BFL 50 takes place on July 8 from the Vancouver Convention Centre in the city’s downtown core. We are just 10-weeks away from the massive all amateur event and that means MMASucka.com has a huge series in store for the British Columbia promotions marquee event.
Each and every weekday for the next 10-weeks, MMASucka will bring you a different article. They won’t be your average fight story. Instead, we will have 50 of the most memorable moments in Battlefield Fight League history. Just so you know, these are in absolutely no particular order.
Check back daily for a new article leading up to BFL 50.
5. West Coast Express
When Battlefield Fight League started back in 2010 there were a number of fighters on the first card that you could tell were going to be something else. Oddly enough, a number of those fighters came from one fight camp — West Coast Martial Arts.
The club was run by head coach Don Whitefield. He holds a black belt under Ricardo De La Riva and had some of the best young talent in the lower mainland. Heck all across Canada. Pro fighter Shawn Albrecht and coach Josh Bohnen put these guys in line and helped them reach their highest potential.
The first event that was headlined by a West Coast product was BFL 3, when Jacen Brooks won the BFL welterweight title. Just three fight cards later and Micah Brakefield, another West Coast product went on to headlined BFL 6 against Matt Dwyer.
The gym had a slew of talent and were known for taking over BFL fight cards.
Along with Brooks, three other fighters from West Coast Martial Arts held BFL championships. Brakefield was an amateur middleweight champion, David Kennedy held the amateur welterweight championship and current UFC featherweight Jeremy Kennedy held both the pro and amateur 145-pound belt.
One of the most notable nights for WCMA was BFL 9: Quest for Gold. Kennedy defeated Tristan Storrs in the main event to be crowned amateur champ and in the co-main event, Brakefield knocked out Justin Lansing to capture gold as well. David Kennedy also beat Jonathan Agnew on that very same card.
Despite the team not being as active as it had been in the past, they still hold the second overall camp record, just behind Revolution Fight Team with 34 victories and 14 defeats inside the BFL cage.
West Coast has some current contenders on the BFL roster, including lightweight Matt Lepper.
Check back on Monday for our sixth installment of the 50 most memorable BFL moments.
BFL 50 most memorable moments – #1
BFL 50 most memorable moments – #2
BFL 50 most memorable moments – #3
BFL 50 most memorable moments – #4
