THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Three Canadian mixed martial arts promoters have joined forces to create the Aggression Fighting Championship.
The new organization is the sum of Edmonton-based Aggression MMA, Victoria-based Armageddon FC and Calgary-based AX Combat.
The plan is to hold between nine and 11 fight cards a year, with shows in Calgary, Edmonton and Victoria.
Armageddon co-founder Darren Owen calls it "by far the largest deal in Canadian MMA history."
The first planned shows under the new banner are AFC 8 in Victoria on April 14, AFC 9 in Edmonton on June 8, and AFC 10 in Calgary on June 15.
"Darren Owen of Armageddon and I have been seriously discussing the idea of merging for some time, and in the process reached out to AX Combat and determined that we had the same goals moving forward," Aggression co-founder Moin Mirza said in a statement.
"We established that all three brands have similar philosophies of making sure that our fan base gets to see the best up-and-coming domestic and international fighters. So it made sense to offer fans across Canada a national brand, ultimately resulting in AFC."
The new organization’s major Canadian competition will be Edmonton’s Maximum Fighting Championship.
MFC president Mark Pavelich called the new organization’s claims "comical," adding he didn’t care what "three small promoters" were doing.
Note: Former UFC fighter Edwin (Bam Bam) Dewees (37-15) will fight Edmonton submission specialist Luke Harris (8-1) at "MFC 33: Collision Course" on May 4 at the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton. The two will meet at a catchweight of 195 pounds. The previously announced main event is an MFC welterweight title fight between Edmonton’s Ryan (The Kid) McGillivray and Nathan (Soul Force) Coy. The Dewees-Harris matchup replaced the postponed bout between Dwayne Lewis (hand injury) and Aron Lofton.
