After nearly a year away from the cage, Calgary's Justin Basra is ready to test his perfect record once more at Havoc FC 12 on Friday.
Basra (3-0) launched his professional career in early 2016 and quickly built a winning streak over the next six-plus months. However, scheduling obstacles—including a cancelled event—left him without a bout until now.
That wait is over. Basra steps back into the octagon facing what promises to be his stiffest test yet: Randy Turner (8-6) of Ottawa, Ontario. These two fighters will compete for the vacant Havoc FC bantamweight championship.
"Knowing what I know about him, he's highly skilled across the board and brings plenty of experience with 12 to 15 fights under his belt," Basra shared in an interview. "He's unquestionably the hardest opponent I've faced so far."
Basra's Evolving Ground Game
Through his brief career, Basra has collected seven combined pro and amateur victories to date, with his latest six wins all ending by stoppage. That's particularly notable given how limited his grappling skills were before.
He says his ground game has undergone a dramatic transformation during camp, spending most of his preparation working alongside Brad Cardinal to sharpen his submission wrestling.
"I didn't have a jiu-jitsu instructor at all," Basra explained. "After my previous fight, I reached out to Cardinal and asked whether I could train with his squad. It's been nearly a year now that I've been going to him two or three times weekly. My ground game has completely leveled up—I genuinely have a real jiu-jitsu arsenal now."
Basra says he'll stick to his tried-and-true strategy: leverage the skills where he excels, keep advancing, maintain a blistering tempo, and weave in his wrestling and grappling prowess.
"His moniker is 'Relentless,' meaning he prides himself on pressure too. But I doubt he can keep up with my rate for the full 25 minutes. I expect a finish victory."
At 39, Turner might be winding down a storied MMA career, but that hasn't deterred him from battling some of Canada's best bantamweights, Basra included.
Despite falling in his last three outings, Turner demonstrated he can hang with elite competition against fighters like Austin Ryan, Corey Gower, and Chad Anheliger.
Facing another capable challenger in Basra, Turner noted his camp at the Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts focused on versatility rather than a single gameplan. Since Basra is known as a strong wrestler, Turner aimed to prepare for every possibility.
"My vision is for us to stay measured, adapt as we go, and hopefully push the contest into the later rounds—fourth or fifth," Turner said.
If retirement looms for the veteran, adding a title to his career achievements represents the culmination of everything he's worked toward.
"I'm giving everything I have for this bout," Turner declared.
"Ending on such a high note barely captures what it means. This is exactly what I'm chasing."
