Three championship bouts anchored a thrilling card on Friday night as Havoc FC 12 unfolded at the Sheraton Red Deer Hotel.
The event originally had nine fights scheduled, but was reduced to seven on short notice. Evidently the 14 fighters who did compete were more than willing to make up for the scrapped bouts, as they put on a quality show for the sold out Sheraton Red Deer Hotel.
The main event featured two fighters from British Columbia battling over the heavyweight championship. Grayson Wells (3-1), representing Kelowna, defended his strap against Victoria's Dustin Joynson (3-0).
MMA enthusiasts got exactly the kind of fight they crave — a brutal, back-and-forth slugfest. Wells seemed to have Joynson in serious danger multiple times during the opening round, but the undefeated fighter absorbed the pressure and emerged victorious in the second.
Toward the closing moments of round two, Joynson locked in a rear naked choke on a fatigued Wells, who submitted at 4:54 and surrendered his belt to the newly crowned champion.
"This was the first time I've ever really been hit, so it really put me to the test," said Joynson in an interview. "I have a hard, strong will, so I knew I'd come back."
Joynson admitted he underestimated how aggressively Wells came out, and confessed to feeling far more nervous than anticipated at the opening bell.
"My arms felt like jello in that first round. It was really hard for me to get anything going."
Joynson improved to 4-0, while Wells falls to 3-2.
Inside the co-main event, Calgary's Justin Basra (3-0) faced unfamiliar challenges early in his professional career. His opponent, Randy Turner (8-6), brought 14 pro bouts to the cage compared to Basra's three.
Basra controlled most of the contest until Turner landed a clean head kick that drew attention from everyone watching. Turner expressed hope of dragging the fight deep into rounds four or five, but Basra refused to oblige.
At 4:47 of round two, Basra ended the contest with a rear naked choke submission, claiming the vacant Havoc FC bantamweight title.
"I'm happy with my performance," said Basra in an interview. "I got to show off a lot of my skills, like my wrestling, striking, and jiu jitsu.
Basra moves to 4-0 professionally, while Turner departs Ottawa at 8-7.
Following the bout, Basra quickly mentioned two fighters he'd love to face next: Mike Davis and Austin Ryan.
"I was offered to fight them prior, but they end up taking different opponents every time," said Basra. "I'm trying to stay active, and if you're in my division and you're ranked higher than me, I'm going to call you out."
In the amateur main event, the hometown hero, Jett Grande (3-0), delivered for the massive fanbase that packed the Sheraton. Grande welcomed Calgary's Sean Michaels (3-1) into the Havoc FC cage for the vacant amateur lightweight belt.
Grande dominated from the opening whistle, using his superior wrestling to drag the fight to the mat and control position throughout. Though he nearly finished Michaels on several occasions, Grande ultimately secured a unanimous decision victory and a gleaming new championship belt.
"For this fight, I just wanted to mix my striking and my takedowns, and that's what I was able to do," said Grande in an interview. "I'm a little bit disappointed I couldn't finish him, but I definitely did everything I wanted to do."
Grande explained that winning the title before his hometown supporters meant the world to him — something he'd poured years of dedication into achieving.
"I've trained for seven years just to get to this point," said Grande. "But this is just the beginning of what you're going to see from me."
The win moves Grande to 4-0, while Michaels drops to 3-2.
The remaining results from Havoc FC 12 can be viewed online.
