By Dane Ford, MMAInsider.net

I recently had a talk with MFC Middleweight contender “Smilin” Sam Alvey about how he got started in MMA, his stay on TUF, Dan Henderson, and the Maximum Fighting Championship.

Let’s start things off by having you talk a little about how you wound up competing in mixed martial arts as a professional.

When MMA was first coming about, I had no idea about it. I started off learning weapons until one day I heard you could fight with just your fists in a cage, and I said, “I can do that.”, I learned I wasn’t nearly as tough as I thought I was. I almost knocked him out, but ended up getting knocked out. You know what they say: almost is only good enough for horseshoes and hand grenades. From that point on, I started training, went on an 11 fight win streak, and turned pro somewhere along the line.

Let’s talk about that win streak. You started your career going 11-1 on your local circuit. That’s a very impressive accomplishment. What would you attribute that early success to?

I’ve worked hard. My early success was because this was something I decided I was going to do. I started a gym in the process so I had someone to train with. It (the win streak) kept going for me. Every time I won, I got more confident and it was just great.

So, you decided this was something that you wanted to do and just went at it full force?

Absolutely, and I didn’t know I could make a career out of it. It was something where I could see how tough I am every time I stepped in the cage. I fought a lot in the early days; one year I fought about 12 times. It was every month back to back. I was beat up from January, but it was a great year and I truly enjoyed it.

You went on a sort of world tour fighting in Mexico, Canada, and New Zealand. The fight in New Zealand is one you’ve been critical about, as you don’t feel you should have lost that one. Unfortunately, New Zealand doesn’t even have an athletic commission for you to contest the loss to. Tell us a little about that fight to give us, and our readers, some insight into what exactly happened there.

New Zealand was a mistake. We found the fight and decided to do it. It was a 205 fight, I like fighting at 205, and it would be fun to get a trip to New Zealand. The guy had a good record, so it would look good on my win sheet. When we got there they treated us great and everything seemed to be on the up and up. Then we got to the fight and the promoter was the referee. The fight was stopped during one round because his corner was spread around the octagon and had to be corralled back to one side. He ended up poking me in the eye twice and kicking me in the groin once, which he was deducted one point for.

I’m not sure if the judges were related to him, or something *laughs* but it came back as a unanimous decision. All I had to do was win one round and it would have been a draw with that one point. I’d never been mad after a fight, but I was mad after this one since I had won all three rounds and the fight. Anyone with eyes could see that. Parts of his hometown crowd were booing the decision, so we went backstage and talked to the promoter to let him know it wasn’t right and he knew it. He told us he couldn’t change it, but he could send the video to three judges from around the world that have nothing to do with us or the promotion and get it changed that way.

Before we made it home, we were in Hawaii for a layover. He was online saying they were not taking a point away from the guy anymore because they re-watched the footage and said that there was no eye poke. He waited until we were out of earshot and immediately went screaming to the fans that it was legitimate and nothing happened. That again made us upset, but there wasn’t anyone who could do anything. Now I’ve got an asterisk next to that loss, so now before a fight when they announce my record, you’ll see me hold my fingers up showing how many losses I actually have.

After that fight you recorded 2 first round technical knock out stoppage wins and were then invited to be on TUF-Team Carwin vs Team Nelson. You won your way into the house with a nice knock out of Leo Kuntz and were selected as Shane’s first pick overall. You were competing for the first time as a Welterweight for the show and spoken about how the weight cut was so draining due to cutting 40 lbs in 29 days. Do you feel the cut was a factor in that loss?

The cut was bad but it was doing it 2 weeks in a row that got me. I made weight the first time at 170, and it was like the walls were coming in. The next day I weighed in again at almost 200lbs. Nearly 30lbs overnight I put back on, and six days later I made the cut again. The plan was to get rid of the weight first, then get it back down more naturally for the last two fights. I woke up on the morning of the fight tired; my body was hurting. All day I tried to get myself back up; I was eating everything I should be eating and drinking as much as I could but it didn’t work. I got in the cage and you saw the result. I was flat-footed; I don’t think I punched once during the fight. I got kicked a couple of times and got back up, it was bad. Joey did everything he should have, I’m not trying to take anything from him. He went out there and kicked me upside my head a couple times. (more…)

Sportsnet.ca

OTTAWA — The House of Commons has passed a bill legalizing contact sports such as mixed martial arts.

The legislation, which originated in the Senate, takes certain fighting sports, including taekwondo and karate as well as the popular sport of MMA, out of legal limbo.

The sports were not technically covered under prize-fighting law, making it difficult to regulate them and protect the safety of fighters.

The bill passed the Commons easily with 267 members of parliament in favour and only nine opposed.

The Criminal Code section on prize-fighting was last changed in 1934, long before the rise of the new fighting sports.

Section 83.1 of the Criminal Code only exempted boxing.

The section said anyone who “engages as a principal in a prize fight,” encourages, promotes or is present at a prize fight as an aid, second, surgeon, umpire, backer or reporter is guilty of an offence — unless the “boxing contest” is “held with the permission or under the authority of an athletic board or commission or similar body established by or under the authority of the legislature of a province for the control of sport within the province.”

The section also allowed “a boxing contest between amateur sportsmen, where the contestants wear boxing gloves of not less than one hundred and forty grams each in mass.”

Some jurisdictions ignored the antiquated wording of the law.

The UFC, the largest promoter of MMA fighting, lobbied for the legislative change. As it has done in the U.S.

The Edmonton-based Maximum Fighting Championship is the largest Canadian promoter.

(more…)

by Mick Hammond MMAWeekly.com

With his win over Jay Silva this past Friday at MFC 37, former Ultimate Fighter cast member “Smilin’” Sam Alvey was able to get back on track after suffering a loss to start off the year.

“I thought the win over Jay was a great win,” said Alvey. “He was the first guy – the first of many – that I’ve beaten from the UFC. I definitely want to keep this streak going.”

Alvey feels he was able to implement his game plan to perfection en route to a third-round TKO stoppage.

“Again, I had a slow start in the first round, but I’ve come to expect that in the first round, so it was all according to plan,” he said.

“Of the videos we saw of Jay, he didn’t move backwards very well, and so every time I really started to press him with combos and flurries, he backed up in a way that was beneficial to me.”

Alvey was able to make adjustments after his slow start, which is the biggest thing he had been working on since his loss to Elvis Mutapcic in February.

“The biggest change I made going into this fight from Elvis was being able to change my game plan and get it to where I needed it to be,” said Alvey. “After the first round, I went back to my corner and they told me to pick it up and get him moving backwards, which I started to do at the end of the round, but they wanted it the whole round.

“So that was the biggest thing I worked on was being able to do what my corner wanted to do.”

With the win, Alvey has put himself back in the MFC middleweight title picture, which is exactly where he wants to be. (more…)

‘Hayabusa’ guarantees more exciting fights on the horizon

By MFC Staff

Jason Zentgraf had a title shot waiting for him with a win. It didn’t pan out for “The Savage.”

Luke Harris didn’t know what would be on the other side for him should he beat Zentgraf. Now holding that victory in his grasp, “Hayabusa” is awaiting his next move.

Two fights ago, Harris had his impressive 10-fight winning streak stopped in a title eliminator. Against Zentgraf, Harris looked every bit like a regrouped fighter eyeing the top prize in the Maximum Fighting Championship’s middleweight division. Poised and prepared, Harris is eager to take the next step whatever it may be.

“The MFC middleweight division is stacked,” said Harris. “There’s incredible talent and you never know who (MFC Owner/President) Mark Pavelich is going to sign next. At this point in my career, I fight whoever they put in front of me. It’s really up to my manager Kyle Stoltz and Mark.

“I’m not specifically calling out anyone. All I can guarantee is an exciting fight versus whoever I face. One of my goals in my fight career is to never go to decision.”

While bouts are pondered, Harris can sit back and enjoy the attention his win over Zentgraf is getting. It dazzled those watching MFC 37: True Grit and was singled out for special attention by Bas Rutten on a recent edition of “Inside MMA” (http://www.hayabusamixedmartialarts.com/luke-harris-featured-on-bas-rutten-s-breakdown?id=790). The neck crank choke is a sure-fire contender for the MFC’s Submission of the Year, and the having the spotlight on one of his wins is a career highlight for Harris.

“It’s a huge honour having guys like Bas Rutten and Pat Miletich publicly comment on my fight and get the incredible exposure on AXS TV Fights,” noted the St. Albert, Alberta, athlete.

“I’ve looked up to them since before I began fighting. The submission that I used in that fight is one that we drill all the time at Hayabusa Training Centre. It’s more of a situational position but it definitely wasn’t accidental.” (more…)

Upcoming surgery for torn labrum keeping MFC lightweight champ out of action

By MFC Staff

The Maximum Fighting Championship will be without rising star and lightweight champion Graham “Cracka” Spencer for an extended period due to injury.

Spencer originally suffered the injury in training camp prior to his title fight against Mukai Maromo at MFC 36 – a bout in which the Nanaimo, B.C., product would submit his foe to claim the MFC’s lightweight belt. Spencer (10-1) put the difficulties aside to secure a third-round submission victory, but the pain never went away. In the end, it was discovered the Spencer fought with a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

“I couldn’t wrestle for the last month of my camp,” recalled Spencer. “After the fight I went to the doctor and told him about how I was having trouble and he thought I had a bulging disc in my neck so I got a bunch of tests done but nothing was wrong.

“So I got my shoulder x-rayed and it was separated. I did six weeks of rehab for that and tried to go back to training but it still didn’t feel right. Finally I just went and got an MRI and that’s how they found the tear.”

It’s unclear just how long Spencer will be sidelined. First and foremost, he needs to get on the operating table and get surgery to repair the tear.

“I’m very frustrated,” offered Spencer. “The first surgeon I talked to had a two-year waiting list. I’ve got a consult with a different doctor on July 31.

“If I don’t like what he says I’m going to just get it done privately. For now, I’m just working to get enough hours so I can get disability while I’m rehabbing. It doesn’t really bug me too bad unless I wrestle or lift weights but there no way it can hold up to training every day.”

The injury shelves Spencer’s desire to not only defend the lightweight belt but also his attempt to become the MFC’s first double-belt holder with his quest to win the featherweight title as well. Spencer is currently on a five-fight winning streak which includes two wins over Maromo and a decision victory over Shane Nelson at MFC 35.

“It couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” said Spencer, who was training with Team Alpha Male. “I was going to rent a place in Sacramento so I could be training there all the time and my wife could come down when she was available.

“Plus the MFC has been getting me so much recognition. Now I’m going to have to build it all up again.”