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Adrenaline’s Andrew Elliott Last Man Standing at the 32-Man Showdown

Home mat advantage turned out to be a key factor for Andrew Elliott at the 32-Man Showdown this weekend in London. The Adrenaline Training Center grappler and former Lakehead University wrestler defeated Bryan Fedynszyn in the finals to cap …

The event was staged inside the Agriplex at the Western Fairgrounds as part of the Sports and Recreation show. Elliott used a great combination of agility, strength and crafty skill to run his way to the finals where he and the bigger Fedynszyn fought a razor-thin five-minute match that needed a sudden death overtime to determine the winner.

In extra time, Elliott was able to secure a solid throw-takedown and hold position for the sudden death win. It was a well deserved victory for Elliott, who currently trains at Adrenaline Training Center under the tutelage of Rowan Cunningham and James Haourt. Ironically, Elliott defeated his much smaller teacher Haourt in the semi finals.

I spoke with Elliott immediately after the event.

“I come from a wrestling background, I wrestled in high school and at Lakehead University. Actually one of my old alumni teammates won the Gi portion of the competition as well.”

They are obviously doing something right at Lakehead University Wrestling.

“Since high school I have been training a bit of MMA as well at Supreme MMA in Sarnia with John Fraser and now I’m back down here at Adrenaline in London.”

It is clear with his performance on Sunday that Elliott trains well as John “The Haggis Basher” Fraser is one of the best mixed martial artists that this country has to offer. Between training with the high-level talent at Adrenaline in London and training with Fraser in Sarnia, Elliott has aligned himself well to flourish in this sport in the future.

I asked Elliott if this was the toughest test yet for a competitor with his experience and his answer was clear,

“It’s all different, it’s hard to compare them. Wrestling, you get some very tough tournaments there but I mean you had great competitors here today. The final here was tough, I had to fight for every takedown and then even if I get a takedown I have to defend my arm or he’s threatening me with chokes.”

This was the third year for The Showdown, which is a unique event in that it is an “openweight challenge” where other events are all divided by weight class. All weight classes were represented well as the semi-finalists were Elliott (165 lb), Fedynszyn (215 lb), Dave Knowles (200 lb) and James Haourt (140 lb) and all matches were tightly contested.

This is the third “32-Man Showdown” and was created, organized and run by Alex Gasson and Pecker’d Services. The competition pulled in a great crowd for the Sports and Recreation show in London.

Please see the attached video for highlights from the event and a word from the winner Andrew Elliott.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA, MMA Editor at CKSN.ca and guest blogger for Sportsnet.ca

Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma.

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UFC 144 Results: Why Anthony Pettis Does Not Deserve a Title Shot

Following wins over this past weekend by Anthony Pettis and Ben Henderson, it appears that the two former WEC Champions are on the path to face each other again. But, in looking at the current contenders in the lightweight division and scoping Anthony Pettis’s record so far in the UFC, it really looks as if Pettis does not deserve the next crack at the lightweight crown.

Yes, Pettis was promised a title shot when the WEC was absorbed into the UFC. Yes, Pettis did not receive the promised title shot after the draw between Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. And yes, he opted not to wait for the winner, which was an honorable thing to do.

But that is where the line is drawn. By not waiting for his title shot, Pettis took on Clay Guida and lost in a lackluster performance. He kissed his title shot away with that loss.

So on the rebound, he defeated Jeremy Stephens, who is an exciting, powerful fighter, but not a top 15 and maybe not a top 20 opponent. He won by decision, using wrestling and opting to stay away from the striking that Stephens possessed.

He then this past weekend beat Joe Lauzon. Although it was a definitive win, it most definitely does not warrant Pettis a title shot. In his last fights, Pettis is 6-2. While this is a good record, his only notable victories, in my opinion were over Henderson and Lauzon (no disrespect to Stephens because I am a huge fan).

He has lost to now-featherweight Bart Palaszewski and the aforementioned Guida, who is a top 10 lightweight. If he was unable to beat Guida, I don’t see how he is going to beat Henderson, who dominated Guida.

Pettis, for now, is still a prospect in my eyes. He is a future title contender in the UFC, but as of right now needs to polish his all-around skills. Guys like Jim Miller, Nate Diaz, Frankie Edgar and even Gray Maynard are closer to the title at this point. I believe that the winner of Miller/Diaz or an Edgar rematch are the best choices for the next title fight.

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UFC 144 Results: What’s Next for Joe Lauzon

When Joe Lauzon fights, the fans are watching. Whether he wins or loses, he is always in the bonus mix.In fact, seven of Lauzon’s last eight fights have earned him or his opponent “Fight of the Night”, “Submission of the Night”, or “Knockout of the Nig…

When Joe Lauzon fights, the fans are watching. Whether he wins or loses, he is always in the bonus mix.

In fact, seven of Lauzon’s last eight fights have earned him or his opponent “Fight of the Night”, “Submission of the Night”, or “Knockout of the Night” bonuses.

Lauzon now has 12 career UFC fights. His record is still an admirable 8-4, but he is having a hard time climbing into title contention.

At 27 years of age, the time is now for Lauzon to make a run if he is ever going to do so. Unfortunately for him, the UFC Lightweight division has become arguably the most stacked division of the promotion. In addition, the list of names above him in the rankings grew exponentially with his loss to Anthony Pettis.

Lauzon is going to need to take a fight to get his momentum going again, and a fight with Donald Cerrone makes sense and would be a predicted favorite for “Fight of the Night”. Cerrone needs to get the buzz for his career going after the lopsided loss to Nate Diaz. If it is going to be Cerrone, Lauzon will have to have a longer than usual layoff in between fights as “Cowboy” is scheduled to face Jeremy Stephens in May.

It may turn out that Lauzon will never make a serious run for a title. The talent pool in his division is only getting deeper with each passing month, and while he has 21 professional victories, he can’t seem to string enough wins together to gain the notoriety needed to challenge for a championship.

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UFC 144 Results: Frankie Edgar Deserves To Decide What Weight He Wants to Fight

Frankie Edgar lost a close decision to Ben Henderson on Saturday, and while there are ways to talk about how the loss was devastating, a picture is more convincing than mere words.As Henderson’s arm was being lifted, the photographer captured Edgar as …

Frankie Edgar lost a close decision to Ben Henderson on Saturday, and while there are ways to talk about how the loss was devastating, a picture is more convincing than mere words.

As Henderson’s arm was being lifted, the photographer captured Edgar as he slumped his shoulders and his head hung low. Edgar had nothing to be ashamed of, but it was obvious that the undersized former champion wanted to continue to prove people wrong.

He didn’t do it.

Fans and Dana White have both vocalized for some time that they would like to see Edgar fight at the featherweight limit of 145 pounds, and it is easy to see why. Standing at only 5′ 6″ and doesn’t struggle to make weight.

It wouldn’t be inconceivable for him to drop another 10 pounds and fight at a smaller weight.

At one time, the notion would have been better to understand because of the UFC only having weight classes that reached the lightweight limit, but since the beginning of 2011, both the featherweight and the bantamweight classes have been brought in to the organization.

He could still fight in the UFC at a lower weight, but in the end, the choice should still be his.

This isn’t someone who got lucky and caught a champion off guard to win the title. It isn’t someone who found himself in a weak division and was able to make the most of it.

Edgar has beaten BJ Penn twice by decision, come back from being almost knocked out by Gray Maynard twice to come back and get a draw and then a knockout victory in that order.

He has proven that he can do what he needs to be done and won fights at the top level in the lightweight division for some time now. This is only the second loss in his career with him having avenged the first one against Maynard.

Even this fight was close and in a rematch it isn’t impossible that he gets the win. The only problem is that White has tentatively thrown out the possibility of Henderson having a rematch with Anthony Pettis first, though nothing is set in stone.

It may not matter, as Edgar has been contemplating the move anyway as mentioned on an article at MMAFighting.com.

Some of it is because his emotions are running high after a loss. Another part may come from the fact that he has taken some serious beatings in his last few fights. He has been facing larger men, and with that, he has been handicapping himself.

Edgar has earned the right to choose which way he wants his career to go without the interference of others. He has been too successful not to.

No matter what decision he does make, fans will cheer for him the next time he steps into the cage because he proves himself every time.

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UFC 146: What Jason "Mayhem" Miller Must Do to Ensure He Stays in the UFC

There is little doubt that at UFC 146, Jason “Mayhem” Miller will be fighting for his job.
Despite Miller’s immense popularity and ability to sell a fight, Dana White made it clear that Miller is on a short leash after mulling over cutting him after hi…

There is little doubt that at UFC 146, Jason “Mayhem” Miller will be fighting for his job.

Despite Miller’s immense popularity and ability to sell a fight, Dana White made it clear that Miller is on a short leash after mulling over cutting him after his lackluster performance against Michael Bisping at the TUF 14 finale.

In a sport that rewards characters, Miller has made a name for himself with his MTV show “Bully Beatdown,” and just generally being a quirky character who talks a good game. However, Miller has yet to win a fight in the UFC and was outclassed in fight against Bisping.

Dana White and Co. will be looking very closely at Miller’s UFC 146 matchup against C.B. Dollaway to determine if Miller truly deserves a spot in the world’s largest MMA promotion. Here’s what Mayhem must do to keep his job.

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UFC 144 Results: If Rampage Jackson’s Heart Isn’t in it He Needs to Walk Away

Albeit Quinton “Rampage” Jackson tried his damndest to upend Ryan “Darth” Bader at UFC 144 that doesn’t necessarily suggest his heart is still in sport of MMA, and if that’s the case, the former light heavyweight tit…

Due to an injury incurred prior to the fight, Rampage entered the co-main event six pounds over the limit. Whether that had anything to do with his poor performance is neither here nor there (though he says it did), the fact remains, that for some time now, Rampage’s mind has been elsewhere.

In 2010, he starred in the movie A-Team when there was money to be made in the Octagon. Rampage has also completed the filming of Fire with Fire and at present has another in post-production (Duel of Legends). This could easily suggest a future change in vocation for the former Pride star.

In addition, Rampage has intimated that he’s bored with professional mixed martial arts, and as such hinted at lacing up his gloves in the art of the sweet science.

Furthermore, Jackson is almost 34, and has contested in 42 fights. Now that wouldn’t be much of problem, save for the fact that in the last five years, seven of his nine outings have gone to decision—some of them grueling encounters. Which begs the question, has the fight game finally taken its toll on him?

Rampage says he wants to continue fighting, though saying it is one thing, and actually believing it is another. If it’s the latter, then now is the time for the Memphis native to walk away.

For additional information, follow Nedu Obi on Twitter.

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