MMA on tap at Wesbild
The card for King of the Cage – Catalyst – is shaping up to be a knockout Saturday at Wesbild Centre in Vernon.
Fighting for the vacant Canadian middleweight (185-pound) belt in the main event, (Ruthless) Ryan Chiappe of Langley’s Revolution Fight Team will rematch against Edmonton’s Jason (The Hitman) Volpe. The two battled in a KOTC match in July at Rexall Place in Edmonton, with Chiappe getting disqualified for an unintentional eye gouge.
“I would have to say that Ryan is the big favourite in this fight,” said MMA promoter/fighter Bill (The Butcher) Mahood. “In the first match, Ryan was clearly dominating the fight when he was DQ’d. This created a lot of controversy. Look for Ryan to come out making a big statement.”
In an intriguing 155-pound international super fight, South Korean submission specialist Chang Hyun Kim will battle Vinicius Lemos, an up-and-comer who trains out of fellow UFC middle weight champion Anderson Silva’s Killer Bees camp in Curitiba, Brazil.
Kim (12-3) is the training partner of rising UFC star Dong Hyun Kim, and has never fought outside of Asia.
“We were able to get two talented up-and-coming international fighters on a local card. That doesn’t happen very often. They have world-renowned coaches and training partners, and they both just happened to be in Western Canada at the same time,” said Mahood. “In this match, Vernon fans have really lucked out. This has all the makings of a UFC-calibre fight.”
Mahood also expects big things from the rematch between Kelowna-based Clay Davidson (Toshido MMA) and Matt Baker (Revolution). These two had a very competitive scrap at the IFC in Penticton in July, with Davidson pulling out a submission win. Baker is very anxious to even the score.
Undefeated in his last two Vernon fights, Brian Coldwell (Iron Dragon, West Kelowna) will meet Trail’s Del Melnyk (Pride Gym) in what could be a slugfest between two tough combatants.
Other professional undercards include: Mike Reid (Kelowna) vs Colin Daynes (Revolution); Rakan Khatib (Revolution) vs Joe Verbeetan (Trail); Chad Bellwood (Kamloops) vs Darcy James (Impact MMA, Nanaimo); Brendan Frost (Kelowna) vs Upneet Rai (Impact); Graham Spencer (Impact) vs Wesley Neil (Pride Gym, Trail); and Ethan Owusa (West Kelowna) vs Ryan Ballingal (Nanaimo).
In amateur action, Tyson Vietch (Kelowna) will scrap C.J. Bragg (Trail), and Curran Allen (Vernon) tangles with Cam Deleurme (Kelowna).
In a junior MMA bout, Kyam Winter (Revolution) will square off with Aamon Judge (Kamloops).
Tickets start at $38 and can be purchased online at www.ticketseller.ca, by phone (549-7469), or at the Ticket Seller box office at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre.
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