Fast-paced action unfolded at Rise FC 2 on Friday evening in Chilliwack, B.C.
Opening the night's title bouts, Chad Anheliger (now 8-5) wasted no time securing his maiden championship as he stopped Terrence Chan (now 4-2) via first-round TKO in their flyweight title showdown.
Anheliger explained that capturing the belt means far more than a single triumph — it embodies the culmination of everything he's dedicated his career toward.
"This feels like such an accumulation of things. This belt symbolizes a lot of hard work I've been putting in for a lot of years," said Anheliger in an interview.
"I'm very very happy I was able to pull it off tonight."
The win also extends Anheliger's current streak to six consecutive appearances inside the cage, with five of those ending in finishes.
Anheliger noted that Chan attempted the takedown just as anticipated, though he was pleasantly surprised by how long Chan stayed competitive on his feet.
"Normally, I touch guys once or twice and they really don't want to be there," said Anheliger.
"But he was down tonight. He was ready to throw and go out on his shield, so I have big props to him for it."
Cookie Monster Champion
As for the second title fight, Craig Maclean (now 5-2) dispatched Andrew Bard (now 2-7) in impressive fashion, landing a knockout strike fewer than a minute into the opening round to capture the bantamweight belt.
Both combatants came out aggressively from the opening bell, each exchanging significant strikes, but Maclean ultimately found his mark with a devastating body knee followed by a clean right hand.
"He was definitely hurt after that," said Maclean in an interview.
"I know he complained a little bit to the ref, but it was only going to go downhill from there because he was pretty out of it."
Maclean has now secured four victories in his last five outings, with this contest marking his first bout outside of the BFL cage.
He expressed eagerness to defend his newly acquired belt immediately, hoping the next opportunity arrives at Rise FC 3, set for April 13.
"I'm looking to defend this belt and I know he (Sabah Fadai) wants to keep me active," said Maclean.
"It's a new promotion and they don't really have a roster built up yet, so they're going to be bringing guys in. We'll see what names they bring and we'll tackle that one next."
Mackenzie's Debut a Success
In his highly anticipated professional debut, Josh Mackenzie (now 1-0) seamlessly transitioned from his undefeated amateur run, earning a second-round TKO victory over Bryce Gougeon (now 0-2).
Mackenzie's professional debut had already been rescheduled twice before this event, with previous opponents withdrawing from the bout.
He described the experience of finally competing professionally as deeply satisfying, and expressed genuine gratitude to Gougeon for accepting the fight.
"It was either guys were too unprofessional and couldn't make weight, or somebody gets hurt, or somebody's a scared little bitch," said Mackenzie in an interview.
"Gougeon was man enough to take the fight, and I can't thank him enough for that."
Before facing Gougeon, Mackenzie had studied his opponent's previous bout with Fight Laursen, giving him valuable insight into what to expect.
However, he noted that Gougeon displayed considerably more composure and restraint compared to the wild approach he had anticipated.
"Gougeon took two years off and obviously that paid off. He tightened up his game. He's a game fighter," said Mackenzie.
"His record may be 0-2, but his record doesn't define who he is. That's one tough son of a gun."
Capping off the evening, Darwin Douglas (now 6-6) returned to the cage after nearly four years away, stopping Greg Large (now 2-13) with a first-round knockout in their heavyweight matchup.
Brodie Dabb, Aaron Blanchette, Damon Marlow, and Saeid Mirzaei were also victorious on the card.
