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 The Hard Knocks Arena in Montreal. The Unofficial home of the OFC. Over the years, we've put on one memorable and historical event after another there. February 2017 sees the OFC visit the arena 8 times, with no other organization showcasing even a single show on the grounds. What can I say, sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name. With two title fights on the card, not only did the fans know our name, they shouted it at the top of their lungs throughout the night, it was total mayhem. Speaking of which, our merch partner MayheM sportswear in Las Vegas has got some sweet new OFC gear now available for your fighters for only $100 bucks a pop! That ShamWow guy's got nothing on me but we got some fights to get to. So...Without further ado, let's run it all back with a Full Review!
How can we not start with our main event. There was a lot of hype behind this one, probably why this show became the 5th Highest Rated Event in OFC History! The friendly neighbourhood fighter and OFC Middleweight Champion Peter Parker took on the acclaimed grappler and controversial political figure Kim Il Sung, and yes, Team America World Police were awaiting on standby...Eff yeah! Sung's gameplan of getting the fight to the floor seemed obvious from the get-go, even to Parker who spent a lot of time training takedown defense in the lead-up to this fight. The 1st round saw Sung get a takedown early after being peppered with some shots and attempt 6 submissions, none looking like any real danger to Parker. You could see the frustration on Sung's face for the remainder of the round as he lost ground control, could be compared to lathering your hands in butter and trying to open a jar of pickles, the facial expressions in both scenarios are eerily reminiscent of each other. The 2nd round seemed to have a similar layout as the 1st, except this time when Sung got the fight to the floor he was this close to becoming the new Champion after a slick armbar attempt, and when I say this close I just put my fingers up in the air and pretended to squish heads like Dr.Evil but anyways, I digress...
Heading in to the 3rd round, unless Sung could snatch an arm, it was looking like Parker would Tom Cruise his way to a Victory. Unlike the first two rounds, Parker brought the fight to the clinch and began to work the body trying to wear down his opponent. After rocking Sung with a lovely overhand right, the entire arena erupted knowing the end was near and we're talking Biblical proportions type of ending. Parker dropped Sung with a big right hand and as soon as he got up, Parker hit him with the exact same punch sending him stumbling back, can't wait to see the gif comparisons of the two identical punches! BRB, Checking Twitter now...Sung proceeded to fall to his knees where the ref was forced to step in after a few more aftershocks hit. Parker is now the reigning DEFENDING OFC Middleweight Champion who will be watching OFC 258 closely as Rupert Blasts takes on Travis Herald in a clear #1 Contender fight. Ticket sale times will be announced shortly, make sure to use the presale code: MayheM for premium seating and discount rates!
On to our Co-Main Event of the evening where the Light Heavyweight title was on the line, as Champion Greg Coleman took on Submission Specialist Shape Shifter. And when I say specialist, I mean it in every sense of the word. Coming in to the fight with 14 career Sub wins and 3 straight, Shifter's strategy leaked the moment this fight was announced. Coleman has found a lot of success in the standup department as of late so it was interesting to see how he would react to a fighter of this certainly advanced expertise. That wonder didn't last long however, as Shifter repeatedly moved the fight to the clinch and brought Coleman to the floor. After more submission attempts than a dominatrix, Shifter finally caught him in a triangle and forced the tap. You know what they say, 12th time's a charm! Shifter becomes the new OFC Light Heavyweight Champion yet celebrations will have to be brief as his next challenger has already been chosen in Fight of the Night award winner; Zoey Malone Jr. Negotiations are currently taking place for the fight to be finalized but early reports are inducting it will happen at OFC 262: Down Under when we make our way to Sydney, Australia for the 1st time ever!
The next fight I wanted to highlight was just as important with some major title implications involved. This time with the big boys, as heavyweights Oleksandr Usyk and Sven Hensen went at it. Recently crowned Champion Bin had a front row seat for this spectacle and you could tell he was eager to find out who he'll be meeting in the cage next as the winner will attempt to dethrone him. The fight started out with Hensen throwing some kicks trying to measure the distance. Usyk cut him open with a counter and as soon as he saw blood, Hensen was like nope and brought the fight to the floor. After a quick scramble, we were back to where we started which wasn't good for Hensen. He then walked straight in to a right hand from Usyk that dropped him and immediately moved to mount. Where we were then treated to the real life adaption of the whack-a-mole which would commonly be found in your classic 90's arcade, Hollywood is really running out of ideas. As soon as Usyk's hands were raised in victory, Bin stepped in to the cage and we got a face off that could rival John Travolta and Nicolas Cage.
Our last performance bonus for Knockout of the Night went to Heavyweight Georges "Big G" Laraque for his utter destruction of youngin' Jean Gagnon. This one only lasted 20 seconds and for Gagnon's sake that's probably a good thing. He tried score with a jab and cross combination in the opening seconds but was dropped off a crisp one-two counter from Laraque. He thought about following him to the mat but waved Gagnon back to his feet where he hit him with a Left Hook and Right Straight which stumbled him back...then Laraque ran in like what the kids would call a savage and clocked him wit an uppercut to end things. This one was hard to watch, even the commentary team were pondering if Gagnon would ever be the same, I felt like a neighbour closing the blinds and pretending not to be a home after witnessing a domestic abuse from across the street. Now with a record of 9-2-0, you would have to think a step up in competition is in order for Laraque, time will tell who he squares off with next.
And that about wraps it up for this review, congrats to all of OFC 256's winners! Yet another great show in the books, but we ain't done yet. Later tomorrow/today/tonight depending on when you read this, we are coming right back with OFC: Blood Night XXXIII headlined by Light Heavyweights; Shuya Nanahara and Ernst Young! Hope everyone has an awesome Sunday as it's sure to be action packed with the Superbowl happening and some SuperBrawls going down right here in the OFC! As always, if you ever need a contract for your fighters, just shoot me a message and don't forget to shop at MayheM sportswear...or else! Oh, and before I forget, renegotiation contracts are being sent out for a lot of fighters as we speak, if you ever want to try your luck at another division, just let me know! Well, I believe that's all for now, so enjoy the rest of your weekend guys and I'll catch ya on the flip side!
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