UFA’s television footprint reaches more than 79 million homes via the likes of NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Boston, NBC Sports California NBC Sports Washington Plus, NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus, Stadium, Cox Sports Television and a variety of other channels.

Quoted via press release, UFA CEO, Jordan “Jay” Adams stated, “We are thrilled to be working with BTC Fight Promotions out of Burlington, Ontario. Our fans are really going love their fights. BTC is one of the best shows in Canada with a longstanding martial arts and fitness background. They have deep roots in the Canadian fight scene and have proven time and again they can produce and match-make phenomenal MMA events.”

Based out of Burlington, Ontario, BTC Fights has become one of Canada’s top mixed martial arts organizations — and has been instrumental in injecting new life into the sport in its home province of Ontario. The promotion has helped produce fighters like Kyle Prepolec, who would go on to fight in the UFC, and Jasmine Jasudavicius, who made the Canadian installment of our Scouting the Globe series recently.

“BTC Fight is Canada’s number one pro MMA Promotion and we are proud to announce our partnership with UFA allowing BTC Fights to be seen on television across the United States!” said Shari Caruthers, COO of BTC Fight Promotions.

BTC’s most recent event, BTC 9: Rampage from February, will be the first to air under the arrangement. Details can be found below.

BTC Fight Promotions Broadcast Schedule

NBC Sports Washington Plus

BTC 9 Part 1 – Saturday 5/9/2020 at 10:30 PM

BTC 9 Part 2 – Saturday 5/16/2020 at 10:30 PM

NBC Sports Boston

BTC 9 Part 1 – Saturday 5/9/2020 at 11:00 PM

BTC 9 Part 2 – Saturday 5/16/2020 at 11:00 PM

NBC Sports Chicago

BTC 9 Part 1 – Monday 5/11/2020 at 12:00 AM

BTC 9 Part 2 – Monday 5/18/2020 at 1:00 AM

NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus

BTC 9 Part 1 – Saturday 5/9/2020 at 7:00 PM

BTC 9 Part 2 – Wednesday     5/13/2020 at 9:00 PM

Cox Sports Television

BTC 9 Part 1 – Tuesday 5/12/20 at 11 PM

BTC 9 Part 2 – Tuesday 5/19/20 at 11 PM

Stadium

BTC 9 Part 1 – Thursday 5/7/2020 at 10:00 PM ET

BTC 9 Part 2 – Thursday 5/14/2020 at10:00 PM ET

The post BTC Fight Promotions Announces Multi-Event Broadcast Deal appeared first on Cageside Press.

Ontario’s BTC was in Niagara Falls on Saturday, November 30, putting on its final event of 2019. BTC 8: Eliminator featured a pair of title fights, including super lightweight champion Scott Hudson taking on Jarel Askew in the 165lb main event. On the women’s side, the vacant strawweight title was up for grabs, as Lindsay Garbatt took on Lupita Godinez.

A historic night for the Canadian promotion saw it become the longest-running mixed martial arts organization in Ontario, surpassing the pioneering Score Fighting Series.

Cageside Press will be in attendance to bring you results and behind the scenes action from the Scotiabank Convention Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The fights kick off at 6PM ET, and can be streamed live by following this link.

BTC 8: Eliminator Results

Scott Hudson (c) def. Jarel Askew by unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45) – to defend the BTC super lightweight championship

Lupita Godinez def. Lindsay Garbatt by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)  – for the BTC strawweight championship

Adam Assenza def. Hamilton Ash by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Matt DiMarcantonio def. Tyler Wilson by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Matt Speciale def. Michal Mokry by TKO (doctor’s stoppage), Round 2, 5:00
Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Christina Ricker by TKO, Round 1, 0:52
Bobby Poulter def. David Tharme by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 2:12
Teshay Gouthro def. Ariel Zuniga by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Cody Kent def. Samuel Giguere by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

The post BTC 8: Eliminator Live Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Saturday night, MMA action returns to the province of Ontario, Canada as BTC 6: Night of Champions will unfold in Burlington, about forty-five minutes south of Toronto. The card is awash with Canadian talent, and a couple of visiting Americans as well. Three title fights top the bill, and in a scrap for the vacant flyweight belt, James Clarke will take on fellow Canuck Dave Henry.

Clarke started his MMA run with a lengthy and successful amateur stint, and after hitting a speed bump early in his pro career, he has turned things around. With first round submission wins in his last two fights, he’s ready for his title shot, and spoke to Cageside Press earlier this week about how he got into the sport, the title fight Saturday, and bringing excitement to the 125lb division.

“I had a bit of a background in wrestling, high school wrestling. So that’s kind of where I got my base from,” Clarke told us about his introduction to mixed martial arts. “I kind of picked jiu-jitsu up right after high school, and went from there.”

He’s six years into his MMA run now, and like many fighters, credits wrestling as his way in. Of course, wrestling doesn’t have the profile in Canada that it does down south. But for Clarke, getting involved in the sport was “just the natural will to fight I guess. Wrestling was the closest thing they offered in high school to that.” Just without the kicks or punches.

He also recognized the fans that do appreciate the sport in Canada. “It’s not quite as big as it is in the States, but the diehard fans are into it the same. The States just has more people, so more fans.”

Clarke, from Lindsay, Ontario, began training with coach Joe Elliot in the town of Bethany. “That’s where Joe’s first gym started actually, it started in a Church.” Within a few months, the operation moved shop to a more permanent location in Lindsay. But Clarke has bounced around over the years, living as far as Winnipeg for a time, before returning home to Lindsay.

“I’ve always liked change,” he said about moving around a lot as a kid. “I’m comfortable where I’m at now though.” Having said that, he’s still racking up the air miles. “I actually went to Thailand the last three years in a row,” Clarke told us.

Saving money working roofing with his father, “I go to Thailand for the whole winter because I get the winter off usually. Not too many people are getting their roof’s done in January and February. So I go down to Tiger Muay Thai. I’ve done that for the last three years, this is the first year I haven’t. But I’ll probably go again next year.”

A positive experience, Clarke also recognized that the trip to Thailand takes some adjustment. “It’s just about being smart. Realizing that there is a culture shock,” he said. Then there’s the strain of travel. “I’ve been pretty content on getting fights as quick as I can as soon as I get back. As close as 11 days actually, out from getting off a plane back from Thailand. Actually in TKO. Let’s just say it didn’t always work to my advantage. No excuses or taking anything away from some of my opponents who beat me.”

There’s no such issues heading into BTC 6, however. Although the fight against Henry didn’t always have such high stakes.

“It wasn’t originally a title fight when it was offered to me,” Clarke revealed. “I said on the mic last time I won at BTC that if they had me back, I wanted to fight for the belt. So I actually just threw it out there when they offered Dave Henry, 4-2. I said ‘well, how bout for a belt?'”

BTC, said Clarke, took the night to think about it. Clarke accepted the fight regardless, but the promotion came back with a positive answer. The title fight was on. “They said they were happy to make it a title fight. I’m humbled and I’m honored that they think I’m good enough, and ready for a belt.”

“It’s been a bit of a long road. I had fifteen amateur MMA fights, went 13-2 actually,” he explained in regards to his journey to this point. “Lost my very first fight, then I won 12 in a row. I was looking to get tested a bit more, so I turned pro, and I definitely [was tested more]. It’s been a bit of a long road just in the pro scene as well. I’ve fought some tough guys, but no excuse, it made me a lot better fighter.”

He also had to clean up his act a little. “I used to smoke cigarettes, I cut that out actually after I got my ass kicked a couple times. I’ve become much more of a professional in my last couple of fights, for sure.”

Clarke has gone the distance twice so far in his pro career, but Saturday will be his first time in a five round fight. “I’m confident that I can go an extra two rounds, championship rounds, for a belt, no problem. I’m not looking to go the whole five rounds, but need be, I’ll do it. I’m ready to give every last thing I got in my body, and some.”

Opponent Dave Henry, he observed, is “a very nice guy actually, he seems to be probably the nicest guy I’ve fought as a pro. But that doesn’t win you fights. He does have a decent record, he’s no joke, on paper.”

Having scouted out his opponent, however, Clarke added that “I believe he’s not on my level.” While “records don’t mean everything,” he continued, “with my amateur career and pro career, I’ve been fighting the toughest guys inside Canada since I started this. And Dave hasn’t, that’s a fact on paper. It’s proven right on Tapology, anybody can go and research this.”

So as Clarke sees it, “he’s the one that’s going to be in there with me, I’m not going be the one in there with him. He’s not on my level, that’s for sure. It’s going to show Saturday night as soon as that bell rings.”

As to how the bout plays out, “we’re going to touch up, because respect is very important in this game. And as confident as I seem, I do respect Dave, because the whole game can change in a matter of a split second. We’ve both watched enough fights that you’re kind of a fool if you don’t realize as well.”

After the show of respect, however, “I’m going to open up with one or two strikes maybe, and then it’s going to go right to the mat.” Clarke has a specific arm-bar he has in mind, and may have an advantage, given his Henry has stated he doesn’t watch tape of his opponents. “I think it’s going to come on in the first thirty seconds, and if he doesn’t tap, I’m going to break his arm in the first minute.”

A quick finish in a title fight would certainly make a statement. The first battle, however, will be weight. Clarke’s walk-around weight “ranges, to be honest. I take it a little more serious now as far as dieting. That is definitely my weakest category in the fight game, is the dieting. I like my pizza.” Having said that, however, “in the last two weeks I always clean things up, I cut the bread out, the carbs and all that,” he added. “And then I just clean the diet up, and I usually get to about 138 to 135. Just over 10lbs usually, it’s not too bad of a cut.”

As an amateur, Clarke admitted he used to be “a lot more ignorant on the dieting part, I wouldn’t even try to diet, I would just cut the water weight. I cut as much as 18lbs actually, then fought four hours later.”

Despite the iffy future at flyweight, with the UFC chopping names left right and center, Clarke doesn’t plan on heading back to 135. His last loss was at bantamweight, and he’s been finding success at 125. “I don’t think that’s in my plans, bantamweight, anytime soon. It’s always nice to go into a fight without a weight cut and stuff, and not have to think about it, but it is almost part of the fight now for me.”

The fight before the fight, Clarke said, as many fighters do. “I would do it maybe down the road, but for the most part, I’m going to tighten things up at flyweight, and build a name again.” Fighting for titles is part of that. “It’s time to let everybody know who I am.”

Besides, he feels there’s still a future for young flyweights in the sport, even with the UFC scaling back and Bellator lacking the division entirely. “I’m not trying to talk too much sh*t, but I am trying to hype the train up. I’m a young fighter, I’m looking to express myself, I’m trying to give the fans something to buy,” Clarke stated. “I know that’s lacked in the UFC, they have cut the flyweights out a tremendous amount. It kills me. But in the same sense, guys like me are going to be the ones who bring [the flyweight division] back, and show everyone that they can be exciting fights. I’m not just talking sh*t, this is me, I want to sell everybody 100% on the Suplex Kid, I’m not looking to fake anything.”

The Suplex Kid will be in action this Saturday, June 1 as James Clarke faces Dave Henry for the vacant BTC flyweight championship. The action goes down at the Central Arena in Burlington, Ontario.

The post BTC 6: James Clarke Believes Fighters Like Himself Can Bring Flyweight Division Back appeared first on Cageside Press.

Mixed martial arts in Ontario has had its struggles since being legalized in 2010. While the UFC rolled into the province in 2011 to much hullabaloo, the sport has yet to reach the levels many expected in Canada’s most populous province. After a strong start, and the launch of the Score Fighting Series out of Hamilton, events in the province dwindled thanks to the high cost of putting on shows in the region. SFS got out of the game. Many pointed the finger at the Ontario Athletic Commission.

BTC, however, is leading a new wave of MMA in Ontario. They’ll host their sixth show this weekend, in Burlington, Ontario. A veteran of the aforementioned Score Fighting Series, lightweight Adam Assenza, will be on the card. He’ll enter the night off a 3-1 run, having suffered the lone defeat in that stretch against former UFC fighter Jason Saggo at BTC 4. It was Saggo’s first fight following his UFC stint, and Assenza definitely learned from the experience, which cost him the promotion’s 155lb crown.

“I got a little bit too relaxed, a little bit too complacent, and he capitalized on a mistake that I had made,” Assenza (9-5) told Cageside Press recently, ahead of BTC 6 on June 1. “So it’s just a quick reminder that it’s MMA, anything can happen. Slip on a banana peel, get caught, get put in a position where you might be at risk, and things happen quickly in this game.”

At BTC 6, Assenza will take on Thomas Webb (15-7), an experienced foe who’s fought for Island Fights, LFA, and Titan FC over the years. “He’s an experienced guy, definitely game. He takes fights on short notice. He either wins them, or he comes with a close decision,” Assenza observed of his opponent.

Yet none of Webb’s attributes are about to change up his own game plan. “My thoughts are the same as any opponent I’m fighting. I don’t care what he’s going to do, I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to figure him out, and when I do, I’m going to drop the hammer quickly.”

Rather than worry about his opponent, Assenza focuses on his own skills. “I feel as though I’m a lot smarter than most people give me credit for,” he said. “I can adapt very quickly, and I’m also really athletic. I try to cover everything at all times.”

Cage control will be key. “At the end of the day, when you’re in the fight, you need to dictate essentially where you want the fight to go.” Expanding on the subject, Assenza added that “the guys that finish fights often, they usually set up those shots. To the untrained eye, people might not pick that up, but there’s certain things you can do to make your opponent go a certain way. I’m very good at that, and I feel like, a lot of guys they don’t get the chance to see all the other tools that I have because my fights end pretty quickly.”

He’s not kidding. Prior to the Saggo loss, Assenza’s three-fight winning streak boasted three first-round finishes. “This is going to be no different. I’m going to go in there just like I always do and do what I do. If it goes a little longer, it goes longer. If it ends quickly, than it’s expected.”

Elaborating on his ability to find finishes in his victories, Assenza also underscored that he doesn’t try to force anything. “I don’t try to do anything with intent when it comes to the fight game. You’ve got to let things happen naturally.”

“When a guy’s in the cage with me, I’m always setting him up, I’m always looking ahead of the game, I’m always moving and doing certain things to elicit a certain response,” he explained. “That’s what ends the game quickly.”

“When it comes to the striking portion, when it comes to the wrestling portion, even the jiu-jitsu portion, you want to do things to make your opponent make the wrong prediction.” The wrong prediction can result in an early end to the night. Which is fine with Assenza, who joked “I’ve got a lot of good looking girls who come watch me fight. I’ve got to get out of there without too much damage, and I’ve got things to do after!”

Like many fighters, Assenza found himself in MMA “kind of by mistake.” In his share of fights as a youngster — “I’m sure a lot of people have that story as well,” he noted — he also had a background in gymnastics.

“I was so used to training 16, 17 hours a week, grueling workouts,” he said of gymnastics. “I had quit for a period of time, and it just felt weak to me. I felt like I needed to do more. I was getting in a lot of trouble.”

That led Assenza to an MMA gym. “I’m not going to say any names, but I remember my first day, I ended up sparring, I don’t know how they let that happen, but I was taking down guys that were in the UFC at the time.”

The success “was just from being super athletic, and being strong, and I guess the gymnast background.”

From there, Assenza had “a bunch of amateur fights,” but even then, he doesn’t consider himself to have been “schooled in the way of martial arts. I didn’t really have much proper striking technique, or wrestling technique, or even jiu-jitsu technique.”

At the time, there was no one who could point Assenza in the right direction as a fighter. “Now I’ve got the skills, I’ve got the game figured out. The last two years, I’ve tightened up my camp and my coaching staff. I’m ready to go.”

Assenza, who was born in and fights out of Burlington in Southern Ontario grew up “half in Burlington and half in Hamilton.” For those not in the know, Hamilton’s a fighting town.

“Hamilton’s a lot rougher than what people actually know. If you’ve grown up in the north end of Hamilton, it’s very comparable to Jane and Finch [one of Toronto’s less illustrious neighborhoods],” Assenza suggested. “People don’t actually believe that statement, but if you’re down there, any night of the week between 10PM and 1AM, you’re going to see some crazy stuff.”

Despite its rough, working class reputation, Hamilton and the surrounding area remains a fixture in Ontario MMA, despite being overlooked by the UFC. David Shaw, UFC Senior VP, International and Content, recently told Cageside Press the promotion would forgo Hamilton in favor of Toronto, given their close proximity (that despite holding shows in both Brooklyn and New York Proper, among other exceptions to this apparent rule).

However, the area was still the home of the Score Fighting Series, and now BTC, which Assenza feels is stepping up to finally fill the void that promotion left.

Assenza’s first four bouts were with SFS. Yet just as he was getting going and reaching where he needed to be, the promotion closed up shop. After that, “there was no real MMA in Ontario for a few years. There was the odd show here or there, but it wasn’t run like The Score was.”

Other promotions were struggling, or downright questionable, “getting approvals for bouts that didn’t make sense.”

“The Score had grown the sport so much, I didn’t think it would actually stagnate for so long. Now with BTC Fights, they seem to be taking the place of The Score and doing things properly, and everything’s run by the athletic commission correctly.” Which is good news for the region, and the sport in Ontario as whole.

Adam Assenza takes on Thomas Webb at BTC 6: Night of Champions on Saturday, June 1 at the Central Arena in Burlington, Ontario.

The post BTC 6’s Adam Assenza Sees Promotion Taking Place of Score Fighting Series appeared first on Cageside Press.

The UFC is coming to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on May 4 in the Canadian Tire Centre arena. Welterweight Nordine Taleb (14-6 MMA, 6-4 UFC) was originally supposed to fight Siyar Bahadurzada on this card. With that said, Siyar would pull out due to an injury. Now with Taleb needing a new opponent, the UFC signed Canada’s own Kyle Prepolec to take the fight.

5’9″
Welterweight
29-years-old
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
Maximum Training Centre
12-5
7 KO/TKO
3 Submissions (Armbar, Rear-Naked Choke, Triangle)

How Does Kyle Prepolec Fare in the UFC:

Looking at his resume, Prepolec is deserving of this opportunity. He’s lost to former Bellator veteran Jason Fischer, a top prospect in Troy Lamson, former UFC fighter Alex Ricci, and current top contender and former title challenger Kevin Lee. His wins are to a good prospect in Adrian Hadribeaj and former UFC fighter Cody Pfister. Prepolec is well-rounded with stoppages from both TKO and submission. The Canadian really doesn’t have any glaring holes as his biggest problem is his tendency to be too conservative. He relies on his opponent to strike so he can counter and for his opponent to shoot so he can reverse. That being the reason he’s gone the distance five times. Prepolec hits hard and has a sneaky good lead head kick but lacks aggressiveness and hardly ever presses the action. His latest fight against Pfister was the best he’s looked in his career. He showed excellent takedown defense, counter-wrestling, and produced more volume. Overall, Prepolec is a good prospect but he is just too passive.

• Striking: C+
• Kickboxing: D
• Clinch: B-
• Wrestling: C+
• Grappling: B
• Striking Defense: B
• Takedown Defense: A-
• Cardio: A
• Biggest Strength: Well-rounded
• Biggest Weakness: Timidity

How he Matches Up with Nordine Taleb:

Taleb has fought in the UFC for about five years with 10 fights. Taleb at times can be too patient as well, like Prepolec, so this fight could very well be a chess match. Taleb fights at a steady pace with improving striking and mixing in takedowns. They both lack the killer instinct but are well-rounded. It’s a hard fight to predict cause both are too similar. I would lean Taleb cause he’s fought the much better competition and he just tends to do a bit more.

The post Welcome to the UFC: Kyle Prepolec appeared first on Cageside Press.