Geordie McCredie
Special to the Record
Prestige Fighting Championship held their fourth MMA event this past Friday, May 18 in Fort McMurray. The Comox Valley Boxing Club was well represented with amateur sensation Fraser Jordan on the undercard and Mike "The Honey Badger" Hackert in the main event.
Hackert faced off against Edmonton's Tim "The Thrashing Machine" Hague, the #1 ranked heavyweight mixed martial artist in Canada. This was a huge step up in competition for Hackert and a possible springboard to the UFC if he were able to win impressively. The event was well organized and with "Big John" McCarthy refereeing, held itself to a high standard of professionalism.
For his heavyweight debut, Hackert decided to use a new nickname and he more than lived up to it, both by weighing in over 35 pounds lighter than Hague and by punishing his bigger opponent at every turn.
Hague said after the fight that while he felt he was in good shape and had a good training camp, Hackert hurt him with nearly every shot he landed and stayed a step ahead throughout. Known for his knockout power, Hague intended to make short work of Hackert utilizing his heavy hands, but it was not to be.
Hackert used his speed and explosiveness to make the most of his strikes and used his superior footwork and head movement to dodge the punches coming at him as he punished Hague with precision strikes to the head and body throughout the contest.
The only slip-up for Hackert came in the first round when he threw a kick that Hague caught, immediately taking him down into guard position. However, Hackert was unfazed and worked steadily to improve his position and stand up without taking any punishment. Once he was back on his feet, he went back to landing strikes seemingly at will with Hague unable to respond with anything effective for the remainder of the fight.
As the action wore on, Hackert's strikes made a visible impression on Hague's face to the point that he was nearly unrecognizable by the end of the fight. While the result may have been unexpected by pundits and fans alike who made predictions before the event, there was no doubt about the decision in the minds of the judges who scored it 30-27, 30-27, and 30-26 all in favour of Hackert.
After the fight, Canada's new #1 MMA heavyweight stated he would entertain all interesting offers but had no immediate plans to sign with any specific promotion and had no particular opponent in mind for his next bout.
CVBC coach Jonny Mac called the win huge and figures an appearance in the UFC cage cannot be far off for Hackert.
Meanwhile, Jordan fought Stephane Hovington of the famed Tristar gym in Montreal (home to Canada's most celebrated mixed martial artist, Georges St. Pierre) at 185 pounds (middleweight). Both fighters came out swinging, but Jordan's onslaught of punches quickly overwhelmed Hovington and he was unable to stop the inevitable clinch and takedown that were to follow. Moving directly to mount, Jordan began raining down punches and though Hovington was able to roll over to avoid them momentarily, the punishment never stopped and the ref was forced to step in at 1:24 of round one declaring Jordan the winner by TKO.
This is Fraser's third consecutive victory, leaving him with a perfect 3-0 record, but that doesn't adequately reflect his depth of experience in MMA as a coach and cornerman. With such flawless execution of his game plan in every outing so far, it seems unlikely he will be able to remain at the amateur level for long.
After the fight, Fraser indicated his frustration with a lack of opponents at amateur. Look for him to make an immediate impact on the western Canadian middleweight division when he makes his long overdue professional debut.
CVBC not only produces some of the top professional and amateur athletes in Canada, they also have many classes for beginners and those looking to get in top shape.
"Strength and conditioning, wrestling, kickboxing, Capoiera, MMA and kids classes are offered for a low price," a club spokesperson said. "You can find us on our website www.cvboxingclub.com, Facebook cv boxingclub, Twitter @cvboxingclub or you can call Jonny Mac at 250-898-7444."