It has been quite a year for the Maximum Fighting Championship.

Five shows – all sellouts – and a new home at the River Cree Resort and Casino.

Two new champions crowned – Scott Junk taking the heavyweight title in a rugged battle with Jimmy Ambriz and Roger Hollett dethroning Victor Valimaki in convincing style to rip away the light heavyweight belt.

There’s been a sharp increase in the talent level of some MFC homegrown talent – the meteoric rise of undefeated welterweight Ryan Ford, the sudden ascent of Ryan Heck in the lightweight ranks, and the brute force of light heavyweight fan favourite Jason Kuchera.

From top to bottom and all the aspects of running a top-flight promotion in between, it has been a memorable ’07 calendar for the MFC. But as that calendar runs out and the 2008 schedule looms in the not-so-far-off future, I wanted to take a look back and credit those fighters who deserve recognition for their feats.

The 2007 MFC Year in Review will come in three separate Z-Files – the first is this one which features the 10 best submissions. The top 10 knockouts will follow next week, and in the midst of the holiday season will be the overall top 10 fights of the year plus a few bonus awards as well.

So let’s get the honours started:

Submissions of the Year

10. Josh Kyrejto def. Paul Ebejer (MFC 11): It was over in the blink of an eye. As Ebejer tries a takedown, Kyrejto jumps up and pulls Ebejer into a guillotine and wins in just 21 seconds. He worked up more a sweat walking to the ring than actually squaring off against his opponent.

  9. Sean Locke def. Dan Chambers (MFC 11): A perfect contrast in styles – the striker Chambers vs. the submission specialist Locke. A former BJJ world champion, Locke controls Chambers all the way across the ring while locking in a head-and-arm choke right in Chambers’ own corner. It’s slick and quick enough – 4:50 of Round 1.

  8. Dan Ferguson def. Josh Kyrejto (MFC 14): The two featherweights looked initially like they were going to stand and trade punches, but it winds up hitting the deck. Kyrejto seemed to be the guy to have the advantage but instead it’s Ferguson who pulls off a strong guillotine to force the tapout at 2:51 of Round 1.

  7. Jason Zorthian def. Kevin Dolan (MFC 12): No matter how good a striker you are, you’re going to lose if you can’t defend anything on the ground (Remember how bad Houston Alexander looked on his back?). Dolan looked lost when Zorthian got him down and in just 35 seconds it was over thanks to an unbreakable armbar.

  6. Ryan McGillivray def. Aaron Gallant (MFC 11): In just 2:45, McGillivray picked up his third win in a row showing off what’s dubbed in his camp as “Croatian ju-jitsu” – before you get the tapout, rough the guy up a little. Armbar and it is over.

  5. Ryan McGillivray def. Kyle Ayotte (Unplugged 3): McGillivray had to contend with his opponent’s reach advantage and gangly limbs, but he did it well by getting his third straight win by armbar early in the first round.

  4. Mike Gates def. Jason Biggeman (MFC 13): It was expected that Gates would have good wrestling skills coming from the American Midwest. But after showing those takedown abilities he learned on the mat, Gates demonstrated a good grasp on submissions by taking Biggeman’s arm home as a souvenir just 1:23 into Round 1.

  3. Sean Wright def. Dave Logan (MFC 14): Logan got a very unkind birthday present from Wright who pulled him into a guillotine in the centre of the ring. Wright heard his corner calling an end to the fight, but waited for the referee to pull him off. By the time the ref stepped in, Logan was face down and unconscious only 42 seconds into the fight.

  2. Steve Bruno def. Graydon Tannas (MFC 11): Bruno made his MFC debut a memorable one when he outmaneuvered and then tossed Tannas to the mat. The Florida invader then effortlessly got his back and sunk in a deep rear-naked choke. The whole thing took just 1:15 and the former U.S. Navy air crewman made a case for himself to be in the welterweight title chase.

 1. Steve Vujnovic def. Ryan McGillivray (MFC 14): Two very good submission fighters went nose to nose but Vujnovic was all over a bloodied up McGillivray throughout Round 1 working for the rear-naked choke at several different points. McGillivray looked ready to rebound in Round 2, but Vujnovic caught him in a textbook triangle choke and rendered him unconscious to become a top candidate for the 170-pound title.

****

An “expert” Athlete: Homegrown star Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald, who looks headed back to the UFC in April, was almost 100% on his predictions for MFC 14. His only miss was taking Ryan McGillivray over Steve Vujnovic. Now as far as predicting who he will face in his next UFC bout that’s probably up in the air for a bit. Personally I’d like to see him get a shot at Kendall Grove who has called Jason out on a number of occasions and surely JMAC would love to add another victim to his “TUF Killer” hitlist.

Predict this: I’m a far cry from Jason MacDonald in the expert category but my own picks for upcoming UFC events are: GSP over Matt Hughes and Wanderlei Silva over Chuck Liddell. If those two do indeed lose, what are the chances that both might just retire as well?

More predictions: I’m the first to say that the MFC wants to fill its vacant title spots in ’08 while still maintaining the company standard of not just throwing titles at anyone at anytime. Now, though, there are very viable candidates in the lightweight ranks including Ryan Heck, Fabio Holanda and the soon-to-be returning Jake Hattan. And at welterweight, certainly Steve Vujnovic has put himself in the upper class and there’s no doubt that if he stays undefeated in his next three or four fights, Ryan Ford will be there too. This year should also see title defences – I’d say two for sure once Roger Hollett and Scott Junk both are healed from knee surgery.