In the eyes of Edmonton’s Menad Abella and Coquitlam’s Dejan Kajic, their welterweight bout will not be left in the hands of the judges.
Abella (4-0), and Kajic (8-6-2, 1 NC) will meet in the cage Friday night at Prestige FC 9 in Fort McMurray, and both have their sights set on a knockout ending.
It is a stylistic meeting that suits Prestige FC's regional profile. The Alberta promotion has built its cards around hard-hitting matchups that favor action over record-padding, and a welterweight pairing between an undefeated finisher and a seasoned veteran fits that mold exactly. Neither man has made a habit of leaving his work to scorecards.
With all four of his wins coming by knockout or TKO, Abella is no stranger to finishing the fight on his terms.
“Something just kicks in when I’m in that cage, and I want to finish them all,” said Abella in an interview.
“I just wait for them to make that little mistake, then I capitalize by landing that shot.”
It’s been over a year since Abella was last able to land that finishing blow, however, as he hasn’t fought since Dec. 16, 2016, in which he retired Dustin Greentree at the end of the second round at Unified MMA 29.
Although a lengthy layoff may have a negative effect on some fighters, Abella is quite the opposite.
Layoffs of that length are rarely a fighter's choice, and in the regional circuit they often come down to injuries, opponent cancellations and the general scarcity of cards willing to book a dangerous undefeated prospect. For Abella, whose entire professional ledger consists of second-round-or-earlier stoppages, the question was never whether he could finish — it was whether time away would dull the instinct.
“If it has any effect on me at all, it’ll be positive. It just makes me more hungry,” said Abella.
While Abella’s professional career is still young, Kajic has competed in the cage 17 times at the professional level. But that doesn’t have Abella fazed.
During his training at Little Sweat Shop, Frank Lee’s, and Complete Fitness and Martial Arts, Abella said he spars with fighters who have 15 years experience and 20-30 fights under their belt.
“To me, his experience doesn’t mean anything because of who I train with,” said Abella.
“Whether they’re 1-0, 2-0, or have 16 fights, I take them all the same.”
That attitude is common among undefeated finishers, and it is usually backed by the gym around them. Training alongside veterans with deep fight records compresses experience — an undefeated prospect who has spent hundreds of rounds in the room with 20-fight pros has effectively borrowed some of that seasoning, even if his own record doesn't show it yet.
Kajic Brings Wealth of Experience
While Abella doesn’t see experience playing much of a factor, Kajic believes otherwise.
And he has a fair argument. Seventeen professional bouts across seven years means Kajic has seen nearly every look a welterweight can offer — he has fought undefeated prospects, fellow veterans, grapplers and strikers, and he has been dropped and rallied. That accumulated ring knowledge is precisely the commodity undefeated opponents are usually missing, no matter how hard their camps are.
Kajic said he’s “been through it all” in his seven-plus year professional career, while Abella is only just beginning.
“I’ve gone the distance, I’ve lost, I’ve won, and I’ve been on that emotional roller coaster,” said Kajic in an interview.
“I’ve done it all. I’ve tasted the highs and the lows. He hasn’t.”
Throughout his career, Kajic has gone the distance six times, while Abella has yet to do so since turning professional.
Kajic believes if he can take Abella into the later stages of the fight, he will have a significant advantage.
The logic behind that is simple and well-worn in MMA: a fighter who has never been into deep water has never had to solve the fatigue, adrenaline dump and adrenaline-fueled decision-making of a third or fourth round. Kajic has been there six times; Abella's four wins all ended early enough that the question of what he looks like when the fight stops being easy has never been answered.
“It’s a different animal when you’re in the third round, you’re beat up, and you still have to get up and perform. And he hasn’t been there,” said Kajic.
“If I push it past the third round, he’s mine.”
Out of his eight victories, Kajic owns three knockouts and, much like Abella, is expecting to add to that total on Friday.
Through his work at Clinch MMA and Fitness, Kajic has developed a strong arsenal of shots capable of landing the finishing blow.
“I’ve got vicious kicks. If he breaks away from me and I see those hands down, I’m going to KO him hard with a head kick,” said Kajic.
“I just see a finish. I see him not being experienced, making a couple mistakes, and then I’ll clip him.”
