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 By late 2014, combat sports fans already wished for a return of one of Montreal’s most venerable MMA organizations, Ontario Fight Club. In 2015, they pulled out the faint-hope clause, letting unsubstantiated rumours run rampant amongst the community… only to be let down repeatedly by ownership’s steadfast refusal to reopen their decorated doors. Not to be deterred, throughout 2016 those same fans prayed, some fervently, that King Justus would once again reach for the crown as this city’s most recognizable org owner and too often in the past, the only one actually based here...
Well lo and behold, those prayers have been answered, as OFC is once again a viable local entity and will eventually be a force on the global MMA scene. Rebranded with original event posters, write-ups, regular fight offers, private gym invite (pm Cause) and a welcoming, reliable environment to grow your fighter’s career, it’s the perfect place to call home.
If the news could stir your verbose reporter out of his multi-year write up slumber, you KNOW it’s a big thing. For those unfamiliar with my lengthy tenure here, I cut my teeth running an org when biholm tarsun left me in charge of Art of Combat until he went inactive. A year or two later, Johnny Lightening and I started Aggressive Damage from scratch and built it into a top 10 org worldwide for a healthy stretch, before real life drew us away from the action here to the point that it made sense to sell. With OFC's focus at the outset being on developing new talents while some over the hill names put duffs in the seats, no one's banking on becoming an overnight sensation here. With a solid commitment from management and managers however, that’s bound to change soon; together we commence operation upwards trajectory!
On a personal note, the greatest fighter I ever managed, Rodney Ang, had some of his biggest moments under the OFC banner and will likely hold onto some of his org records during the ballyhooed reboot. My dealings with KJ during that span were always positive; he obviously knew this was just a game and wanted the best for those playing it. In a nutshell, of the 200+ org owners I've dealt with here, he's at the top of my list. Between the two of us, you can feel safe knowing there’s a couple of well meaning, veteran managers on board who have seen it all by now and aren’t in it for the money but rather, the growth of a fun game (when it’s not being infuriating).
To that end, we bring you, OFC 239: Reborn (odds courtesy OFC Official Bets)
170 lb Title (-147) “the Modernday Messiah” Malcolm Mitchell 23-14 vs (+111) Orpo Jokinen 26-18
Big opportunity for the seemingly skilled Jokinen to make a leap up the popularity ladder right out of the gate at the expense of the higher ranked Mitchell, who’s been known to give bang for the buck. On the surface this appears to be a classic brawler vs grappler bout but when you take a peek at Jokinen’s rap sheet, you’ll see he has been as comfortable on the feet as he is hitting the mat lately. Which would lend one to believe the Finn's got the better chance of winning this marquee match-up but a red flag may be how many times he’s been let go by previous managers- rarely a sign of killer hidden abilities. Not that the self-proclaimed Messiah’s come across like an All-World beater but he has won titles in other respectable orgs while Orpo’s only earned a couple sniffs of contention in between his stints on the waiver wire. All this leads me to believe he’ll need to take Mitchell down and keep him there if he’s going to win Wednesday night, while fishing for submissions and avoiding reversals. Should be an intriguing headliner to close out the second coming of Ontario Fight Club.
265 lbs (+111) Cam “SuperMan” Newton (14-7) vs (-147) Wabricio Ferdum (13-9)
I’ve always been a straight shooter when it comes to previews so why reword what I just wrote when “ditto” will do? Another close looking contest on paper, with Newton being a more powerful version of Mitchell while the cleverly named Ferdum, like Jokinen, has some crafty submission skills in his tool box and the confidence to stand and trade. Unfortunately for him, he’s been losing a lot of those battles of late (though against some stellar competition) and turned a sterling record into a somewhat dubious one. With 12 KO’s in his 14 wins, an evil glare from Newton will rock you but he’s obviously got a couple holes in his game that Ferdum will be looking to exploit. Both fights look like pick ‘ems to these eyes, can’t ask for much more from a co-Main in our re-coming out party. Hey, that ended up being a heck of a lot more than a ditto!
185 lbs (-147) Finkle John (9-2) vs (+111) AC Slater (8-3)
Funny, I grew up with a guy named John Finkle. Wow, what a great piece of match making here, as these two seem like identical twins, if you don’t look at their avatars. Besides the similar primary skills, both have 8 KO’s to their credit but can take a shot, too, so this one may not be over as quickly as some stat lovers may think. But I do see it being over before the final bell rings, with the only apparent edge going to Slater's extra training time from creation. Finky's previous opponents appear to be slightly tougher though, making this three pick ‘ems for me, maybe the second time I’ve seen that at the top of a tycoon event.
Speaking of time, it’s up but I’ve had a fun run using my keyboard again and hope you all enjoyed the ride, as well. Once the org’s grown to the point of putting on five meaningful fights per card, I’ll expand previews from the current top three. To get there, you gotta go for it when setting sliders; playing it safe may win the battle but you lose the fan war when not scoring the KO or securing a tap out. I’m not suggesting you newer managers go ballistic with 90% aggression but if you don’t push the limits (relative to his talents), you’ll never know how far he can go. Much like real life, folks hold those who go out on your shield in high regard.
Don’t forget yet another reason to bang with us, you can put game cash down on the entire card as well as a number of those pending at OFC Official Bets:
http://mmatycoon.com/bookmakerpublic.php?bid=8406
Lastly, most of you wouldn’t know but outside my gig as a warehouse reach truck stud, I’ve been producing music for the past 15 years, some of which you can hear in my playlist here:
https://soundcloud.com/spinmanfinn/sets/finntroductory-offer
Look for any recaps to come your way in future from King Justus, as he’ll be doing his best to keep everyone up on what went down. With all the attention needed to fill out the plethora of fight cards headed your way, we’ll cut him some slack if the write-up comes late or not at all.
Take care until next time and make sure your fighter’s eat their Wheaties!
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