Fort McMurray, Alta., once again provided an electrifying evening of combat sports as Prestige FC 12 unfolded on Friday night.
The main event featured a highly anticipated rematch for the Prestige FC amateur welterweight title. Mark Mosure (now 7-2) delivered on that anticipation, avenging his earlier defeat to Dan Kovalchuk at Prestige FC 11 by capturing the unanimous decision and earning his maiden Prestige FC championship.
Mosure matched the approach that had served him well in their initial meeting, maintaining relentless forward pressure throughout all five rounds despite having previously fallen victim to a kimura in that early encounter.
"I felt really good. I wanted to work my striking a bit, but Dan's very tough. He ate a couple really big shots, but wasn't backing down at all," said Mosure in an interview with MMA Empire.
"Five rounds was definitely a different beast for me, but I'm happy it happened."
Having accumulated nine amateur bouts and secured two championships, Mosure has essentially conquered every milestone available at the amateur level.
A professional debut remains on the radar, though he's identified a handful of prerequisites before making that transition.
"I'm expecting a baby here at the end of February, so I'm going to be pretty busy with that, obviously, but will keep training of course," said Mosure.
"As far as going pro, it's something I do want to do, but I want to take a few amateur kickboxing bouts before going pro in MMA."
Deneve Dangerous Once Again
In the amateur welterweight division, Thomas Deneve (now 4-0) extended his remarkable run of first-round stoppages, flooring David Garcia (now 2-2) in a mere 15 seconds.
The burst marked Deneve's third knockout victory of 30 seconds or fewer, though he emphasized that he doesn't actively hunt for these rapid finishes—instead, he capitalizes on what each opponent presents.
"I respond to how my opponents react, and I could just tell when I threw the first two jabs and the overhand, I looked in his eyes and I could tell he was thinking this is more power than he was expecting," said Deneve in an interview with MMA Empire.
"I go in there to kill or be killed, and that's what happened."
After logging just a single bout in 2019, Deneve is eyeing a packed 2020 schedule with ambitions to compete at least three times.
Discussions with multiple organizations are already underway, and he's preparing to step beyond the Prestige FC cage.
"Moving forward, I have a bunch of contracts on the table. I have a few promoters that want me to sign longer-term contracts with them," said Deneve.
"I'm looking to do something like that where I'll be fighting once in Edmonton, once in Calgary and once in Vancouver. I'll probably be doing three or four fights next year."
Elsewhere on the card, Manny Rivera, Ryan Spurrier and Geoff Loken all secured victories, while Prestige FC head honcho Steve Dubeck emerged victorious in a spirited boxing bout against Josh Kitchen.
Additionally, Ian Stoby and Abderrahmane Haddad claimed wins in kickboxing.
