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News and Notes from Canadian MMA By Kelsey Mowatt This inaugural edition of The Northern Touch on www.fcfighter.com brings word from TKO Super Lightweight Champion Mark Hominick on his recent title defense over Ryan Diaz at September 30th's TKO 22. Also in this week's column, Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Joe Doerksen shares his thoughts on his recent win over Brendan Seguin at King of the Cage: Firestorm and his upcoming fight with Jason Macdonald. Mark "The Machine" Hominick: Ready for All Comers Team Tompkins fighter Mark "The Machine" Hominick, defended his TKO Super Lightweight Championship last weekend at TKO 22, by stopping Team Gibson veteran Ryan Diaz in the third round with strikes. For Hominick, now 23, the win is now the second time he has defeated Diaz by TKO, with their first fight ending in the second round due to a cut at TKO 13. The first fight featured Hominick dominating the standing action with strikes, and soon led to Diaz attempting to end the fight from the ground. Hominick was able to avoid any submission attempts from Diaz on his back however, and opened the cut that eventually stopped the fight with a barrage of punches onto the Gibson fighter. At TKO 22, however, Diaz continued to press the action standing, a tactic that surprised the Super Lightweight Champion, considering Hominick's striking capabilities. "I did not think Diaz would stand up as long as he did, I figured he would stand until I began to get the better of him, but not for the entirety of the fight," says Hominick. "I knew being a 5-round fight, the later into the rounds the fight went, the more I would dictate the pace and control the action." Eight of Diaz's 11 victories had all come via submission, although recently at TKO 20, the Port Moody fighter dominated Phillipe Lagace with strikes ending the fight in the first round. Hominick quickly noticed Diaz's revamped striking game at TKO 22. "He has improved immensely; he is much more methodical and calm in his attacks. The first time I fought him he threw a lot of flying knees and punches but in this fight he was attempting more combinations and set ups." Hominick, who carries a 16-0 record in kickboxing and has held numerous titles such as the ISKA Super Welterweight Kickboxing Championship, maintains he was never really in trouble during the fight, despite Diaz's improved stand up skills. "Not really, I really slowed him down with body attacks, so I was pushing the action on him. Anytime he tried to mount any attacks I tried to regain distance and then take over the center of the ring. After a knockdown on him, I followed up and he went for an ankle lock, but other than that I felt in control." By the third round, Hominick began to dominate the stand up exchanges once more, and was able to press the action consistently, until the referee was given no choice but to intervene on Diaz's behalf. "The ref thought he was not defending and stopped the fight when we were both on our feet. I give Diaz a lot of credit, he is a warrior." For Hominick, the victory pushes his MMA record to 8-4; while the loss for Diaz ends a two-year, six-fight winning streak that the Team Gibson fighter went on after his last loss to Hominick in 2003. Diaz leaves TKO 22 with a record of 11-9. Hominick enjoyed the TKO 22 event as a whole, and is looking forward to the top flight competition the promotion is planning on bringing in. "The production is second to none, very professional and fan friendly," he says. "The fans are extremely loyal and true fans of the sport, I love getting to put on a show for them. I only think one fight went to the cards, so it was an exciting night of fights. All in all it was a great show. I am really looking forward to test my skills against some top fighters from different organizations." Joe Doerksen: One Step Closer to UFC Return with Seguin Victory, Macdonald Next September 24th's King of the Cage: Firestorm featured top-ranked Canadian middleweight Joe Doerksen against Team Mash fighter Brendan Seguin in the event's main event. Winnipeg native Doerksen gave the Canadian Calgary crowd what they wanted when he stopped the American Seguin by TKO at 1:49 of the third round. The fight was a rematch of the two combatants Super Brawl 30 bout, which also saw Doerksen walk away with the TKO win. This go around at KOTC, Calgary, however, would see a competitive Seguin last almost two more rounds against the Canadian middleweight, taking and giving strikes with Doerksen in a fight that was predominantly fought standing up. Despite numerous victories coming way of his stand-up skills, Doerksen was once again eager to display to the MMA world that the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt holder is equipped to end fights standing or on the canvas. "I though the fight went perfectly," says Doerksen. "Good exchanges on the feet, and lots of good action. "Topped off with a bloody TKO, and that's about as good as it can get. I was really happy to have fought an entire fight on my feet. It was a good confidence builder for me. The plan was to stay standing for at least two rounds, and it went just as planned." Firestorm was KOTC Canada's first event in Calgary, Alberta, which is one of Canada's largest cities, and with an announced attendance of almost 4,000 people, the event will most certainly be returning. Doerksen, whose extensive MMA record of 32-7 testifies to a well-traveled man, enjoyed his fighting debut in Calgary. "I thought it was a great event, and the crowd in Calgary was great. Couldn't have been better. They got into the fights, and seemed to be very well educated about the sport. Just a great show all around." The win against Seguin sets Doerksen up for his next fight at Ultimate Cage Wars, versus another top-ranked fighter in the Canadian middleweight bracket, Jason Macdonald. Slated for October 22nd in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Doerksen will take on the man who recently defeated Doerksen's former training partner Chris Fontaine at Maximum Fighting Championship 8. Macdonald will bring a 9-5 record into the event, a record that also includes victories over Bill Mahood, Anthony Rea and Shannon Ritch. The winner of this UCW main event will most certainly attract some much deserved attention, a fact not lost on Doerksen, who was happy to report incurred no injuries in his win over Seguin. "I am completely healthy. The MacDonald fight is a go, 100%. I am very excited about it." Upcoming Canadian MMA Cards:
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