The TKO organization has undergone a major metamorphosis of late and the result of all the hard work is TKO 13 “Ultimate Rush”. A whopping 18 bouts are scheduled for the huge card. The reason for the abnormally large number of fights is that the former UCC organization used to run a feeder show called the "Proving Grounds" a show that would be equivalent to Pride having it’s "The Best" show, now TKO has amalgamated the two shows with the “B” Show running first on the same night and the Main show right afterwards. The name “Ultimate Rush” comes from the main event fighter and UCC staple Georges “Rush” St Pierre, who will be in the biggest fight of his career against the very formidable UFC veteran Pete “The Secret Weapon” Spratt.

Georges St Pierre Vs Pete Spratt

Contrary to what some people believe, I feel this fight will be a very competitive fight. St Pierre is undefeated to date but, the truth is, not too much is known about him. He only has 4 fights to his name and on paper he looks like a major underdog coming in against Spratt, who has ten fights to his resume including three fights in the biggest organization in North America, the UFC. St Pierre has never beaten a “name” fighter like Spratt has, his biggest victory to date was over Thomas “The Wildman” Denny. Despite all that, the word on the street is that St. Pierre is “The next one” out of the TKO organization that will soon be fighting on the international stage. [The first being David Loiseau] An interesting note, Pete Spratt is managed by the same man who manages Duane Ludwig, Sven Bean. The former UCC and Sven Bean were at odds over some problems coming at the heels of UCC 12 when Ludwig knocked out Jens Pulver, and the matter went public on many forums and Internet communities. The UCC took a lot of heat for the matter but it looks like the situation has been resolved. It seems like the former UCC organization has everything worked out and the problems of the past are now firmly behind them as they come into a new era for their organization. Pete Spratt is coming off a huge win over UFC posterboy “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler at UFC 42 and is on a high, a match with the top welterweight fighter in the world in Matt Hughes seems to be on the horizon but first he must deal with St. Pierre. This fight looks like the classic striker Vs Grappler match-up and will be won by the fighter who can control where the fight takes place. St Pierre takes it if he can get it to the mat early and often. Spratt wins it if he can keep the fight standing. Look for a war of wills that will be played both in the ring and in the mind. Both fighters are up to the challenge.

Denis Kang Vs Stephan Potvin

In the eyes of some insiders, Denis Kang Vs Stephan Potvin is the match of the card, with both fighters known to be exciting and almost overly aggressive fighters. Both fighters have had some big wins under their belts recently and it looks like the two up and comers are on a collision course. Stephan Potvin has defeated Joe Doerkson by decision, Amir Rahnavardi by K.O, and King of the Cage Welterweight Champion Ronald “The Machine Gun” Jhun by submission, with all fights taking place in the UCC ring. His only recent loss coming at the hands of Jeremy Horn in a quick takedown K.O reminiscent of Tito Ortiz vs Evan Tanner at UCC 7. Denis Kang is also on a hot streak, don’t let his 7-7 record fool you, Kang took on some more experienced competition too early on in his career and absorbed some early losses in fights he maybe shouldn’t have taken. He now has his career on track and wants a shot at the UFC middleweight division. Considered one of the most exciting fighters at his weight, he knocked out UFC 35 veteran Keith Rockel, and won impressively against a very tough Brendan Seguin en route to making it to the finals of the Superbrawl middleweight tournament. He was forced to withdraw from his final bout against Joe Doerkson due to injury but he is healed up and is ready for the challenge come Sept 6th. Denis is a wizard on the mat if he takes it to the mat he should have his way with Potvin, but Potvin did defeat Jhun by heelhook so he is comfortable on the ground as well. Potvin will want to keep this fight a stand up affair where his hard hitting hands will get the most use. This fight could be the fight of the night as two aggressive fighters battle for the right to challenge for the 185 title.

Steve "THe Lionheart" Vigneault Vs Sean "Pimp Daddy" Pierson

In a battle of two fighters that don’t seem to like each other, Steve “The Lionheart” Vigneault will face off against a man that has beaten him before, not once, but twice. Sean “The Pimp Daddy” Pierson is a very strong wrestler that was at one time wrestling in the hopes of representing Canada in the Olympics. Early on in both of their careers they met in the cage twice in a row in the IFC, with Pierson getting the ground and pound victories on both occasions. Vigneault was left to ponder what went wrong, but he has not given up. He has improved immeasurably in his career since then, going on to win eight of his next nine fights with his only loss coming at the hands of David “The Crow” Loiseau who is now competing in the UFC. He went on to fight in the UCC middleweight class winning the Canadian Middleweight UCC belt, he then tried his hand at the Light heavyweight class winning the belt against Jeromie Sills in one of the best back and forth bouts of the year 2002. A title holder in two divisions, his last fight was in January against Jermaine Andre, a man that many felt would make easy work of “The Lionheart”. Vigneault went toe to toe with Andre and won a hard fought close and somewhat controversial decision in a fight some felt was too close to call. Vigneault is looking for redemption for his two early losses and the only thing that stands in his way is “The Pimp Daddy”. One win here will erase two previous losses, an atractive proposition for the "Lionheart". Pierson is looking to take the third fight to make it three in a row, a strong wrestling background has been the backbone of Pierson’s career to date, but he has some skill on the ground as he did win his last fight via armbar. He has six fights to his resume and four wins, two of those wins coming at the expense of Steve Vigneault. His losses were to John Alessio at UCC 7 and Chad Saunders via submission in the IFC. He will look for another ground and pound victory to make it three in a row, but Vigneault has been the more active of the two, and in the eyes of some industry pundits has since improved much more then Pierson has since they last met. This fight will be the semi main event of the event and the bitter feud could make this a fight to remember.

Mark Hominick Vs Ryan Diaz

This fight looks to be a very competitive bout with the sharp stand up skills of Mark “The Machine” Hominick on display against the grappling expertise of Ryan “The Lion” Diaz. Hominick trains out of Team Thompkins martial arts and has trained with the likes of Pat Miletich and Bas Rutten in the past. He is a very well rounded fighter with impressive striking skills that compliment his solid ground work. If there is one thing that people feel that he needs to work on it is his wrestling, and it has been a burden in the past, but it has improved a lot of late. He won the super lightweight belt in his first fight in the UCC over “The Monkey” Richard Nancoo, and then went on to win two fights impressively against solid competition stopping Jiu Jitsu expert Steve Claveau, and then armbarring Claveau’s student Stephane Laliberte. Most felt that he was well on his way to superstardom in the super lightweight class but he has been on a downward slide of late. It started against Stephan Palling of "Jesus is Lord" team in a fight that many felt was a premature stoppage on a cut that appeared on his eyebrow early in the first round. Not too much had happened to that point, when the glove of Palling nicked his eyebrow and split it open, the ref felt it was bad enough to take a look and the fight was stopped. His next bout was more decisive and he lost via heelhook, and then in the Extreme Challenge 51 event, he was picked up and slammed to the ground and lost via takedown K.O in what has been described as one of the biggest slams in recent MMA history. At EC 52 he did an exhibition boxing match, and this fight will be his first taste of MMA since his three straight losses. Diaz who was a replacement for Shawn Davidson for this fight, is coming in off a win but he has lost 5 of his last 7 bouts. Don’t let that fool you however, he is a tough opponent that has understandable losses against names such as UFC fighter Hermes Franca, Shooto standout Naoya Uematsu, Hawaiian Eddie Yagin, and the always sneaky Max Marin in another somewhat controversial stoppage. He is always fighting tough fighters and this fight will be no different. With the tutelage of Lance Gibson behind him, he will surely be ready come fight night and this fight looks to be another solid addition to the card.

Yan Pellerin Vs Patrick Cote

Yan Pellerin lost his last fight to Ulysses Castro in a very controversial fight that some people are still wondering about. A natural light heavyweight, he came into the bout on short notice to take on a Heavyweight and was doing very well, bloodying the face of Castro badly early in the fight and controlling much of the stand up action early. In round two, Castro was able to mount Pellerin and blood was dripping in a steady stream from Castro’s nose and face, on to Pellerin’s face and into his mouth. Pellerin was gagging from Castro’s blood and the referee stepped in and stopped the bout due to bleeding and awarded the fight to Pellerin even though he was mounted and was taking some punishment. The fight was stopped for five minutes and the fight was restarted, even though the fight was stopped. Pellerin thinking he had already won the fight, had to fight again and he eventually got rear naked choked and lost for his efforts. A strange way to lose but a loss none the less. He has lost four fights to date with losses against UFC fighter Rich Franklin, one of the fast rising Canadian LHW’s Jason Macdonald and the above mentioned Castro. Since his last fight he has been gearing up for this bout and he will be facing a much greener opponent in Cote. Cote has only two fights to his name but he is said to be a solid boxer and ground specialist, he could be ready to throw down with Pellerin. If so, this could be a quick fight and one fighter will be certain to hit the canvass. The more experienced Pellerin should be able to dictate the pace of this fight but with unknown fighters there is always an element of mystery.

Cameron Brown Vs Kristof Midoux

Lance Gibson product Cameron Brown has never won a fight to date but is known for his challenging, in your face, aggressive style. He lost to top Canadian LHW talent Jason MacDonald by choke after stunning MacDonald early with a punch and also to Bill Mahood in his first pro fight. His last bout was a draw in an exciting back and forth rematch to Bill Mahood in a fight that was the second best fight of that card, right after the above mentioned Ulysses Castro vs Yan Pellerin fight. France’s Midoux has lost three straight fights after two early wins and like his opponent Brown, is looking to get into the winner’s column. A lot is at stake in this fight and both fighters are badly in need of the win here. Midoux lost to Travis Fulton, Jeremy Horn, and a rising Antoine Jaoude respectively, and although all three are formidable opponents, he needs to get back on the winning track. His loss to Horn was a submission loss after two rounds and he held off well until the tap but a strong effort will no longer be enough. Both fighters need this win. Brown has yet to tally a win and although considered to be a tough competitor, also needs a “W” to solidify his position in the division. On a side note, Midoux has fought most of his fights at Heavyweight and it will be interesting if he can comfortably shed the extra pounds and be more effective at the Light Heavyweight division. This is a tough one to call and could come down to the final bell. When two fighters have a lot to lose, it usually makes for a hard fought contest.

Blake "The Snake" Fredrickson Vs Donald The Extra Terrestrial" Ouimet

This could be the swan song for Ouimet who once held the crown for the World Middleweight belt that is now held by David “The Crow” Loiseau. He lost the belt in his first title defense against Jesse Jones, who in turn lost it to Loiseau in his first title defense. Ouimet is getting into the twilight of his career, and at the age of 36 does not look to have to many fights left in his career. His last fight was a stinging loss to Fredrickson’s teammate Kultar Gill, being from the same team Kultar’s experience in the ring against Ouimet could be a positive factor for Fredrickson as Kultar destroyed Ouimet at UCC 12. Ouimet has shown heart that few can match in his fights and he has been able to come strong against the face of certain defeat. In his fight with Jesse Jones he took numerous knee’s to the head from sidemount, many that would have stopped lesser hearts but he took the abuse until the final bell sounded and Jones was awarded the belt. His strength lies in his lightning quick hands, hands that are second to few. Ouimet was at one time a pro boxer that switched to MMA. Fredrickson is a training partner to fellow cardmate Ryan Diaz and is also a member of the Lance Gibson Pankration team. 5 straight wins for Fredrickson and an undefeated record is what "The Snake" will bring to the TKO octagon and with a strong team behind him he should be ready and able to compete in this fight which is a step up in competition for him. He will need to take the fight to the ground which he has been good at doing in the past defeating Anthoney Hamlett by taking him down hard and dislocating his shoulder in the process. He should look for the takedown from the outset and work the ground and pound, waiting for his opportunity to make the Extra Terrestrial phone home. It wont be easy however and the heart of Ouimet has shown the knack for finding a way to win. This is an evenly matched up bout that may find it’s way to the final bell.

“Pain” Peters Vs Dany Laflamme

One of the most popular fighters in the east is back to bring more of his special brand of “Pain” to the arena. When Pain enters the ring the crowd explodes in Montreal and this fight should be no different. This is the three peat, the third fight in the trilogy that is “Pain” Vs Laflamme. In the first fight, Peters easily dispatched of Laflamme in round one via choke, but in the second fight Peters took the fight on short notice coming off an elbow injury, and lost a decision to Laflamme in a slow fight that saw both fighters gas badly after the first round. In the rubber match it looks like “Pain” is after redemption and a win here will give him a two fight winning streak after taking some lumps in recent fights. He was the fighter that AMC Pankration trainer Matt Hume defeated in his comeback fight in Florida earlier this year, and followed that with his loss to Laflamme. The loss has not sat well with Peters and he has been chomping at the bit to get another shot at Laflamme, he feels this is his long overdue redemption and he is looking to redeem himself in a big way. Laflamme is coming off the only win of his career. He has only defeated one fighter in his career and that fighter is Peters. That fact has made the loss a bitter pill to swallow for “Pain” but Laflamme is looking to make it two in a row after 4 straight losses to start his MMA career. Look for this fight to be a heated battle among two fighters that have a lot to lose, and little respect for each other. Pain has taken time off to heal nagging injuries and looks focused and ready he should be able to take this fight in the first round via choke to get a measure of respect back for himself.

Stephane Dube Vs Dave Goulet

Not much is known about these two fighters but word on the street is they come to bang.

The 9 fight Undercard looks like this.

Alex Gasson Vs Jeff Joslin

Jeff Joslin is a very slick grappler. He lost a very close grappling match with Denis Kang in the ADCC qualifiers by a score of 0 to –1. Joslin lost a point for jumping to guard and that proved to be the difference in a close bout.

Steve Claveau Vs David Guigui

Cleaveau is a UCC veteran with 3 UCC fights under his belt, the most recent being a loss to fellow card-mate Mark Hominick. Guigui is a UCC and IFC vet with ten fights. He will be the more experienced fighter come fight night with Claceau the more active in recent months.

Tom Muller Vs Rob Macdonald

Team Thompkins fighter and training partner to Mark Hominick, Macdonald won his MFC 5 fight by vicious takedowns. He took his opponent down hard so many times in the fight that his opponent Victor Valimacki could not answer the bell for the second round of the fight.

Gavin Hesson Vs Francois Flibotte

Hesson has been off for almost a year, his last bout was against Marco Costa at MFC 5 where he won a decision.

Antonio Carvalho Vs Phillip Lagace

Carvalho defeated Luke Boutin in a previous MFC card via choke in rd one.

Glenn Murdoch Vs Pascal Gosselin

Andy Social Vs Steve Duquette

Aaron Tregear Vs Kyle Sandford

Sam Stout Vs Dany Paquette

In my experience very few TKO/UCC fights go the distance, on paper this card looks to follow that format to a "T". The excitement factor looks to be at a very high level for this card and although it does not carry the same name value weight as the last TKO card, it does have the same feel. It looks like this weekend is going to be a great weekend for MMA fans around the world. -MMARR-

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