'Real Deal' blows away HIT Squad's Fernandes

There’s no more room for debate. Ryan Ford is ready for his chance to claim the MFC welterweight championship.

The last of the stepping stones was conquered on Friday night when Ford demolished C.J. Fernandes, ending the fight just 2:23 into the first round.

Ford was all over Fernandes from the outset, landing several clean shots with the American on his back and then launching into a series of vicious attempts to seal a rear-naked choke. With his hooks in, Ford rolled Fernandes over and put a near-lethal squeeze on, leaving Fernandes no choice but to dejectedly tapout.

The soldout crowd witnessing the co-main event of MFC 16: Anger Management at the River Cree Resort and Casino went into a frenzy and Ford took to the HDNet Fights microphone to give them more.

“C.J. Fernandes and his trainers, everyone at HIT Squad, said that I was a one-dimensional fighter,” offered Ford. “Hey Matt Hughes – that’s jiu-jitsu, home boy!”

Ford will get his first opportunity at wearing championship gold on Friday, July 25 when MFC 17: Hostile Takeover hits The Venue at River Cree. The “Real Deal” is really ready to be crowned champion.

“I’ve been training for less than a year but I was born for this sport,” said Ford. “And now it’s time for me to have a title belt. I don’t care who it is – it doesn’t matter at all. I’ll beat whoever comes my way just like I did Pete Spratt and like I just did to C.J. Fernandes. I’m from the City of Champions and I will be a champion come July 25.”

While Ford took home the Submission of the Night honour, the Fight of the Night went to the showdown featuring two undefeated light heavyweights. The war between Jason Kuchera and Aron Lofton completely lived up to expectations.

The two stood toe-to-toe and threw thunderous shots that left both bloodied early on. Late in Round 1, Lofton got Kuchera’s back and rained down a barrage of strikes that forced the referee to stop the bout and allow the ringside doctor to check the damage to Kuchera.

The fight continued with Kuchera losing blood from multiple cuts. Round 2 began in much the same fashion with both fighters landing hard strikes. The punch totals soared and fatigue set in but both warriors continued on exhausted. Finally in the dying moments of the round, Lofton was able to sink in a guillotine choke and forced a tapout from Kuchera with just five seconds remaining. Both fighters received a standing ovation for their huge effort.

“I knew this was going to be a rough fight but damn, that was rough,” said Lofton. “He cracked me a couple times when I was on my back and I looked up and didn’t know where I was. And I hit him so many times with shots that I was sure they would have finished him off but he just kept coming.”

Other results:

Chase Gormley def. Eric Pele - Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
 
Matt Veach def. Matt Macgrath - Unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
 
Ben Henderson def. Mike Maestas - 4:11 Round 3, Tapout rear-naked choke
 
Chris Camozzi def. Dwayne Lewis - Unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
 
Gavin Neil def. Ryan McGillivray - Split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
 
Mike Sorensen def. Jeremy Martin - 1:06 Round 2, Tapout guillotine choke
 
Brandon Curts def. Sean Wright - 4:59 Round 1, Tapout rear-naked choke
 
Troy Sorenson def. Mike Tubbs - 0:51 Round 1, Tapout rear-naked choke
 
Evan Sanguin def. Dave Nippard - 2:23 Round 1, TKO