid night of fights and SCC once again demonstrated that if you give Ontario MMA fighters a platform, they will perform and excite the fans. And, hopefully, the success of the promotion will show other MMA promoters that they can succeed holding shows in Ontario because the development and future of the province’s fighters depends on it.
