The WFF made its return to Vancouver, B.C and seems to have found a home at the Croatian Cultural Centre where they were holding their 4th consecutive event. The intimate setting proved to house a lively crowd that despite some last minute card changes was loud and receptive to the 7 fight card. In my opinion in terms of entertainment value this was one of the better WFF events in recent history with 5 of the 7 contests over in the first round and only one fight going to the 2 round judges decision it was a rather short night and could have used another 2 fights but problems with late medicals coming in scuttled several fights but the proposed Max Marin vs. Antonio Banuelos fight could see itself on a future WFF card.

In the main event of the evening, UFC veteran Bill “The Butcher” put his 13 win 100 percent KO ratio on the line against the relatively unknown Todd Seyler in the main event of the evening and if you blinked you missed it as he finished his overmatched opponent just 21 seconds in. Todd Seyler started strong and charged out with punches but when he engaged with what appeared to be a takedown attempt, he found himself in the precarious position of being guillotine choked. Seyler held on as long as he could, at one point hoisting Mahood up in the air and possibly looking for the slam, but he slowly came down and eventually collapsed to his knees unconscious when referee Jason Darrah stepped in to halt the bout just 21 seconds into the contest. Mahood’s 100 % KO ratio was snapped with his first submission victory but he was all smiles as Mahood has been on a slide of late and picked up the quick win and revealed afterwards that he had a cracked rib going into the bout but decided to fight anyway. Mahood appears to be gearing up for a fight in his own promotion the XFC on October 15th in Prince George.

In the semi main event of the evening, Kalib Starnes who is rumored to be on the Ultimate Fighter 3 T.V show proved why the UFC wants him by defeating Edmonton’s Mike Yakulic in the first round. Both fighters exchanged punches in the first round with Starnes going high and low to the head and the body, Yakulic for his part threw out a rare spinning back fist that missed its mark but brought out a response from the crowd. Eventually Kalib Starnes tied up his opponent and brought the fight to the mat where he found his way to mount and pounded on his opponent for over minute and a half until Yakulic who had taken a steady stream of punishment from the get go was forced to tap out. Starnes wins by tapout at 2:21 of the first round.

Mike Adams over Brad Cardinal
The first round saw the much taller Cardinal control from the outside early, catching Adams with two clean shots to the face, one that badly bruised the left eye of the much denser and shorter Adams. Adams was resilient however and proved to have a solid chin along with a lot of power which he showed securing multiple takedowns in the round, despite the fight going to the mat, he had trouble passing and improving his position from the half guard. Cardinal who seemed content to tie up his opponent, occasionally snaked his legs up looking for the submission but it never came. The second stanza was a continuation of the latter part of the first with Adams getting the takedowns, but his ground and pound looked to be a little more up tempo in the second and it was enough for the judges to award him the unanimous decision after two rounds. MMARR gave the first round to Cardinal based on damage and the second round to Adams based on takedowns and control for a draw, but the judges saw otherwise gave the fight to Mike Adams with a unanimous two round decision.

In one of, if not the bloodiest battles in WFF history, George Kassimatis dismantled Adam Thomas in a fiery contest that had the crowd screeching from the opening bell. Both fighters came out swinging but Kassimatis looked like the cleaner striker and drove a wicked knee into the face of Thomas early that bloodied him immediately. Thomas showed off a “Cabbage” like chin and never gave an inch during the onslaught, but it was quickly becoming clear the blood streaming down his face was going to be a problem. The referee stepped in to have the doctor check the cut and while it looked like it was bad the fight was allowed to continue. Kassimatis didn’t let up for a minute and pummeled his opponent following the restart with a boxing and Mui Thai clinic that saw the crowd the liveliest it had been all night. He even took the mount and pounded from the superior position, and while Thomas tried to defend the best he could, the bell for the second round would never come as the doctor came in to check the blood for a second time and this time was forced to halt the contest. There was so much blood during this fight that the blood splattered all over my camera equipment and I had to make a run to the washrooms to wipe my equipment down before the start of the next bout. In the end Kassimatis took the Doctor Stoppage TKO victory at 2:51 of the first.

With about as much action that you can pack into one round Ben Greer defeated Calgarian John Louro in a back and forth battle of wills that ended with the young Greer getting the clock choke over Louro with just over a minute remaining in the first. Greer known primarily as a kickboxer showed some versatility in the ring, a product no doubt of time well spent with BJJ black best Marcus Soares in defending and securing the submissions. Louro looked strong at points working on securing a guillotine choke at one point but Greer was able to jimmy his head out and finish the fight with a choke of his own but not before both battled back and forth on the ground gaining and losing top position a handful of times. Greer eventually secured the head and finished with the headlock choke that finished the feisty Louro at 3:38 of the first round and also secured the MMA Ring Report Fighter of the Night award in the process.

The fast rising Tim Jensen proved he is one of the sharpest young guns on the Western Canadian MMA scene and proved his worth with a dominating performance over PG fight club member Kenny Butterfield. Butterfield who was on the losing end of a tko loss just a week before this fight was game but ate a quick left high kick right at the start of the bout, and things didn’t get better for the young fighter who showed heart but found it difficult to mount any offense of his own. Jensen showed versatility working both sharp ground and pound, mixed in with solid stand up including body shots, and ended the fight with a submission armbar after taking the back of his opponent. The young Toshido fight club member who trains under David Lea seems well on his way to a bright future and with only two fights under his belt has shown the poise of a young lion in the ring.

In one of only two fights to go past the first round, the first fight of the evening saw Gerry Elliot get the come from behind victory over Jean Laszlo via tapout. The first stanza saw Jean Laszlo take it to Gerry Elliot with a steady ground and pound attack but Elliott made it to the second round and took over with a takedown going right into the mount and pounding out the victory at 42 seconds of the first.