DOCTORS RUSH TO MAURER'S AID IN ROUND 1
Repeated hits to head disorient Eskimos fullback in Maximum Fighting Challenge bout
By Vicki Hall,
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - While Edmonton Eskimos defensive end Adam Braidwood won his bout by knockout in the first round, fullback Mike Maurer wasn't so lucky.
Maurer hit the canvas with a thud Saturday night just 36 seconds into a Maximum Fighting Challenge bout against Roger Hollett of Halifax at the Shaw Conference Centre.
Maurer took a kick and then a punch to the head and crashed to the ground. Hollett jumped on top and got in a few more punches before the referee called the fight.
Doctors immediately surrounded Maurer, who appeared dazed and not quite sure of his surroundings. They helped him to his feet and he wobbled out of the ring for medical treatment.
Hollett said he had seen tape of Maurer and knew he tended to keep his hands too low in front of him. He said Maurer was dropping his gloves again, so he said, "I connected a bit."
The fans knew it too.
"Keep your hands up, Mike!" someone shouted before Hollett launched the kick.
A report on his condition was not immediately available.
Maurer, 31, was the outstanding Canadian in the 2005 Grey Cup. He won his first professional mixed martial arts fight last year but had already announced this would be the last bout of his career. His training had been hampered by a sinus infection that dogged him for weeks.
Braidwood, the first overall pick in the CFL draft last April, fights under the name The Boogeyman. He said he hopes the win is the start of a successful fight career. He made short work of Halifax's Ryan Jimmo, taking a few punches and then delivering far more after forcing his opponent to the canvas.
"Fighting is sometimes about patience," said Braidwood of their heavyweight bout.
On the undercard, Ryan McGillivray's story belongs in Chicken Soup for the Soul -- especially if his mixed martial arts career continues to soar.
With Jason MacDonald of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in his corner, McGillivray made the crowd of 2,500 roar with approval when he forced Aaron Gallant of Calgary to tap out with an armbar. In mixed martial arts, the referee is ordered to call the bout when a fighter is in danger of having his hyper-extended arm broken.
McGillivray, 20, knows all about broken bones. He broke his back five years ago when two players hit him from behind during a lacrosse game. He was temporarily paralyzed and fought through 18 months of rehabilitation before he finally received medical clearance to return to sports.
"Hopefully, someday people will remember me for my MMA," McGillivray said as he celebrated the third victory of his mixed martial arts career, "and not my broken back."
In the main event, light-heavyweight champion Victor Valimaki of Edmonton kept his title by knocking out challenger Jared Kilkenny of Lethbridge.
The fights ran late, in part due to a blood bath on the undercard between Nigel Zettegreen of Calgary and Matt Dutkoski, of New Glasgow, N.S.
In the first round, Dutkoski's nose poured with blood as he pummelled his opponent from above. Zettegreen returned the favour in the second round, clobbering Dutkoski in the nose and the back of the head. By the end of the third round, blood was everywhere. When the final bell rang, both fighters embraced, exhausted. Dutkoski won by split decision.
Several Eskimos players, including linebacker A.J. Gass and safety J.R. LaRose, came to support their teammates.
Gass is especially close to Braidwood, who lived in his basement last season when he was a rookie.
"I'm not worried," Gass said, before the fight.
"But if he loses, he'll never hear the end of it. It would be a good, long ribbing he would take."
LaRose also planned to let Braidwood hear it, if he lost.
"I'm a little nervous for them," LaRose said before the fight.
"He had a fight with Tim O'Neill last year during training camp and Tim got the best of him."
With files from The Canadian Press
By Vicki Hall,
Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - While Edmonton Eskimos defensive end Adam Braidwood won his bout by knockout in the first round, fullback Mike Maurer wasn't so lucky.
Maurer hit the canvas with a thud Saturday night just 36 seconds into a Maximum Fighting Challenge bout against Roger Hollett of Halifax at the Shaw Conference Centre.
Maurer took a kick and then a punch to the head and crashed to the ground. Hollett jumped on top and got in a few more punches before the referee called the fight.
Doctors immediately surrounded Maurer, who appeared dazed and not quite sure of his surroundings. They helped him to his feet and he wobbled out of the ring for medical treatment.
Hollett said he had seen tape of Maurer and knew he tended to keep his hands too low in front of him. He said Maurer was dropping his gloves again, so he said, "I connected a bit."
The fans knew it too.
"Keep your hands up, Mike!" someone shouted before Hollett launched the kick.
A report on his condition was not immediately available.
Maurer, 31, was the outstanding Canadian in the 2005 Grey Cup. He won his first professional mixed martial arts fight last year but had already announced this would be the last bout of his career. His training had been hampered by a sinus infection that dogged him for weeks.
Braidwood, the first overall pick in the CFL draft last April, fights under the name The Boogeyman. He said he hopes the win is the start of a successful fight career. He made short work of Halifax's Ryan Jimmo, taking a few punches and then delivering far more after forcing his opponent to the canvas.
"Fighting is sometimes about patience," said Braidwood of their heavyweight bout.
On the undercard, Ryan McGillivray's story belongs in Chicken Soup for the Soul -- especially if his mixed martial arts career continues to soar.
With Jason MacDonald of the Ultimate Fighting Championship in his corner, McGillivray made the crowd of 2,500 roar with approval when he forced Aaron Gallant of Calgary to tap out with an armbar. In mixed martial arts, the referee is ordered to call the bout when a fighter is in danger of having his hyper-extended arm broken.
McGillivray, 20, knows all about broken bones. He broke his back five years ago when two players hit him from behind during a lacrosse game. He was temporarily paralyzed and fought through 18 months of rehabilitation before he finally received medical clearance to return to sports.
"Hopefully, someday people will remember me for my MMA," McGillivray said as he celebrated the third victory of his mixed martial arts career, "and not my broken back."
In the main event, light-heavyweight champion Victor Valimaki of Edmonton kept his title by knocking out challenger Jared Kilkenny of Lethbridge.
The fights ran late, in part due to a blood bath on the undercard between Nigel Zettegreen of Calgary and Matt Dutkoski, of New Glasgow, N.S.
In the first round, Dutkoski's nose poured with blood as he pummelled his opponent from above. Zettegreen returned the favour in the second round, clobbering Dutkoski in the nose and the back of the head. By the end of the third round, blood was everywhere. When the final bell rang, both fighters embraced, exhausted. Dutkoski won by split decision.
Several Eskimos players, including linebacker A.J. Gass and safety J.R. LaRose, came to support their teammates.
Gass is especially close to Braidwood, who lived in his basement last season when he was a rookie.
"I'm not worried," Gass said, before the fight.
"But if he loses, he'll never hear the end of it. It would be a good, long ribbing he would take."
LaRose also planned to let Braidwood hear it, if he lost.
"I'm a little nervous for them," LaRose said before the fight.
"He had a fight with Tim O'Neill last year during training camp and Tim got the best of him."
With files from The Canadian Press
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