After announcing that the previous Wreck event was the last, fans, fighters and local businesses almost immediately approached Wreck MMA asking for the event to return. After careful consideration, the Wreck team went back to the drawing board to re-create an event that would be sustainable while giving the local fighters a promotion to call home. With the help of the Hilton Lac Leamy and Giovanni’s Restaurant the new Wreck MMA has returned and the fans of MMA in the region owe these partners a debt of gratitude for Wreck MMA 2.0.
To headline this event, an exhilarating showdown is official as Wreck MMA champion “Relentless” Randy Turner (7-2) of Ottawa, Ontario faces-off against “Dirty” Benny Vinson (5-1-1) of Portland, Oregon in a flyweight (125 pounds) bout.
Turner, 34, is Wreck’s Bantamweight champion but is dropping to flyweight for this bout. In November at Wreck MMA: Last Stand, Turner defeated The Ultimate Fighter veteran Bruce Ferguson by TKO in the fifth round. Turner trains out of the Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts and is currently on a five-fight win streak with a 70% finishing rate. This fight might be Turner’s ticket into the UFC’s Flyweight Division.
Vinson, 26, trains out of Sports Lab in Oregon. Sports Labs is home to former WRECK Bantamweight Champion and UFC alumni Ian ‘The Barn Owl’ Loveland, UFC Fighter Pat Healy and MMA veteran ‘Diamond’ Ryan Healy. A well rounded fighter, Vinson submitted Chris Wheaton by Rear-Naked Choke in the first round in his last fight.
A collision course is set at featherweight as Anna “Smiles” Barone (2-3) of Ottawa, Ontario, duels Sarah “Cheesecake” Moras (3-1) of Kelowna, British Columbia. Barone, 38, trains out of the Victory Performance Centre and has has finished both her wins by KO. This is her first bout in over a year and Barone is seeking to return to the win column. In her way is the 24-year-old Moras who trains out of Toshido Martial Arts in British Columbia. Last September, Moras rebounded from her first career loss with a first-round submission win over Christina Barry. All three of her victories are finishes. Moras is a veteran of Invicta Fighting Championships – the top all female MMA promotion.
In a 115-pound tilt, Randa Markos-Thomas (1-0) of Windsor, Ontario will go to war with Ashley Nichols (0-0) of Cambridge, Ontario. Nichols, 26, is an amateur world champion in Muay Thai and is making her professional MMA debut. While Markos-Thomas, 27, is coming off a submission victory in her pro debut over Allanna Jones last November.
Also scheduled to appear on the card:
- A featherweight scrap between James Polodna and Tristan Kalijundzic.
- Flyweights collide as Tyler Kirk faces off against Steve Yhap.
- Middleweights are set to meet as Team Bushido’s James Kouame battles Bryan Black.
- In a 177 pound catch weight bout, Robert Thomas goes head-to-head with Drummondville’sFrancis Charbonneau.
- Welterweights are set to square off when Rockland’s Jeff Laughren meets Alex Laramee from Team Bergeron.
- Other Ottawa region fighters scheduled to appear: Mark Holst, Mandel Nallo, Pablo Santos,Valerie Deslauriers and Samuel Delbalke.
Tickets for Giovanni’s Restaurant Presents – Wreck MMA 2.0 are on sale now through Capital Tickets, on their website (capitaltickets.ca) or by calling 613-599-FANS (3267).
