Motard, Holst, Desrochers Win Gold
GATINEAU, Quebec -- Freedom Fight handed out hardware in three
weight classes Saturday and hosted a lineup decorated with
high-profile MMA debutants as well as a dynamic undercard that had
fans on their feet for the majority of the night.
In a battle for the welterweight crown, Jason Motard used his strong wrestling game throughout the opening round to neutralize Steve Vujnovic’s advantage on the feet. When he wasn’t on his back, Vujnovic worked well behind his jab, throwing combinations and eventually backing Motard into the corner.
After a flurry of about 15 to 20 punches, Motard finally came out
of his defensive shell to retaliate with a one-two, left-right hook
combination that sent Vujnovic to the mat on all fours. Referee
Philippe Chartier hesitated before stepping in, and Motard
delivered one last shot to end the fight and make Motard the new
Freedom Fight welterweight champion.
Freedom Fight veteran Mark “Boots” Holst brought the hometown fans to their feet with a systematic dismantling of a very tough Kris Donaldson. Holst held the advantage standing, where he demonstrated crisper striking. He had Donaldson hurt early, dropping him with a knee from the clinch. By the time the first round came to a close, blood was pouring from Donaldson’s nose and from cuts under his eyes.
With the heavyweight strap up for grabs, Andre Desrochers and Ilya Woronowski gave the judges a break with a classic striker-versus-wrestler matchup. Woronowski took the fight to the ground and attained the mount, and then the Toronto native methodically hammered away. While it wasn’t pretty, it was certainly effective. Desrochers could do nothing but throw punches from the bottom, but eventually he swept Woronowski and delivered some brutal shots to the head and body that almost had Woronowski finished.
At the start of round two, Woronowski looked exhausted and barely able to stay on his feet. A failed shot to open the round spelled the end for Woronowski. On his hands and knees, he absorbed punishment from Desrochers until the fight was stopped 24 seconds into the round.
Former Canadian Football League
standout and WWE star Glen Kulka made his much-anticipated mixed
martial arts debut against Wayne Xilon in front of a hometown
crowd, many of whom sported various “Kulkamania” and “Kulkster”
shirts in support.
From the opening bell, Kulka came out bombing and used his raw strength to literally toss the 280-pound Xilon into the corner. There, Kulka unloaded a seemingly endless barrage of knees that forced an end to the contest at 1:13.
The opening round was a baptism of fire for Much Music’s Robin Black in his MMA debut against Chris Myra. On their feet, Myra was able to tag Black at will while Black covered up. For Black, getting the fight to the ground was a bigger task than anticipated.
Myra’s strength and experience proved
to be the difference in the fight, as he was able to adeptly elude
the submissions Black threw at him. By the start of the second,
Black was showing the effects of his MMA debut and his face was
bloody and bruised.
The fight eventually moved back to the ground, where Myra surprised many in attendance by catching Black in a triangle choke for the submission at 1:15.
Other results
Remi Morvan, who had accepted the fight one day prior at the weigh-ins, stunned Ian Dawe with a rear-naked choke at 1:49 of round three. … Marhaille Wedderburn stopped Stephane Lamarche at 2:04 of the first when referee Philippe Chartier called an end to the bout, somewhat controversially, while Lamarche was absorbing punches in a very loose triangle. … Louis Phillip Carlos submitted Chris Hulme with a guillotine at 1:35 of the second. … Clint Martin came back from getting floored with a one-two to drop Joey Ayres with an overhand right, then follow up with punches on the ground for the stoppage at 1:15 of round one. … Rob Tracey upset Nick Portieous with a rear-naked choke at 3:32 of round one. … Stephane Bernadel defeated Mike Walton by rear-naked choke at 3:13 of the first round.
In a battle for the welterweight crown, Jason Motard used his strong wrestling game throughout the opening round to neutralize Steve Vujnovic’s advantage on the feet. When he wasn’t on his back, Vujnovic worked well behind his jab, throwing combinations and eventually backing Motard into the corner.
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Freedom Fight veteran Mark “Boots” Holst brought the hometown fans to their feet with a systematic dismantling of a very tough Kris Donaldson. Holst held the advantage standing, where he demonstrated crisper striking. He had Donaldson hurt early, dropping him with a knee from the clinch. By the time the first round came to a close, blood was pouring from Donaldson’s nose and from cuts under his eyes.
In the second round, Holst picked up where he had left off in the
first, but it didn’t take long. A right straight sent Donaldson
down to the mat, and the fight was stopped 15 seconds into the
stanza to crown Holst as the new Freedom Fight lightweight
champion.
With the heavyweight strap up for grabs, Andre Desrochers and Ilya Woronowski gave the judges a break with a classic striker-versus-wrestler matchup. Woronowski took the fight to the ground and attained the mount, and then the Toronto native methodically hammered away. While it wasn’t pretty, it was certainly effective. Desrochers could do nothing but throw punches from the bottom, but eventually he swept Woronowski and delivered some brutal shots to the head and body that almost had Woronowski finished.
At the start of round two, Woronowski looked exhausted and barely able to stay on his feet. A failed shot to open the round spelled the end for Woronowski. On his hands and knees, he absorbed punishment from Desrochers until the fight was stopped 24 seconds into the round.
Former Canadian Football League
standout and WWE star Glen Kulka made his much-anticipated mixed
martial arts debut against Wayne Xilon in front of a hometown
crowd, many of whom sported various “Kulkamania” and “Kulkster”
shirts in support.From the opening bell, Kulka came out bombing and used his raw strength to literally toss the 280-pound Xilon into the corner. There, Kulka unloaded a seemingly endless barrage of knees that forced an end to the contest at 1:13.
The opening round was a baptism of fire for Much Music’s Robin Black in his MMA debut against Chris Myra. On their feet, Myra was able to tag Black at will while Black covered up. For Black, getting the fight to the ground was a bigger task than anticipated.
Myra’s strength and experience proved
to be the difference in the fight, as he was able to adeptly elude
the submissions Black threw at him. By the start of the second,
Black was showing the effects of his MMA debut and his face was
bloody and bruised.The fight eventually moved back to the ground, where Myra surprised many in attendance by catching Black in a triangle choke for the submission at 1:15.
Other results
Remi Morvan, who had accepted the fight one day prior at the weigh-ins, stunned Ian Dawe with a rear-naked choke at 1:49 of round three. … Marhaille Wedderburn stopped Stephane Lamarche at 2:04 of the first when referee Philippe Chartier called an end to the bout, somewhat controversially, while Lamarche was absorbing punches in a very loose triangle. … Louis Phillip Carlos submitted Chris Hulme with a guillotine at 1:35 of the second. … Clint Martin came back from getting floored with a one-two to drop Joey Ayres with an overhand right, then follow up with punches on the ground for the stoppage at 1:15 of round one. … Rob Tracey upset Nick Portieous with a rear-naked choke at 3:32 of round one. … Stephane Bernadel defeated Mike Walton by rear-naked choke at 3:13 of the first round.
