My brother recently made his Professional MMA debut in front of a sold out Corral Center in Calgary. As a two time national champion in Olympic Freestyle Wrestling, National Greco Roman Gold Medalist, and OFSAA Freestyle Wrestling champion, a transition into MMA seemed inevitable, but at the young age of 18. Mike has never been a violent person, I can remember just one fight outside of the gym, and he didnt pick it, although he certainly won it. Mike is just a competitor, and after succeeding in wrestling and being a true fan of mixed martial arts, he decided to give it a try. He has been coaching others with their wrestling, and before training had begun, with his wrestling credentials, he was offered a fight with Hardcore Championship Fighting, an up and coming Canadian MMA promotion, signed to fighters like Renato 'Babalu' Sobral, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, David Loiseau and Aleksander Emelianenko. Mike's first fight was against a 24 year old kickboxer named Tim Smith. The following is a highlight video from the fight
Mike lost this fight by Split Decision. His wrestling dictated the fight, but his inexperience left him not knowing what to do once he got the takedown, as Tim worked actively from the bottom with punches and submission attempts, earning himself a victory. Mike was dissapointed with the decision, as were many of the fans, however, he has since joined a gym to train in MMA, for his upcoming fight ... May 10 in Calgary for Hardcore Championship Fighting. The promotion was very pleased my Mike's performance, but ACL surgery has kept him from fighting sooner. Hope you enjoyed!