Two Canadians will be in action Thursday night at WEC 51 in Broomfield, Colo. Thamesford, Ont.’s Mark (The Machine) Hominick takes on Leonard Garcia in a televised featherweight tilt (which unfortunately Canadians won’t be able to watch live, but on tape delay), and Hominick’s London, Ont., teammate Chris (The Polish Hammer) Horodecki fights Ed Ratcliff on the undercard.
Both took time to speak to sportsnet.ca late Wednesday about their fights.
sportsnet.ca: So, Mark who called out whom for this fight?
Mark Hominick: I don’t think it was so much of a callout. I asked for the fight and as soon as I asked for it, he called the matchmaker (Sean Shelby). It’s a fight we both wanted and it made sense because we both came off big wins. And for the fans as well, it’s going to be an exciting fight. I’ve always had my eye on him, because he’s fought for the title before, he’s been in the top 10, he’s one of the biggest names. Those type of guys are the ones I want to go after.
sportsnet.ca: So there’s no bad blood between you?
Mark Hominick: No, not at all. We’ve seen each other a few times, and the first thing I said to him was, ‘No disrespect when I called you out,’ and he said the same thing both ways. He has respect for what I’ve done over the years and we’ve known each other probably for about five years, so we’re just competitors.
sportsnet.ca: What do you expect from Garcia in this fight?
Mark Hominick: I expect him to trade with me on the feet a lot. He’s one of those fighters who once he gets hit he likes to exchange. I think it will be back and forth. I haven’t gone to a decision in a while; my last three wins were all finishes, so I’m hoping to keep that momentum going. Leonard is really hard to finish so I’m respecting him and preparing to go three rounds. But if the knockout or submission comes, I’ll take it.
sportsnet.ca: What about you Chris, what are you expecting from Ratcliff?
Chris Horodecki: He’s a tough guy, he’s proven that he’s durable. He’s tough on the feet, he’s fast, and he’s not scared to bang. This is also going to be very exciting for the fans. I know his standup and I think this is a perfect fight for me. I plan to just take it to him. And I expect I’ll be one step ahead of him wherever the fight goes.
sportsnet.ca: Did you guys do anything different in training?
Mark Hominick: We did pretty much the whole training camp in Las Vegas, and we did a lot of training in a hyperbaric chamber there, to get us ready for the altitude change. We got into Colorado five days out. I fought in Denver before and I didn’t have any problem with the altitude. My conditioning is one of the strongest parts of my game. A lot of it is mental too; if you let it weigh on yourself, I think it will affect you more than it really does.
sportsnet.ca: How big was it winning your last fights, especially in Canada (at WEC 49 in Edmonton in June)?
Mark Hominick (who beat fellow Canadian Yves Jabouin by second-round TKO): It was a huge fight for me just because of the stage it was on. It was the first WEC show in Canada, semi-main event, and the performance I had. It was a good showcase fight, to show everybody in the WEC I’m a contender here.
Chris Horodecki (who rebounded from a loss in his WEC debut to beat Danny Downes by rear naked choke in the second round): It was great man. I needed that win. I was really happy to be fighting in Canada in front of the closest thing I’ve had to a home town in a long time.
sportsnet.ca: Speaking of which, how happy are you about MMA being regulated in your home province?
Chris Horodecki: Having MMA in Ontario is huge. It’s so exciting for Mark and I. We hope by 2011 we’ll have the WEC fighting in the (John Labatt Centre in London). Toronto’s got a bigger market, bigger arenas (Rogers Centre, ACC) so for them putting on a UFC would make sense. But for the WEC to come to Ontario, I don’t think there’s any better spot than London.
