Fight League Atlantic 5 Results
by Faber Glace
After more than 2 years away from home, Fight League Atlantic were finally back in Pictou, Nova Scotia for their fifth event. The event was previously scheduled to take place on September 24 but had to be rescheduled due to hurricane Fiona. It was even moved from the Pictou County Wellness Centre to the Hector Arena to continue the promotion’s streak of luck. At least, the lineup wasn’t really affected by all these changes as we had another great night of fights!
In the main event, Jerico MacPhee was looking to remain undefeated in the FLA cage as he took on Ontario’s Blake Oswald. MacPhee immediately landed a takedown on Oswald as they engaged in a scramble fest for most of the round. They both had some close submission attempts but it was Oswald who grabbed a beautiful armbar to win his pro debut and upset the hometown favorite.
Getting Close to Pro
The last few amateur fights of the night were clearly of a higher level than the rest of the amateur action. The co-main event was surely part of that as they fought under the Advanced Amateur Rules where ground-and-pound to the head was tolerated.
We could also say that Luc de Ste Croix vs Josh Leblanc was the people’s main event as both guys already had some great highlights in the FLA cage and are two of the most hyped prospects in Eastern Canada. Both fighters were believed to be at a similar level but de Ste Croix instantly took Leblanc down and started using the ground-and-pound rule to its full extent. After multiple submission attempts, de Ste Croix was able to secure a wonderful Triangle from the mount to finish the fight. This guy might just be one of the best active mixed martial artists in the Maritimes amateur or pro!
Cam Nelson was good but also a little lucky as he defeated Ontario’s Michael William Adams. Nelson got rocked a couple of times on the feet but was able to land some takedowns to mostly stay in control of his fight. Early in round 3, he landed a takedown but got cut wide open in the process and was bleeding a lot. He was able to quickly mount his opponent and secure a pillow choke before the ref could get the doc in to potentially stop the fight due to the cut.
Amateur Highlights
The common thing in most of the amateur action of the night was that both fighters came out swinging in almost every fights! Some of the greatest highlights of the night included a sickening liver kick from Khari Woods and a slick armbar from Kyle Sutherland.
Brady MacDonald came out like a buzzsaw against Gavin Costa as he rocked him with some shots on the feet before jumping on a toe hold for the very quick submission.
In the first fight of the evening, Vraj Brahmbhatt was dominating Chris Boyd with his strikes from range but Boyd was able to have some success with his own strikes every time he was able to close the distance. They went at it for most of the first round before Vraj found a head kick which led to a TKO finish couple of seconds later.
Full Results
155lbs: Blake Oswald def Jerico MacPhee by Submission (Armbar), 3:23 round 1
Amateur 155lbs: Luc de Ste Croix def Josh Leblanc by Submission (Triangle Choke), 2:21 round 1
Amateur 170lbs: Cam Nelson def Michael William Adams by Submission (Pillow Choke), 0:46 round 3
Amateur 185lbs: Rory Gillis def Colton Grant Hose by Unanimous Decision (29-28 x 2, 30-27)
Amateur 135lbs: Brady MacDonald def Gavin Costa by Submission (Toe Hold), 0:35 round 1
Amateur 145lbs: Abdel Abdelaziz def Connor Sorensen by Submission (RNC), 2:22 round 2
Amateur 155lbs: Jimmy Pineault def Connor Crosby by Unanimous Decision (30-27 x 3)
Amateur 185lbs: Mike MacLeod vs Thomas Johnson ends in a No Contest due to a Eye Poke, 1:30 round 1
Amateur 145lbs: Khari Woods def Zack Raymond by TKO (Body Kick & Punches), 0:45 round 1
Amateur 170lbs: Kyle Sutherland def Travis McGilligan by Submission (Armbar), 0:53 round 1
Amateur 155lbs: Vraj Brahmbhatt def Chris Boyd by TKO (Strikes), 2:30 round 1