That fight saw champ Shane Campbell, a veteran of nearly 30 fights, putting his belt on the line against American Darren Smith Jr., an equally experienced foe most recently seen competing under the LFA banner.

Plenty of Canadian talent filled out the Unified MMA 48 card, including BTC champ “Handsome” Scott Hudson, undefeated since 2018, and Niagara Top Team member Teshay Gouthro.

Hudson, winner of six straight bouts, was set to take on American Austin “The Flash” Tweedy in the evening’s co-main event. Tweedy was looking to bounce back from a loss to Chris Brown in WXC.

Unified MMA takes place Friday, December 16, 2022 at Arrow Hall at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. The event airs live on UFC Fight Pass, with the action kicking off at 8:30PM ET.

Unified MMA 48: Campbell vs. Smith Results

Shane Campbell (c) def. Darren Smith Jr. by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 4, 2:15 – for the Unified MMA super lightweight championship
Scott Hudson def. Austin Tweedy by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Pat Pytlik def. Mike Hill by TKO (strikes), Round 1, 2:48
Jesse Stirn def. Vladimir Kazbekov by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Louis Jourdain def. Gabe Sagman by TKO (ref stoppage), Round 2, 5:00
Ergys Sigeta def. Kacey Raddon by technical submission (arm-triangle choke), Round 2, 1:57
Teshay Gouthro def. Morgan Rhynes by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Bilal Nasari def. Patrick Conners by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28).
Mohamed Ado def. Mat Speciale by KO (head kick), Round 2, 1:58
Amin Almelik def. Kristian Bouchard by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27).

The post Unified MMA 48: Campbell vs. Smith Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Aside from the timing, XFC looked to do something different by being a publicly traded company, awarding shares to the fighters involved. They also were jumping on the tournament bandwagon, joining the likes of Bellator and the PFL as recent returnees to the format (not a surprise, as the XFC of old also featured the tournament format).

For Wednesday’s XFC 43, which aired on NBC Sports Network, the promotion had collected a pretty solid cast of former UFC fighters and regional prospects. Among them, Andre Soukhamthat, a CES champion and former UFC fighter who headlined the card against Brazil’s Guilherme Faria. Also in action, Jessica Aguilar, the ex-WSOF strawweight champ and UFC fighter once considered the best 115lb’er on the planet. She faced off with Danielle Taylor, another UFC alum.

Kurt Holobaugh was entered in the lightweight tournament, while Bobby Nash was set for a welterweight tournament bout. Canadian prospect and BTC welterweight champ Scott Hudson, meanwhile, was moving down to lightweight for a tournament bout of his own.

Check below for full results from XFC 43. And be sure to check out our interview with Tom O’Connor, who joins the lightweight tournament at the event.

XFC 43 Results

Main Card

Andre Soukhamthath def. Guilherme Faria by split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
Danielle Taylor  def. Jessica Aguilar by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Kenny Cross def. Jarel Askew by TKO, Round 2, 3:00  – Lightweight tournament opening round
Kurt Holobaugh def. Joziro Boye by knockout (knees), Round 1, 0:26 – Lightweight tournament opening round
Austin Bashi def. Enzo Perez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

Preliminary Card

Scott Hudson def. D’Juan Owens by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – Lightweight tournament opening round
Carson Hardman  def. Steven Newell by TKO, Round 1, 2:12 – Welterweight tournament opening round
Bobby Nash  def. Spencer Jebb by TKO, Round 1, 3:36 – Welterweight tournament opening round
Tom O’Connor def. Jose Caceres by TKO, Round 3, 2:00 – Lightweight tournament opening round
LaRue Burley def. Alex Sanchez by submission (guillotine choke), Round 3, 4:21
Ryan Dickson def. Mike Hill by submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Round 1, 0:54 – Welterweight tournament opening round
Luis Navarro def. Nick Horton by TKO (ground and pound), Round 1, 4:32

The post XFC 43: Soukhamthath vs. Faria Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Scott Hudson (Fighter of the Year and Fighter of the Decade)

2019 Run: “It was a f*cking crazy year, man. I had a really good year professionally where I was super successful in the cage. My father passed away, I lost my grandmother as well, I got married. So there was literally like the highest highs and the lowest lows. All in all, it was a really fantastic year. You take the good with the bad, right? That’s life but its definitely one for the books. I’ll never forget 2019.”

2020 Plans: “My original plan was to kind of wait and see how the schedule unfolded for the UFC. They’re usually pretty good on being out in advance with that. But they’re kind of booked through April and there’s no Canadian dates booked yet. Which is not ideal for someone in my position. That’s kind of why I decided to sit out in Kitchener. That I would sort of wait it out for a bigger fight. There’s nothing necessarily really positive on the horizon. So I’m kind of regretting that decision a little bit. It will work out either way but I kind of want to stretch the legs a little bit.”

2020 Plans cont: “I’m trying to make a smart move but really I want to fight as much as I can so that may change. If something comes up and there’s an opportunity to fight either on the Kitchener card or something soon after then I might just jump on that. I want to stay busy, I’m training every day I’m in good shape. So let’s do it.”

Bellator vs. UFC

“If somebody came from Bellator it would have to be pretty sweet to pull me away from what I ultimately really want. And that’s essentially the only other option. I feel like I’ve kind of tapped myself out regionally. If there was an opportunity to travel and get some international fights against some intriguing opponents than yeah. But I want to fight against the best fighters in the world and I think that’s in the UFC. I don’t really think there’s anything else left for me. I can go and keep doing what I’m doing for sure but I really want to test myself against the best in the world.”

Scott Hudson on The Ontario MMA scene being revitalized: “There’s a lot more events now. There’s some competition as well. PFC that’s doing really good things and they’re bringing up really talented fighters. There’s lots of good fighters that are, in Ontario that can compete. For some of the higher-end guys in both promotions, they’re having to pull guys from the states and Brazil and all this other stuff. Just to get higher-end talent to fight the top guys. I mean it’s healthy. The province is a lot more open for business.”

Handsome Scott Hudson

The Ontario MMA scene being revitalized cont: “The changes to the athletic commission have been a lot more fighter-centric and promoter friendly….If you paid attention to the scene five years ago, it always seemed like the province was doing us a favor. Letting promoters hold events and trying to run a business. It was kind of a weird, weird vibe. That’s done now. It’s over. We’re here. It’s good. We don’t have to keep having these conversations about MMA being back in Ontario. It’s back, it’s here to stay, and that’s the way it is now.”

Scott Hudson’s parting thoughts: “I’m just going to look to have a good time. Hopefully, bring home some hardware tonight. Hopefully, you’ll be hearing some fight news from me real soon.”

The post BTC Champ Scott Hudson on Fighter of the Year Win, 2020 Plans appeared first on Cageside Press.

Niagara Falls, ON — Next stop, UFC? That’s the goal for decorated Canadian mixed martial artist ‘Handsome’ Scott Hudson following BTC 8.

Looking a little less handsome after a tough defense of his super lightweight title against Jarel Askew, Hudson (11-5-1) improved his current win streak to four. His only loss since 2016 came to Kyle Prepolec, currently plying his trade in the octagon.

Speaking to Cageside Press after the bout, Hudson, who entered the fight under the weather, reflected on his BTC 8 victory, and addressed what’s to come.

“I thought that it was leaning in the direction I wanted it to go. I knew that I wanted to lean on him early and try to get him a little bit tired so I didn’t have to kickbox with him for that long,” said Hudson, following the bout at the Scotiabank Convention Center in Niagara Falls, Ontario. “Not that it’s a threat, but he’s pretty explosive, he’s really really long. And even in this fight, I felt he was landing from quite a ways away. He’s got a long reach.”

Hudson’s wrestling made all the difference in the bout. That’s something, Hudson added, that he always works on, referring to it as “one of my most valuable attributes.” And in the end, he suggested, “it’s just not going to take me very long to find the path of least resistance.”

On Saturday, that was on the ground, with Askew stacked up in awkward, uncomfortable positions. But is it enough to punch Hudson’s ticket to the UFC?

“I think it should be. I think I deserve to be there,” the BTC super lightweight champion responded. “I’m not getting any younger. All I want is the chance to compete against the best. I’m not making any other bold predictions for myself and my career. I just want my shot to be amongst the best in the world. I feel like I’m there now, I feel like I deserve to compete there.”

Asked whether he’d be open to appearing on Dana White’s Contender Series, Hudson replied that “it doesn’t really matter.”

“I don’t really feel like I’m a contender,” he admitted, “in the sense that I’m a veteran, I’ve been around. I’ve fought literally all over the world, I’ve fought guys with substantially better records than tend to be on that show.”

“I think that there’s a good chance that, if they give me a Contender Series fight, that would be a step down.”

That said, Hudson’s open to any and all ways to make it into the UFC, including the show, and a short notice bout.

For more from Scott Hudson, check out our full BTC 8 post-fight chat above!

The post After BTC 8 Victory, Scott Hudson Is Looking to Make UFC His Next Stop appeared first on Cageside Press.

Burlington, ON — First of all, let’s not overlook the importance of Saturday night’s BTC 6 win for Scott Hudson. Catching Dawond Pickney in a guillotine in the second round, Hudson (9-4-1) not only scored the submission win, but earned the BTC super lightweight title in the process. So while Hudson was keen on putting his name out there for a potential UFC call up, there’s still plenty to be said about his performance.

Pickney came out swinging, that much is certain. Hudson had him in a guillotine in the first. In the second, however, there was no escape. Though you never really know until it’s over, Hudson told Cageside Press following the bout.

“If I can get a really tight bite on that guillotine, there’s almost no effort in my arms. And I didn’t feel it in that first one,” he admitted. “But once I had it sunken in in the second round, I was relatively confident. I wasn’t 100%. Sometimes you see these chokes in and you’re like, ‘got it!’ This one, it was a little dicey, but I was happy.”

Happy he should be, as the win earned him gold at 165lbs. Keep that in mind for later, because it’s a division the UFC doesn’t have. Dana White, in fact, has been firm on keeping it out of the promotion.

Back to Saturday night at BTC 6, however. Hudson might be his own worst critic, as he expressed some issues with his own game. “I was — especially with a power puncher like Dawond — coming in and out of range can get a little bit dicey for me,” he explained. “I’m confident in my boxing, but forcing that grey area between where I like to stay long in my kickboxing range, and then getting into my clinch where I do really good work I feel like as well, I feel like that’s something that needs to be worked on quite a bit.”

He’ll have some time to work on that, at least. Hudson plans on taking time off, and for good reason. He’s getting married later this summer. Only one thing would lure him back into the cage before that: a call from the UFC. In particular, Hudson would like on the UFC 240 card in Edmonton.

“Absolutely,” he said when asked about stepping in as a short-notice replacement. “Welterweight, lightweight, I’m going to have my eye on all those cards, and as soon as somebody drops out, I’m going to be knocking on that door. If I gotta say it every single day until that day comes, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Sean Shelby, take notice. And though willing to go either the 170lb or 155lb route, Hudson is yet another fighter who wants to see the 165lb weight class spread. “Oh yeah. It’s so much better.” In his case, said Hudson, “I’m frankly like too small for the higher level welterweights, but the cut to 55 – I can do it, I’ve done in the past multiple times, but it’s very difficult. As I’m getting older, I’m carrying a little bit more muscle mass, and it’s just harder to get down every single time. Every single time it gets harder.”

In the meantime, ‘Handsome’ Scott Hudson has a fine looking belt (and trophy) to put on display. If the UFC doesn’t come calling sooner, he’ll likely be back sometime in the fall.

The post BTC 6: New Champ Scott Hudson Looking for UFC Opportunity, Happy to Step Up Short Notice appeared first on Cageside Press.