We know that there’s a full day of football in the NFL on Sunday, as well as this year’s Grey Cup Game in the CFL from BC Place Stadium in Vancouver. This week, however, you can tell your favorite running back to grab a seat on the bench. There’s a Sunday MMA card for you to enjoy.
Choinski Clashes With Simon for APFC Lightweight Championship in APFC 14 Co-Main Event
Anthony Pettis‘ APFC, formerly known as Showtime Fighting Championship, returns to live action for the one and only time in November. While APFC was originally supposed to have held a card next Sunday in Richmond, VA, the promotion has since postponed and rescheduled APFC 15 to Dec. 8.
APFC mentioned that all passes from the originally-scheduled show will be accepted on Dec. 8. As far as this week’s action goes, live coverage begins at 3 pm ET/ noon PT on the promotion’s official YouTube channel with prelims before heading to UFC Fight Pass at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT for the main card. Two title fights will be at the top of the bill this weekend, including a lightweight tussle matching Mark Choinski (6-0 MMA, 3-0 APFC) and John Simon (7-3 MMA, APFC promotional debut.)
As per the fight contract, the APFC 14 co-main event is an advertised maximum of three rounds at five minutes per round.
APFC 14 Co-Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the APFC 14 co-main event on Sunday night, John Simon stands as the taller man at 5-foot-9, compared to the 5-foot-8 frame of Mark Choinski. No reach advantage information was accessible at press time.
Additionally, the oddsmakers have yet to release money lines for this event. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this weekend, please wager responsibly.
Dissecting Mark Choinski
Mark Choinski, a former NCAA Division III wrestler at The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, has yet to lose thus far in his MMA career. He knows a thing or two about competing for championships.
While at Wisconsin-Oshkosh, Choinski appeared in three successive Division III championship meets, placing third in 2019. In more recent times, he scored a first-round submission by way of arm-triangle choke against Rese Archer (2-10 MMA, 0-1 APFC), an alumnus of Power Slap, on Oct. 6.
He’ll have a quick turnaround in-between fights. By the time the cage door shuts on Sunday night, Choinski will have gone six weeks to the day since he last competed.
During his Oct. 28, 2023 fight against Johan Van de Hal, Choinski turned the fight into one-way traffic, backing him up against the cage fence and landing a barrage of strikes, including some kicks to the leg and body. With Van de Hal sporting some blood on his face, Choinski drove Van de Hal to the mat and worked on a rear-naked choke, forcing Van de Hal to tap right as the opening round neared its end.
He’s won every fight so far in his career, so will he keep it up on Sunday in the APFC 14 co-main event? Tune in and find out.
Looking At John Simon
In the other corner, John Simon has posted a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. Most recently, he scored a unanimous decision victory over UFC alumnus Luis “Violent Bob Ross” Pena (12-8 MMA, 0-2 CTFC) in Cage Titans 67 on Sept. 14.
Simon is also adept at grappling, going 3-1 in Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground between March of 2020 and December of 2021. This isn’t Simon’s first rodeo when it comes to a championship fight. Back in 2022, Simon scored a first-round knockout against Adrian Guzman (6-4 MMA, 0-2 A1 Combat) during A1 Combat 2.
During Simon’s professional debut in November of 2018 against Brock Gorang in Reign FC, he came out swinging in the third and final round of the fight. Right as the command to fight was given to begin round three of the contest, landing a tremendous kick to drop Gorang to the canvas before landing a short burst of ground and pound shots to knock Gorang out.
John Simon’s key in the APFC 14 co-main event on Sunday night is a simple one: Beat Mark Choinski to the punch. As long as he catches Choinski napping once the cage door shuts this weekend, he’ll be in great shape.
Final Thoughts
It’s not every week that you get MMA on a Sunday night. You’ll get it both this week and next. A week from Sunday, Fury FC returns with Fury Challenger Series 12 from Houston on UFC Fight Pass.
With no other fights going on this Sunday night, you’ve got no reason that prevents you from tuning into APFC 14 and the APFC 14 main event. There’ll be another championship fight afterward, so make an evening of it.
Prediction: Mark Choinski by First-Round Submission.
