Grant, Jimmo And Fickett Victorious At Phoenix Fight: Wanted

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Craig Ferguson - Dartmouth, NS - Just a few days ago, the entire Phoenix Fight: Wanted card hung by a thread. Plagued by fighter cancellations, the event was nearly called off completely. The drama and cancellations continued into the evening of fights. But the promoters scrambled and puled off an impressive card. The six fights fans finally got to see at the Dartmouth Sportsplex Saturday night were anything but wanting.

In the night’s main event, local favourite TJ Grant smashed, slammed and submitted a very tough Beau Baker, handing the gritty Virginian his first loss.
   

Grant came out all fists and knees, showing off muay thai he’s honed in the heat and humidity of Thailand. But when Grant took Baker down, he had a tough time passing guard and resolved himself to pounding away from less dominant top positions. Grant rocked Baker with upkicks and threatened to finish early with a heelhook. But Baker recovered and escaped. Grant closed out a dominant first round standing in Baker’s open guard, hammering down with fists and elbows so ferociously some of the crowd thought the fight was over and got up to leave.

But Beau Baker – a last minute replacement for TUF alumnus Richie Hightower. gave them plenty of reason to stay for rounds two and three. He didn’t become Virginia State wrestling champion by being a pushover. He pushed Grant to the limit – testing the Nova Scotian’s resolve and cardio. Baker showed chin and heart, taking everything Grant threw. Baker pushed back, grinding out takedown attempts and scrambling out of Grant’s efforts to finish him with a kimura in the second. The effort clearly took a toll on Grant, who rarely shows fatigue. ”I was really trying to knock him out at times in the fight.” Grant says. “You only have so much energy in there.”

At 3:03 of the third round, Grant snared Baker in a tight armbar from bottom just seconds after regaining guard. The crowd exploded into chants of “U-F-C, U-F-C,” leaving no doubt about where they think Grant belongs. Grant just hopes the UFC is listening. “That’s what my goal is,” says Grant. “I’ll just keep winning fights here, winning fights in Montreal. Wherever I have to go to build fans and hopefully make it into the big times.”


For his 27th birthday on Thursday, Phoenix Fight Promotions gave Ryan Jimmo the sort of gift a lot of people wouldn’t want. They told Jimmo he’d be fighting six-time world kickboxing champion Rick Roufus. Roufus was a last minute replacement – the last of a revolving door of opponents since the cancellation of Jimmo’s originally-slated match with Carmelo Marrero.

But Jimmo seized the opportunity. After a minute or so of feeling each other out on the feet, Jimmo rushed the 41-year-old and slammed him to the floor. Jimmo, who holds a blue belt in BJJ preyed on the kickboxing champ’s inexperience on the mats and progressed first to mount, then to Roufus’s back. “The game plan was to take him down to the ground and beat him,” explains Jimmo. ”Beat him quick, where he doesn’t have a game.” Jimmo wound up and pounded on the K-1 veteran’s head until referee Brad Jardine finally intervened at 2:24 of the first round. Roufus initially protested – claiming some blows landed to the back of the head. But in his post-fight remarks Roufus showed nothing but class and respect for Jimmo and the Nova Scotia fans.

Wanted, was originally hyped as local-favourites-versus-UFC-veterans. But after cancellations and changes, the only fight left from the original triple-header was local champion Jason MacKay versus Drew Fickett.

MacKay was in trouble early as Fickett found top position and mounted the native of New Glasgow, NS. MacKay showed off some of the slippery grappling that he’s known for when he escaped the mount and managed to fire off a few shots inside Fickett’s guard. But the veteran’s experience proved too much for MacKay. Fickett mounted again, then converted an attempted armbar to a fight-ending triangle at 3:25 of round one. Fickett, who lost three of four fights leading up to the victory says he has refocused his fight preparation. “I trained real hard, watched my diet and didn’t drink as much beer as I usually do.”

The cancellations didn’t end when the fight card started. A match at 210lbs between Josh Strickland and Shane Daley was abruptly cancelled when Daley injured his knee warming up backstage.

Undercard Results:

Tristan Johnson defeats Eric Leclerc by Unanimous Decision.

Martin Grandmont defeats Jeremy Henry by TKO 3:26 Round 1

Justin Bourgeois defeats Daryle Pinter by TKO 4:31 Round 1
 

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