The MMA leader in the province of Quebec was looking to keep its momentum going after putting the first ever mixed martial arts event at the Montreal Casino last fall. Samourai MMA followed the success of that event with another one in March in the city of Gatineau. With the UFC in town the following day, it’s no wonder the French-Canadian promotion, which airs on UFC Fight Pass, scheduled an event in Montreal on this date.
The Samourai MMA 14 card was headlined by Michael Dufort and featured names like Tommy Morrisson and Louie Jourdain. Morrisson is a 26-year-old undefeated flyweight prospect and Jourdain is the younger brother of UFC fan-favourite Charles. After a loss in the PFL last summer to Gadzhi Rabadanov, who went on to win the PFL tournament, Dufort was looking to follow in Yohan Lainesse’s footsteps who got back on track at SamouraiMMA Chapter 12 last November.
Samourai MMA 14 Full Card Recap
Louie Sanoudakis (10-3) vs Tarcisio Romano (11-6-1) [BANTAMWEIGHT]
ROUND 1: Sanoudakis made Romano pay with body kicks every time he’d nakedly switch to southpaw. Romano let his hands go a bit more than Sanoudakis and landed some solid leg kicks. Competitive round, 10-9 Romano.
ROUND 2: After spending almost half the round in the clinch, Sanoudakis finally got the fight’s first takedown. Romano worked his way back to the feet and got a takedown of his own. Sanoudakis eventually got top control and finished the round with some punishing knees to the body. 10-9 Sanoudakis
ROUND 3: With Sanoudakis seemingly the fresher fighter of the two entering the final round, the Canadian fighter was able to outpoint Romano on the feet. He then shot a takedown, worked his way to the back and finished the round by landing ground-and-pound shots. Clear 10-9 Sanoudakis.
A hard-fought but deserved win for Sanoudakis who moved to 11-3.
Official Result: Louie Sanoudakis def. Tarcisio Romano by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Antoine Chaput (4-2) vs Kaecy Raddon (5-1) [LIGHTWEIGHT]
ROUND 1: Started with close striking exchanges in the first couple minutes until Chaput connected with a clean right cross on Raddon’s chin. Raddon then instinctively shot a takedown that Chaput stuffed. In the clinch, Chaput landed a good knee to the body. Raddon kept shooting takedowns, but Chaput did a good job of instantly getting back to his feet. 10-9 Chaput
ROUND 2: Raddon put on the pressure on Chaput to start the round, but a lead head kick partially landed and forced Raddon to go back to the grappling. Chaput reversed Raddon’s takedown attempt and used a front headlock to land two good knees to the head before breaking. A body kick drew a wince from Raddon, who shot another takedown. Chaput once again got right back up and used a throw of his own to get Raddon down. 10-9 Chaput
ROUND 3: Raddon was relentless with the grappling, not letting Chaput get an inch of space. Chaput was landing damage in the short windows where he could by throwing elbows to Raddon’s head when the American was on his hips. Chaput’s second reversal forced a scramble that saw him lock in a D’arce. Chaput refused to let go of the lock and Raddon was eventually forced to tap.
The finish got a roar from the crowd who was cheering on the hometown kid the entire fight.
Official Result: Antoine Chaput def. Kaecy Raddon by submission (D’arce) (Round 3, 3:34)
Dany Mallette (7-2) vs Mac Laursen (7-2) [SUPER WELTERWEIGHT]
ROUND 1: Laursen put on the pressure right away. He pushed Mallette to the fence and got him down on his second attempt. A slick transition to the back allowed him to immediately threaten the rear-naked choke. After working for the choke for about a minute, he finally forced the tap out of Mallette.
A nice bounce back win for Laursen who had dropped a unanimous decision to ex-UFC welterweight Yohan Lainesse back in November. With matchmakers Sean Shelby and Mick Maynard in attendance, Laursen called for a UFC spot.
Official Result: Mac Laursen def. Dany Mallette by submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 1, 3:22)
Louis Jourdain (7-3) vs Danilo Adreani (12-3) [FLYWEIGHT]
ROUND 1: Adreani quickly got Jourdain to the ground. Jourdain used his leg to throw a triangle attempt that forced a scramble and allowed him to get back to his feet. On the feet, Jourdain appeared to land a good counter right straight that got Adreani down to a knee, but the Brazilian seemed to signal it was a slip and not a knockdown. A close round, but I had it 10-9 Adreani because I did believe it was a slip.
ROUND 2: Jourdain landed another nice counter that forced a takedown attempt from Adreani, but this time it was the crowd favourite who ended up on top. And Jourdain made the most out of it by immediately landing big ground-and-pound strikes. He then attacked a kimura but let it go to instead pound Adreani to a TKO finish.
The brother of the UFC fan-favourite got the biggest pop from the crowd after his finish. The fans then started chanting “UFC” to incite the matchmakers who were present to maybe sign the 8-3 fighter.
Official Result: Louis Jourdain def. Danilo Adreani by TKO (Round 2, 4:51)
Samourai MMA 14 CO-MAIN EVENT: Tommy Morrisson (8-0) vs Christopher Daniel (9-4-1) [FLYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]
ROUND 1: The two fighters clinched almost immediately, but it was Morrisson who got Daniel down. Morrisson stayed on top for almost the entirety of the round, landing a couple ground-and-pound shots in the process. Daniel threatened a leg entanglement that forced Morrisson to disengage. They spent the last 30 seconds of the round exchanging kicks. 10-9 Morrisson
ROUND 2: Daniel landed a solid right hand early in the round, but Morrisson took it well and answered with a couple rights of his own. Remembering the clear grappling edge he had in the opening round, Morrisson wasted no time shooting a takedown and took the fight to the mat. “Rambo” systematically worked his way to the back and attacked Daniel’s neck. The American was wise to it and slid to his back, so Morrisson landed in full mount. The Canadian got close with a couple submission attempts but Daniel was able to survive to the next round. 10-9 Morrisson
ROUND 3: Using the threat of his grappling, Morrisson started to feel a lot more comfortable on the feet. He let his hands go and was pressuring Daniel back. Morrisson once again took the fight to the ground, but a flurry of upkicks from the American appeared to catch Morrisson and sent him stumbling back. However, the crowd favourite recovered well and got Daniel down again, this time in the open. He kept his top position for the rest of the round. Perhaps still a bit dazed from the upkicks, Morrisson didn’t land nearly as much ground-and-pound as he did in the previous round. Because I wasn’t convinced the upkicks connected cleanly, I still had the round 10-9 Morrisson.
ROUND 4: Entering the championship rounds, both fighters’ gas tanks were holding up. With neither having a clear speed advantage over the other, they both kept landing their combinations. But once again, one attempt is all it took for Morrisson to get this the ground and control Daniel. The American temporarily got back up but wasn’t able to get Morrisson off of him. After getting him back down, Morrisson was able to get into side control and ended the round with big elbows to the head. 10-9 Morrisson
ROUND 5: Knowing he needed a finish, Daniel came out in the final round and put Morrisson on the backfoot. Morrisson’s first takedown attempt of the round was stuffed by Daniel, but the second one along the fence was successful. Sensing the urgency, Daniel was able to get back to his feet much quicker this time around. Due to Morrisson’s relentless takedown attempts, Daniel was ultimately unable to fend him off. Morrisson used his top position to kill the clock and win yet another round. 10-9 Morrisson
This was one of the most mature performances from the Firas Zahabi product yet. His striking looked cleaner and his grappling looked as dominant as ever against jiu-jitsu specialist. “Rambo” kept his undefeated record intact and successfully defended his flyweight title.
Official Result: Tommy Morrisson def. Christopher Daniel by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45)
Samourai MMA 14 MAIN EVENT: Michael Dufort (13-6) vs Ariston França (12-9) [LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]
ROUND 1: Feeling the energy from the crowd, Dufort put the pressure right away on França. Once França’s back was against the fence, Dufort let his hands go, mixing up his targets well between the body and the head. After getting a takedown, Dufort disengaged and let França up. In a wild exchange along the fence, França caught Dufort and dropped him. He then grabbed a guillotine, but Dufort fought his way out of it. After getting to França’s back, Dufort’s transition and slick rear-naked choke attack forced the tap.
A thoroughly entertaining one-round fight that ended with the crowd on its feet, applauding their own.
The former PFL fighter got back in the win column in spectacular fashion as he grabbed the vacant SamouraiMMA lightweight title.
Official Result: Michael Dufort def. Ariston França by submission (rear-naked choke) (Round 1, 3:31)
In the end, this could only be described as another successful night for SamouraiMMA. The production was great, the event was well-paced, and the crowd got to see their hometown favourites go 5-1.
