Canadian UFC fighters swept their opponents in Vancouver on Saturday, each fuelled by the cheers of the patriotic crowd that filled the stands of Rogers Arena.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!UFC 289 featured six fighters with Canadian roots, including the highly-touted Burlington, Ont., prospect Mike Malott who finished his opponent in the second round.
Malott landed a combination of punches that sent his opponent, Portland, Ore.’s Adam Fugitt, crashing to the mat. Malott then pounced on him, swiftly securing a guillotine choke that forced Fugitt to submit.
The crowd erupted into a deafening roar of cheers.
“Let’s set one thing straight, this show was for us!” Malott yelled into the microphone just minutes after his big win. “This is a Canadian show!”
Prior to his fight, Malott said he hoped to inspire the next generation of Canadian fighters.
“Being able to represent my country on the world stage, it’s been a dream come true since I was a little kid playing on the swingsets,” he said on Saturday.
Malott improved to a 10-1-1 mixed martial arts record, with all of his wins coming by either knockout or submission. The win earned him a $50,000 US bonus.
Other Canadians shine
In the opening fight, Diana Belbiţă — who lives in Stoney Creek, Ont. — fought Brazilian Maria Oliviera. After a tightly contested opening round, Belbiţă scored a late takedown in the second, which was followed by the roar of the crowd cheering for the Canada-based fighter.
Belbiţă, who was born in Romania but moved to Canada four years ago to rejuvenate her MMA career, opened the third round by landing a series of heavy punches. The effort earned her a unanimous decision victory over Oliviera.
“I really think that was the best decision of my life, coming to Canada,” said Belbiţă.
Her teammate, Kyle Nelson, fought shortly after. He entered his fight against undefeated American Blake Bilder as an underdog, but found success in the second round when he began targeting Bilder’s leg with strikes.
The Huntsville, Ont., fighter landed several flurries in the third round as the two exchanged blows in the centre of the cage.
Nelson would go on to win in a unanimous decision.
“That as the highlight of my career,” he said. “I’ve never felt a crowd like that.”
Aiemann Zahabi, from Montreal, earned his third consecutive win in the UFC when he knocked out Aori Qileng, from China, in a matter of minutes, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
When asked how the win felt in front of the Canadian crowd, he replied by chanting “Olé, olé, olé, olé!” with the crowd following suit.
“It was a dream come true for me,” he said. “It was one of those life pinnacles, and it was great to achieve that here in Canada.”
Zahabi, brother of renowned trainer Firas Zahabi, said he hopes the event will inspire the next wave of Canadian mixed martial artists.
“When Canadians do good on UFC shows like this, it’s amazing,” he said. “Hopefully it pushes people to do more shows and get more into the sport.”
Gatineau, Que.’s Marc-Andre Barriault and St. Catharines, Ont.’s Jasmine Jasudavicius also won their fights, despite both being considered sizable underdogs.
“Everyone in Canada, they were ready for this UFC. And I felt the whole country on my back going into that fight, and I felt I had to represent that country,” said Jasudavicius. “This was for us.”
The event was headlined by UFC women’s bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes, who successfully defended her title against Mexico’s Irene Aldana. Canadian UFC legend Georges St-Pierre attended the fight and sat cageside.
In the co-main event, Brazil’s Charles Oliviera defeated Beniel Dariush.
