Tag: Cory MacDonald

Cory MacDonald vs. Brendan Seguin, Ryan Ford vs. Luis Santos Added to May 4 Bellator 67 Card in Ontario

A middleweight bout between Canadian standout Cory MacDonald (12-2) and well-travelled veteran Brendan Seguin (23-17-1) and a welterweight scrap between former TFC champion Ryan Ford (17-4) and WEC veteran Luis Santos (50-7-1) have been added to Bellator’s May 4 Bellator 67 card, set for Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. CagePotato.com learned of the MacDonald-Seguin pairing and confirmed the rumored Ford-Santos bout today from sources close to both bouts.

A middleweight bout between Canadian standout Cory MacDonald (12-2) and well-travelled veteran Brendan Seguin (23-17-1) and a welterweight scrap between former TFC champion Ryan Ford (17-4) and WEC veteran Luis Santos (50-7-1) have been added to Bellator’s May 4 Bellator 67 card, set for Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. CagePotato.com learned of the MacDonald-Seguin pairing and confirmed the rumored Ford-Santos bout today from sources close to both bouts.

MacDonald has been relatively inactive the past two years, having only fought (and won) twice, but sources say the reason for his lack of action was a shortage of opponents willing to face him in Canada. The Kingston, Ontario native, who holds a win over UFC vet Edwin Dewees and seemed en route to a win over fellow Canuck Jonathan Goulet until a freak injury forced his corner to throw in the towel after the first round, will log time training for the bout at Tristar in Montreal. He decided to move to middleweight in the hopes of attracting more opposition and he’ll get a formidable opponent in Seguin who has fought a lion’s share of the sport’s toughest fighters.

“The Caucasian Devastation” holds wins over UFC vets Jake Ellenberger, Kyacey Uscola, Rob Kimmons and Goulet. During his 12-year career he also fought Denis Kang, Joe Doerksen, Dean Lister, Joey Villasenor and Martin Kampmann. Seguin hasn’t lost since dropping a decision to Forrest Petz in 2009.

Ford will finally make his Bellator debut on the card after legal and contract issues with his former manager, Mark Pavelich who owns the Maximum Fighting Championship put him at odds with the Chicago-based promotion after the Canadian promoter sent BFC a cease and desist letter claiming that “The Real Deal” was still an MFC fighter. It seems that both sides have settled their differences and are moving forward.

Arguably the biggest win of Ford’s career came against Karo Parisyan last May. Since then he has gone 2-1, including a surprise loss to David Hulett for the Aggression MMA welterweight strap in September.

Santos has the edge in experience over “The Real Deal” in the experience department, however, with 36 more fights. The husband of fellow fighter Carina Damm, “Sapo” won a hard-fought decision over Dan Hornbuckle in the opening round of Bellator’s season 5 tournament, only to be submitted via highlight-reel keylock by Ben Saunders in the second round.

No other bouts have been announced for the card.

Exclusive: Bellator to Return to Casino Rama in Ontario May 4


(Bellator: Now with twice as much maple syrup and back bacon.)

Canadian MMA fans will get a double-dose of Bellator Fighting Championships in back-to-back months this Spring.

CagePotato.com has learned that the Chicago-based promotion has secured May 4 for its second Ontario event of 2012 and that the show will take place at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. As we announced last week, BFC will also be holding an April 6 event in Windsor.

The May show will be the third held at the native-run casino. Both Bellator 47 and 57 took place at the venue.


(Bellator: Now with twice as much maple syrup and back bacon.)

Canadian MMA fans will get a double-dose of Bellator Fighting Championships in back-to-back months this Spring.

CagePotato.com has learned that the Chicago-based promotion has secured May 4 for its second Ontario event of 2012 and that the show will take place at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario. As we announced last week, BFC will also be holding an April 6 event in Windsor.

The May show will be the third held at the native-run casino. Both Bellator 47 and 57 took place at the venue.

Known for giving local fighters a shot at competing on a bigger stage, it’s likely that Bellator will include several up-and-coming mixed martial artists from the Greater Toronto Area and its surrounding municipalities to the card, which will no doubt feature some of its other contracted Canadian talent like Cory MacDonald, Ryan Ford and Nordine Taleb. The event will be rounded out by match-ups from the season 6 bantamweight, featherweight, lightweight, welterweight and middleweight tournaments which get underway March 9 at Bellator 60.

We’ll have more news on the fight card as it becomes available.

Bellator Planning April 6 Event In Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Windsor, Ontario MMA fans will likely only have to wait a few more months for their next live fight fix.

CagePotato.com has learned that Bellator Fighting Championships have penciled in an event for April 6 in Windsor, Ontario and that the event is likely to take place at Caesar’s Windsor Casino, just across the Ambassador bridge from Detroit.

Windsor, Ontario MMA fans will likely only have to wait a few more months for their next live fight fix.

CagePotato.com has learned that Bellator Fighting Championships have penciled in an event for April 6 in Windsor, Ontario and that the event is likely to take place at Caesar’s Windsor Casino, just across the Ambassador bridge from Detroit.

The Chicago-based promotion had originally planned on holding a show on April 27 back at Casino Rama in Rama, Ontario, north of Toronto, but were unable to secure the date as the commission is already slated to oversee another event  in Belleville, Ontario that night.

Although no bouts have been announced for the card, it’s likely that Bellator will use a number of its contracted fighters from Great Fight North including Ryan Ford, Cory MacDonald and Nordine Taleb. Chris Horodecki is another likely candidate for the card, having fought for Bellator on one of its two other Ontario cards, as is Ali Mokdad, an up-and-coming Windsor-based Lebanon-born lightweight who we have learned is in talks with the Viacom-owned promotion.

The event will be the second one hosted by Caesar’s Windsor. MFC 29 took place at the casino on April 8, 2011 — almost a year to the day of the yet-to-be-named Bellator event.

We’ll have more on the card and the event details as they become available.

Exclusive: Canadian Standout Cory MacDonald Signs With Bellator; Will Compete at Middleweight

By Mike Russell

One of Canadian MMA’s best kept secrets got an early birthday present this week.

CagePotato has confirmed with sources close to the situation that highly-touted Kingston, Ontario native Cory MacDonald signed with Bellator yesterday and will compete as a middleweight under the Viacom-owned promotion’s banner.

MacDonald (12-2), who turned 34 today, could see action as part of next season’s middleweight tournament.

Having competed primarily at 170 for the majority of his eight-year MMA career, at 6-foot MacDonald was one of the class’ largest competitors. He has been contemplating a move up in weight for a while due to a lack of opponents willing to face him north of the border. It now looks like the move won’t just be a temporary one and that 12-2 former welterweight, who is undefeated in his past seven bouts spanning back to 2007, will finally get his chance to make a name for himself internationally.

By Mike Russell

One of Canadian MMA’s best kept secrets got an early birthday present this week.

CagePotato has confirmed with sources close to the situation that highly-touted Kingston, Ontario native Cory MacDonald signed with Bellator yesterday and will compete as a middleweight under the Viacom-owned promotion’s banner.

MacDonald (12-2), who turned 34 today, could see action as part of next season’s middleweight tournament.

Having competed primarily at 170 for the majority of his eight-year MMA career, at 6-foot MacDonald was one of the class’ largest competitors. He has been contemplating a move up in weight for a while due to a lack of opponents willing to face him north of the border. It now looks like the move won’t just be a temporary one and that 12-2 former welterweight, who is undefeated in his past seven bouts spanning back to 2007, will finally get his chance to make a name for himself internationally.

With Bellator’s recent migration into the Canadian market, MacDonald, who trains out of Victory Performance Centre in Ottawa and Kingston and spars regularly at Tristar in Montreal, could play a key role in helping market the Chicago-based organization in Ontario and other provinces where he has a fan presence including Quebec and the Maritimes.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/psycoc23)

According to the sources we spoke to, a date for Cory’s Bellator debut has yet to be set, but it could come as early as January.

When contacted for comment, MacDonald’s manager Anna Barone would neither confirm nor deny her client’s signing.

Cory MacDonald Out, Matt MacGrath In Against Marcus Aurelio at MMA Live 1 May 19 in London, Ontario

(MacGrath could raise his stock immensely with a win over a veteran like Aurelio.)

Cory MacDonald was hoping that his fight at MMA Live 1 against Marcus Aurelio would be his coming out party of sorts that would propel the highly-touted Kingston, Ontario native up the Canadian welterweight rankings. Unfortunately for MacDonald, he will have to wait for his opportunity to open the eyes of fans, pundits and possibly the powers that be at the UFC, as he has been forced to pull out of the May 19 London, Ontario show for undisclosed medical reasons.

Stepping in for McDonald on just over one week’s notice to face Aurelio (20-9) will be always game Halifax, Nova Scotia native Matt MacGrath (10-5). Although he is just 2-3 in his last five outings, each of his losses in that span came against UFC veterans in Kalib Starnes, Jonathan Goulet and Claude Patrick. MacGrath defeated TUF 9 quarter finalist Dean Amasinger at MMA: The Reckoning in Orillia, Ontario April 2.

(MacGrath could raise his stock immensely with a win over a veteran like Aurelio.)

Cory MacDonald was hoping that his fight at MMA Live 1 against Marcus Aurelio would be his coming out party of sorts that would propel the highly-touted Kingston, Ontario native up the Canadian welterweight rankings. Unfortunately for MacDonald, he will have to wait for his opportunity to open the eyes of fans, pundits and possibly the powers that be at the UFC, as he has been forced to pull out of the May 19 London, Ontario show for undisclosed medical reasons.

Stepping in for McDonald on just over one week’s notice to face Aurelio (20-9) will be always game Halifax, Nova Scotia native Matt MacGrath (10-5). Although he is just 2-3 in his last five outings, each of his losses in that span came against UFC veterans in Kalib Starnes, Jonathan Goulet and Claude Patrick. MacGrath defeated TUF 9 quarter finalist Dean Amasinger at MMA: The Reckoning in Orillia, Ontario April 2.

Aurelio, who fought the majority of his career at 155 will be moving up to 170 for first time in his career for the fight. A veteran of PRIDE, the UFC and DREAM, the Fortaleza, Brazil-born fighter holds wins over Daisuke Nakamura, Takanori Gomi, Masakazu Imanari and Rich Clementi. In his last fight at DREAM 16 in September, he dropped a hard-fought decision to DREAM lightweight champ Shinya Aoki in a non-title affair.

MMA Live 1 will feature a main event welterweight bout between Karo “The Heat” Parisyan and Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford.

———-

MMA Live 1
Saturday, May 19, 2011
John Labatt Centre
London, Ontario, Canada

Ryan Ford (14-3) vs. Karo Parisyan (19-6)
Matt MacGrath (10-5) vs. Marcus Aurelio (20-9)
Nick Denis (9-2) vs. Kyle Dietz (5-2)
Louis-Philippe Carle (8-2) vs. Frank Lester (6-5)
Julia Budd (1-1) vs. Anna Barone (1-2)
Brent Franczuz (3-1) vs. Bo Harris (4-2-1)
Daniel Langbeen (3-2) vs. Lyndon Whitlock (2-1)
James Haourt (2-5) vs. Chucky Mady (4-3)*

*Contingent on commission approval.