Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Mixed martial arts promotion |
Founded | 2001 |
Founder | Mark Pavelich |
Defunct | 2014 |
Headquarters | , Canada |
Key people | Mark Pavelich (CEO) Dave Pavelich (Vice-President) |
Parent | Pavelich Sports Inc. |
Website | http://www.maximumfighting.com |
Maximum Fighting Championship was a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. MFC events were broadcast on The Fight Network, AXS TV (formerly HDnet) in North America and most recently TSN2.
MFC’s former home, in Canada, is the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta, located just outside Edmonton, Alberta, but has also held events at the Edmonton Expo Centre. [2]
Maximum Fighting Championship was founded on March 3, 2001, by Pavelich Sports Inc. Mark Pavelich is the CEO of MFC and runs the business day to day. Dave Pavelich is Vice President and Manon Pavelich is the booker.
MFC currently airs on AXS TV Fights in the U.S. and The Fight Network in Canada. MFC’s former home was the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta, Canada located just outside Edmonton, Alberta. Their new home is the Mayfield Inn Trade and Conference Centre Edmonton, Alberta. In July 2011, MFC signed a five-year live TV deal with HDnet (now AXS TV) and in October 2011, MFC signed with TSN2.
MFC hosts heavyweight fights but doesn't have a heavyweight championship due to the lack of heavyweights outside of the top promotions.
MFC employs the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. All MFC bouts take place in a ring, with the exception of MFC 29 which, in accordance with the regulations utilized in Ontario which requires all mixed martial arts fights to be held in a cage structure, took place in a circular cage named "The Ring" by the winner of a "Name the Cage" fan contest. [3]
In 2012, MFC announced the re-launched its heavyweight division and the upcoming debut of a featherweight division. In 2013, the Maximum Fighting Championship also announced that the organization would add a bantamweight with the debut bout taking place on May 19, 2013, at MFC 37: True Grit.
MFC has not held an event since MFC 41 'All In" on October 3, 2014.
Mark Pavelich announced that Maximum Fighting Championship was up for sale on February 18, 2016. [4]
MFC has featured notable fighters, such as Ryan Jimmo, Graham Spencer, Tom Watson and Douglas Lima, plus MMA veterans, such as Jason MacDonald, Thales Leites, Jay Silva, Trevor Prangley, and Paul Daley. [5]
MFC employs the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts.
Every round in MFC competition is five minutes in duration. Title matches have five such rounds, and non-title matches have three. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds. [6]
MFC currently uses six weight classes: [6]
Weight class name | Upper limit | |
---|---|---|
in pounds (lb) | in kilograms (kg) | |
Bantamweight | 135 | 61 |
Featherweight | 145 | 66 |
Lightweight | 155 | 70 |
Welterweight | 170 | 77 |
Middleweight | 185 | 84 |
Light Heavyweight | 205 | 93 |
Heavyweight | 265 | 120 |
Super Heavyweight | No weight limit |
All competitors must fight in approved shorts, without shoes. Shirts, gis or long pants (including gi pants) are not allowed. Fighters must use approved light-weight open-fingered gloves, that include at least 1" of padding around the knuckles, (110 to 170 g / 4 to 6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. These gloves enable fighters to punch with less risk of an injured or broken hand, while retaining the ability to grab and grapple.
Matches usually end via:
Note: In the event of a draw, it is not necessary that the fighters' total points be equal. However, in a unanimous or split draw, each fighter does score an equal number of win judgments from the three judges (0 or 1, respectively).
A fight can also end in a technical decision, disqualification, forfeit, technical draw, or no contest. The latter two outcomes have no winners.
The ten-point must system is in effect for all fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or fewer. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points.
The Nevada State Athletic Commission currently lists the following as fouls: [6] [7]
When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.
On September 18, 2012 MFC instituted new regulations regarding title fights. [8]
Title Fight with a reigning/defending champion
Title Fight with a vacant championship
As of October 3, 2014, the Maximum Fighting Championship has held a total of 44 events, all of which have taken place in Alberta, Canada, with the exception of MFC 29 which took place in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title Defenses | Next fight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) | Vacant | |||
Light Heavyweight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) | Vacant | |||
Middleweight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) | Vacant | |||
Welterweight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) | Vacant | |||
Lightweight | 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) | Tom Gallicchio | May 9, 2014 | 0 | |
Featherweight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) | Vacant | |||
Bantamweight | 135 lb (61 kg; 9.6 st) | Vacant |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Anthony Hamilton def. Smealinho Rama | MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | October 4, 2013 | 1. def. Darrill Schoonover at MFC 39: No Remorse on Jan. 17, 2014 |
Hamilton vacated the title when he left MFC for the UFC. |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Victor Välimäki def. Jason Day | MFC 10: Unfinished Business Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | September 8, 2006 | 1. def. Jared Kilkenny at MFC 11: Gridiron on Feb 3, 2007 |
2 | Roger Hollett | MFC 13: Lucky 13 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | August 24, 2007 | |
3 | Emanuel Newton | MFC 19: Long Time Coming Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | December 5, 2008 | |
4 | Trevor Prangley | MFC 21: Hard Knocks Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | May 15, 2009 | |
Trevor Prangley was stripped of the title and released from MFC on October 25, 2009. [9] | ||||
5 | Ryan Jimmo def. Dwayne Lewis | MFC 28: Supemacy Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | February 25, 2011 | 1. def. Zak Cummings at MFC 29: Conquer on Apr 8, 2011 |
Jimmo vacated the title on November 29, 2011 when he left MFC for the UFC. [10] |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Patrick Côté def. Jason MacDonald | MFC 9: No Excuses Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | March 10, 2006 [11] | |
Côté is stripped of the title. | ||||
2 | Elvis Mutapčić def. Joseph Henle | MFC 35: Explosive Encounter Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | October 26, 2012 | 1. def. Sam Alvey at MFC 36: Reality Check on Feb. 15, 2013 |
Mutapčić vacated the title when he signed with World Series of Fighting. | ||||
3 | Sam Alvey def. Jason South | MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | October 4, 2013 | 1. def. Wes Swofford at MFC 40: Crowned Kings on May 9, 2014 |
Alvey vacated the title when he left MFC for the UFC. |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pat Healy def. Ryan Ford | MFC 17: Hostile Takeover Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | July 25, 2008 | 1. def. Ryan Ford at MFC 20: Destined for Greatness on Feb 20, 2009 |
Healy vacated the title when he left MFC for Strikeforce. | ||||
2 | Douglas Lima def. Jesse Juarez | MFC 27: Breaking Point Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | November 12, 2010 | 1. def. Terry Martin at MFC 29: Conquer on Apr 8, 2011 |
Lima vacated the title on May 9, 2011 when he left MFC for Bellator. [12] | ||||
3 | Nathan Coy def. Ryan McGillivray | MFC 33: Collision Course Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | May 4, 2012 | |
Coy vacated the title when he left MFC for Bellator. |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Antonio McKee def. Derrick Noble | MFC 20: Destined for Greatness Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | February 20, 2009 | 1. def. Luciano Azevedo at MFC 26: Retribution on Sep 10, 2010 |
On April 26, 2011, MFC announced that McKee had agreed to "mutually vacate" the title, a statement McKee denied. [13] | ||||
On July 1, 2011, MFC announced that McKee had reached a new deal with the promotion, and was reinstated as champion. [14] | ||||
McKee is stripped of the title on January 26, 2012 when he failed to make weight for his MFC 32 title defense. [15] | ||||
2 | Graham Spencer def. Mukai Maromo | MFC 36: Reality Check Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | February 15, 2013 | |
Spencer vacated the title on November 28, 2013 due to lingering injuries. He plans to drop to the featherweight division when he returns in 2014. [16] | ||||
3 | Tom Gallicchio def. Kurt Southern | MFC 40: Crowned Kings Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | May 9, 2014 |
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Anthony Birchak def. Tito Jones | MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | October 4, 2013 | |
Birchak was stripped of the title and released from the organization on Aug. 7, 2014 when it was confirmed he would no longer be able to cross the Canada–US border for fights. [17] |
Country | Champions |
---|---|
United States | 9 |
Canada | 4 |
Brazil | 1 |
South Africa | 1 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1 |
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