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Johnson vs. Romero confirmed for The Score Fighting Series
-Three new fights confirmed for Hamilton, Ontario on Friday, November 23rd
– Josh Hill forced to withdraw from Rebello fight due to injury
– Main card televised live on The Score Television Network and AXS TV
Press Release – TORONTO, November 7th, 2012 – Two familiar faces from The Score Fighting Series (SFS) are set to renew acquaintances on Friday, November 23rd in Hamilton, Ontario. Top ranked Canadian featherweights Tristan Johnson and Will Romero have agreed to a highly-anticipated rematch which will be aired live as part of the main card on The Score Television Network in Canada and on AXS TV in the U.S.
Meanwhile, undefeated bantamweight prospect Josh Hill has been forced to pull-out of his match-up with WEC veteran Rafael Rebello due to an ankle injury sustained in training. The injury will prevent Hill from working-out for about four weeks with a return to the SFS cage planned for early in the new year.
Two preliminary bouts have also been added to the card including a middleweight affair between Elias “The Spartan” Theodorou and Ali “The Monster” Mokdad along with a lightweight match-up between Rory McDonell and Dave Pariseau.
Johnson (7-3), from Jordantown, Nova Scotia, defeated Romero via unanimous decision in the first official SFS event in June 2011. The fight was a spirited affair with some calling it Romero’s way. More recently, both men have enjoyed success with Romero on a three-fight win streak including a brutal KO of Stephane Bernadel. Johnson also scored a high profile stoppage win over Lyndon Whitlock, but more recently suffered a TKO defeat to fast rising featherweight Rick Glenn in August.
As far as Johnson is concerned, the Glenn fight is ancient history and he has his sights squarely set on Romero. He currently trains out of Fit Plus MMA under coach Scott MacLean and alongside current UFC lightweight standout T.J. Grant. MacLean’s thoughts on the upcoming tilt were very straight forward.
“We never thought Romero deserved a rematch after the first fight,” he said. “Tristan is going to make a statement on November 23rd. Romero will never make the mistake of asking for this match-up again.”
Romero (9-3) will have the hometown crowd beind him having developed his lethal Muay Thai skills at Kru Alin Halmagean’s “House of Champions” just outside of Hamilton. He has been training for the past six months at Montreal’s Tristar Gym which has added significantly to his confidence heading into this fight.
“I’m very excited about my SFS rematch with Tristan Johnson,” he said. “The outcome will not only assure me that I’m the better fighter but make up for the first match that was mine as well. He WILL sleep this time. It won’t be left in the judges’ hands!”
Theodorou (5-0) will be looking to add Mokdad to his list of victims and keep his undefeated streak alive. The two share a common opponent in Simon Marini who “The Spartan” prevailed over via decision at the SFS August event. Mokdad (6-2) trains out of the Maximum Training Centre in Windsor, Ontario and is also coming off a decision victory over Marini in October at Bellator 76. Fans can expect “The Monster” to press the action with only one of his victories to-date going the distance (4 SUBs, 1 T/KO).
The Hamilton crowd will undoubtedly be behind Rory McDonell (5-6) from nearby Oakville, Ontario as he looks to snap a two-fight losing streak versus Dave Pariseau (8-7), from Victoriaville, Quebec. The match is billed as a high level striker in Pariseau versus the masterful groundwork of McDonell.
The current card is:
Main card
Jordan Mein vs. Forrest Petz
Jesse Ronson vs. Ryan Healy
Will Romero vs. Tristan Johnson
Alex Ricci vs. Kevin Morin
Jason Saggo vs. Iraj Hadin
Ryan Dickson vs. Brandt Dewsbery
Preliminary card
Elias Theodorou vs. Ali Mokdad
Rory McDonell vs. Dave Pariseau
Adam Assenza vs. Tommy Cote
Paul Jalbert vs. TBC
Ahmad Kakar vs. TBC
Tommy McAvoy vs. TBC
The main card at Hamilton Place Theatre will be televised live beginning at 10:00pm EST. Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased through Ticketmaster.ca.
About The Score Fighting Series
The Score Fighting Series (SFS) is a mixed martial arts promotion operated by Score Fighting Inc. The Series features seasoned veterans and the sport’s best young fighters with a focus on creating the most exciting fights possible. Live events can be seen on The Score Television Network in Canada and on AXS TV in the United States. Fights from the series air across Canada every week on The Score Television Network on Tuesdays at 8:30pm ET and Fridays at 10:30pm ET.