The Bodega is back again this week, and it actually looks like this is becoming a weekly column, like it was intended to be. Looking forward to this weekend's cards it seems like aside from the obvious card of UFC 107, there isn't a whole lot going on in the world of MMA. World Strongman Champion Mariusz Pudzianowski makes his MMA debut over in Poland, but that really doesn't hold a ton of interest to me. The card I'm going to focus on in this Bodega is of the homegrown variety.
Wreck MMA is putting on a benefit card for the Canadian Military Forces, and they've compiled quite the stacked card of talent from North of the border to show their appreciation. Two matches in particular interest me as far as this card goes. The first features Sengoku FWGP participant Nick Denis in his second match since being starched by top FW Marlon Sandro, against Sean Quinn. To be completely honest, I don't know anything about Quinn, so this match is only compelling because of the man with one of the more unique nicknames in the sport, The Ninja of Love. Delve further into the Bodega to see this weekend's feature match.
The main event on this card pits Fabio Holanda against Sean Pierson, in a match that probably holds zero interest even to most hardcore MMA fans. Fabio Holanda is BTT Canada's resident black belt and holds a none to riveting 6-5 mark in MMA. It should be noted that all five of his losses have come to UFC vets though (Alves, Hieron, Fickett, Clementi and Stout), and he does hold a victory over Alvin Robinson. However, if you have any sense whatsoever, you probably noticed that the title of this week's article says "Pierson vs Hadin", so obviously Sean Pierson is the fighter I want to focus on a little bit more, for personal reasons more than anything else.
You see, to this writer, Sean Pierson is one of the figures who first got me interested in MMA. If we go all the way back to the spring of 2001, I was a 15 year-old kid who had just began wrestling and was also enrolled in a fairly unique gym class run by my wrestling coach called combatives. In this class, we not only learned about, but practiced different martial arts and forms of combat. One of our topics was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and our teacher brought in some local fighters (Antonio Carvalho, Justin Bruckmann, Richie Nancoo and Sean Pierson) to instruct the class. Essentially, we learned some of the basics of grappling, but in getting to know the guys a little bit, we were also exposed to something called the UCC (which later became TKO). Pierson, Bruckmann and Nancoo were all competing in the UCC at the time (and as an interesting sidenote, Antonio Carvalho who has since gone on to find the most success in MMA of the four, had no interest in MMA at the time) and thus began my first taste of MMA. Needless to say, that interest has grown substantially over the years.
Anyways, I'm sure nobody really wants to hear my diatribes, so I'll point you in the direction of this week's fight. Pierson took a hiatus from MMA in 2003, and then made a return in 2007, going 4-1 since. His fight against Iraj Hadin is his second most recent MMA fight, and it took place in June of this year. While not a spectacular fight by any means, it simply shows Pierson's ability to overwhelm opponents. Holanda should provide him a much more stern test on Saturday night than Hadin did in this fight, but at any rate, I took my opportunity to talk about some of my beginnings with this sport and ran with it. Enjoy the fight, and enjoy the fights this weekend. Remember to head over to the FightLockdown forums to discuss all things MMA.
Thoughts?
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Supporting the recent entrance music of Joseph Benavidez and Taisuke Okuno
I got excited when I heard he was fighting over in Gatineau. He beat Louiseau before it was fashionable.
---------- Post added at 01:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:59 PM ----------
Also, each of Nancoo, Pierson and Bruckmann held UCC gold for a while, until Bruckmann got beat by a tough motherfucker named Jorge San Peer or something similar.
Also, I still laugh that back then Carvahlo was like "You have to be a fucking crazy person to compete in MMA! I don't wanna get punched in the face!" and has gone on to be in wars.
---------- Post added at 01:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:03 PM ----------
Also, Pierson should have beaten Bongfeldt. That is all.
"One thing I know is that Rafa and I might be in wheelchairs one day but we’ll still be throwing punches and battling from our wheelchairs.” - Izzy Vazquez
Brad's Friday Fight Bodega - Pierson vs Hadin
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