Maximum Fighting Championship

Maximum Fighting Championship

Type	Private
Industry	Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded	2001
Founder(s)	Mark Pavelich
Headquarters	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Key people	Mark Pavelich (CEO) Dave Pavelich (Vice-President) Manon Pavelich (Treasurer/Tickets)[1]
Parent	Pavelich Sports Inc.
Website	http://www.maximumfighting.com

Maximum Fighting Championship is a Canadian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion based in Edmonton, Alberta. The MFC’s former home, in Canada, is the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta, located just outside of Edmonton, Alberta but has also held events at the Edmonton Expo Centre.^[2] MFC events are broadcast on The Fight Network and HDNet in North America. The MFC is known to be the biggest MMA promotion in Canada and has notable canadian fighters, such as Ryan Jimmo, Tom Watson and Douglas Lima, plus MMA veterans, such as Jason MacDonald, Thales Leites, Trevor Prangley, and Paul Daley.^[3]

History

Maximum Fighting Championship was founded on March 3, 2001, by Pavelich Sports Inc. Mark Pavelich is the CEO of MFC and runs the business day to day. Dave Pavelich is Vice President and Manon Pavelich is the booker. MFC currently airs on HDnet and the fight network. The MFC’s former home,is the River Cree Resort and Casino in Enoch, Alberta,Canada located just outside of Edmonton, Alberta. July 2011 MFC Signs a 5 Year live TV Deal with HDNET. MFC host heavyweight fights but don't have a heavyweight championship due to the lack of heavyweights outside of top promotions. The MFC employs the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Fighters compete in a ring, however beginning at MFC 29 in Windsor, Ontario April 9th will mark the first time their events have taken place in a cage. Starting in 2010 fighters will be released from the company if they pull guard during a fight due to the organization wanting to appeal to a wider audience. Every round in MFC competition is five minutes in duration. Title matches have five such rounds, and non-title matches have three. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds.

Rules

The MFC employs the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts. Fighters compete in a ring, however beginning at MFC 29 in Windsor, Ontario April 9th will mark the first time their events have taken place in a cage. Starting in 2010 fighters will be released from the company if they pull guard during a fight due to the organization wanting to appeal to a wider audience.^[4]

Rounds

Every round in MFC competition is five minutes in duration. Title matches have five such rounds, and non-title matches have three. There is a one-minute rest period between rounds.^[5]

Weight divisions

See also: Mixed martial arts weight classes

The MFC currently uses six weight classes:^[5]

Weight class name	Upper limit
	in pounds (lb)	in kilograms (kg)
Lightweight	155	70
Welterweight	170	77
Middleweight	185	84
Light Heavyweight	205	93
Heavyweight	225	102
Super Heavyweight	No weight limit

Attire

All competitors must fight in approved shorts, without shoes. Shirts, gis or long pants (including gi pants) are not allowed. Fighters must use approved light-weight open-fingered gloves, that include at least 1" of padding around the knuckles, (110 to 170 g / 4 to 6 ounces) that allow fingers to grab. These gloves enable fighters to punch with less risk of an injured or broken hand, while retaining the ability to grab and grapple.

Match outcome

Matches usually end via:

• Submission: a fighter clearly taps on the mat or his opponent or verbally submits.
• Technical Submission: A technical submission is achieved when the referee stops a fight due to an injury resulting from a submission hold or due to a fighter going unconscious from a choke.
• Knockout: a fighter falls from a legal blow and is either unconscious or unable to immediately continue.
• Technical Knockout (TKO): If a fighter cannot continue, the fight is ended as a technical knockout. Technical knockouts can be classified into three categories:
  • referee stoppage: (the referee determines a fighter cannot "intelligently defend" himself; if warnings to the fighter to improve his position or defense go unanswered—generally, two warnings are given, about 5 seconds apart)
  • doctor stoppage (a ringside doctor due to injury or impending injury, as when blood flows into the eyes and blinds a fighter)
  • corner stoppage (a fighter's own corner-man signals defeat for their own fighter)
• Judges' Decision: Depending on scoring, a match may end as:
  • unanimous decision (all three judges score a win for fighter A)
  • majority decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a draw)
  • split decision (two judges score a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B)
  • unanimous draw (all three judges score a draw)
  • majority draw (two judges score a draw, one judge scoring a win)
  • split draw (one judge scores a win for fighter A, one judge scores a win for fighter B, and one judge scores a draw)^[5]

Note: In the event of a draw, it is not necessary that the fighters' total points be equal. However, in a unanimous or split draw, each fighter does score an equal number of win judgments from the three judges (0 or 1, respectively).

A fight can also end in a technical decision, disqualification, forfeit, technical draw, or no contest. The latter two outcomes have no winners.

Judging criteria

The ten-point must system is in effect for all fights; three judges score each round and the winner of each receives ten points, the loser nine points or fewer. If the round is even, both fighters receive ten points.

Fouls

The Nevada State Athletic Commission currently lists the following as fouls:^[5][6]

1. Butting with the head
2. Eye gouging of any kind
3. Biting
4. Hair pulling
5. Fish hooking
6. Groin attacks of any kind
7. Putting a finger into any orifice or into any cut or laceration on an opponent. (see Gouging)
8. Small joint manipulation
9. Striking to the spine or the back of the head (see Rabbit punch)
10. Striking downward using the point of the elbow (see Elbow (strike))
11. Throat strikes of any kind, including, without limitation, grabbing the trachea
12. Clawing, pinching or twisting the flesh
13. Grabbing the clavicle
14. Kicking the head of a grounded opponent
15. Kneeing the head of a grounded opponent
16. Stomping a grounded opponent
17. Kicking to the kidney with the heel
18. Spiking an opponent to the canvas on his head or neck. (see piledriver)
19. Throwing an opponent out of the ring or fenced area
20. Holding the shorts or gloves of an opponent
21. Spitting at an opponent
22. Engaging in unsportsmanlike conduct that causes an injury to an opponent
23. Holding the ropes or the fence
24. Using abusive language in the ring or fenced area
25. Attacking an opponent on or during the break
26. Attacking an opponent who is under the care of the referee
27. Attacking an opponent after the bell (horn) has sounded the end of a round
28. Flagrantly disregarding the instructions of the referee
29. Timidity, including, without limitation, avoiding contact with an opponent, intentionally or consistently dropping the mouthpiece or faking an injury
30. Interference by the corner
31. Throwing in the towel during competition

When a foul is charged, the referee in their discretion may deduct one or more points as a penalty. If a foul incapacitates a fighter, then the match may end in a disqualification if the foul was intentional, or a no contest if unintentional. If a foul causes a fighter to be unable to continue later in the bout, it ends with a technical decision win to the injured fighter if the injured fighter is ahead on points, otherwise it is a technical draw.

Match conduct

• After a verbal warning the referee can stop the fighters and stand them up if they reach a stalemate on the ground (where neither are in a dominant position or working towards one).
• If the referee pauses the match, it is resumed with the fighters in their prior positions.
• Grabbing the ring ropes brings a verbal warning, followed by an attempt by the referee to release the grab by pulling on the grabbing hand. If that attempt fails or if the fighter continues to hold the ropes, the referee may charge a foul.

Events

Main article: List of MFC events

Current champions

Division	Upper weight limit	Champion	Since	Title Defenses
Light Heavyweight	205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)	Ryan Jimmo	February 25, 2011 (MFC 28)	2
Middleweight	185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st)	TBD
Welterweight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)	Douglas Lima
Lightweight	155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st)	Antonio McKee

Notable fighters

Heavyweights

• Chase Gormley
• Bobby Lashley

Light Heavyweights

• Ryan Jimmo (Current MFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
• Roger Hollett (Former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
• Marvin Eastman
• Mike Nickels
• Zak Cummings
• Trevor Prangley (Former MFC Light Heavyweight Champion)
• Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou

Middleweights

• Jesse Taylor
• Chris Camozzi
• Travis Lutter
• Bryan Baker
• David Heath
• Dean Lister
• Tom Watson
• Wilson Gouveia
• Thales Leites
• Travis Galbraith
• Jason MacDonald

Welterweights

• Douglas Lima (Current MFC Welterweight Champion)
• Pete Spratt
• Terry Martin
• Nick Thompson
• Pat Healy (Former MFC Welterweight Champion)
• Luigi Fioravanti
• Thomas Denny
• Ryan Ford
• John Alessio
• Paul Daley

Lightweights

• Antonio McKee (Current MFC Lightweight Champion)
• Brian Cobb (Interim MFC Lightweight Champion)
• Drew Fickett
• Marcus Davis
• Ben Henderson
• Matt Veach
• Derrick Noble
• Luciano Azevedo
• Hermes Franca
• Carlo Prater
• Yves Edwards

References

1. ^ http://www.maximumfighting.com/history.htm
2. ^ MFC 25 results, recap and post-fight discussion for 'Vindication' on May 7
3. ^ http://www.maximumfighting.com/mfcorg.htm
4. ^ The MMA News Exclusive Interview With MFC President Mark Pavelich
5. ^ ^{a b c d} http://www.maximumfighting.com/rules.htm
6. ^ NSAC Regulations: Chapter 467 - Unarmed Combat. Nevada State Athletic Commission. Retrieved April 3, 2006

External links

• Official MFC Site
• MFC event results at Sherdog
• Latest MFC news at Top MMA News