Canadian MMA has a rich tradition underpinning it and Rebel Nightclub recently housed the all time greatest fight in the history of the sport within this country. That contest took place between Simon Marcus and Bobby Poulter at Unified MMA 66 on February 20th in Toronto. Both were vying for possible spots on a looming UFC card in Canada, with UFC Winnipeg coming in April, and the two combatants fought in a fashion that showcased their awareness of the magnitude of the moment.
Marcus is a kickboxing icon who has fought the likes of Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira with instances in the Poulter bout that seemed on route to the standup savant securing another finish. Poulter would show his resolve and broader mixed martial arts specific experience though, eventually turning the tides around to where he secured his own striking-based finish over Marcus to claim the Unified MMA welterweight championship.
Catching up with promotional figurehead for Unified MMA, Sunny Sareen, as the dust settled on the seismic contest and when asked for his thoughts on that Poulter versus Marcus fight, Sareen said [via MMA Canada],
“It’s one of the best fights we’ve ever had in the Unified cage. If you look at that fight, you got two guys that are not just ready for the highest level of the regional scene, but those guys can compete with anybody in the world. I think that’s why everybody’s calling for these guys to go to the UFC. Because they’re ready and they’re putting on fights exactly like you’ve just seen.”
The growth of Canadian MMA as UFC Winnipeg looms closer
Canadian MMA has had a bit more of an injection of excitement within it in recent times and the microcosm of the growing UFC Winnipeg card paints that picture. With Mike Malott headlining against Gilbert Burns, this marks the first time in over half a decade that a Canadian combatant will headline a UFC event.
Other mixed martial artists from the great fight north set to compete on this Manitoba-based card included promotional debutant Julien Leblanc, surging contender Melissa Croden, and ranked flyweight Jasmine Jasudavicius. Plus the returning Tanner Boser, who gets back to the octagon for the first time in over two and a half years when Boser battles Gokhan Saricam.
This will be the UFC’s third overall event in this specific market with the promotion last running a Winnipeg show in December 2017.