Fight fans are in for a treat in this potential Fight of the Night as Cleve Bentley takes on Oren Hanscomb for the vacant BFL Amateur Featherweight Title. Both fighters have been close to capturing gold, but this time both vow to take home gold at Fight Night 26.
Bentley (1-2), a 24 year old hailing from Kelowna, BC had that opportunity slip through his fingers at Fight Night 23. What started with an excellent start to his #1 contender’s bout with former 2-time champion Andre Da Silva, quickly turned into a nightmare at the end of the first round. During a takedown and some ground and pound, Bentley threw a punch that landed awkwardly on his opponent and broke a bone in his hand. “It was the first meta-carpal in my right hand. I punched the side of his head and I felt a pop. At first it felt like my glove wasn’t fitting properly. I was trying to adjust it, but my knuckle was deep in my hand.” The pain was confirmed when he began grappling with Da Silva into the start of the second round. “I was with him up against the cage trying for underhooks and the pain was just shooting up my hand.” With Bentley clearly in pain and unable to throw punches, the doctor stopped the bout and awarded the bout to Da Silva. “I was pretty bummed about them stopping the fight, I couldn’t change it so I’ve accepted it and moved on.”
Video: Bentley vs Hanscomb head to head for the vacant BFL Featherweight title
For Bentley, coming back and getting a shot at the title is important for him as another step in his career; winning the title is his immediate goal but his dream is to make it to the UFC. Cleve has his training partners and Coach Dave Lea at Toshido MMA to thank for helping to push him through this camp and get him ready for his fight against Hanscomb. A long time member of Toshido MMA, Bentley has his blue belt in BJJ under Coach Lea, and looks to use his grappling experience as an edge in this fight. “I feel the difference in this fight is going to be my wrestling. He’s an explosive fighter, kind of a brawler, but I’m going to control the pace and put the fight where I want it to go.”
In the other corner, Hanscomb (6-3) recently had his own opportunity for a title slip away. Kicking off the main card of Fight Night 25 in September against Da Silva, Hanscomb put on an incredible performance for the vacant Featherweight title against the eventual champion. Their frantic pace blew the roof off the River Rock Casino, only to have their back and forth five-round battle end in a decision for Da Silva. Hanscomb put on a gutsy performance in his bout against the champ, but felt he deserved the nod. “I felt I won enough rounds to win the fight, but it is what it is. When you do a sport like this you’ve got to move on.” Hanscomb plans to do just that, getting a lot of experience travelling and working with some of the best trainers in the lower mainland. “I’ve been working with Jodey Ingalls at Pure Martial Arts and Shawn Albrecht at West Coast Martial Arts. This fight I don’t have any expectations. A fight’s a fight. I’m just gonna work hard in training, do what I do and I think it’ll turn out my way.”
Hanscomb’s determination to win the elusive title has been doubled with his training, and he knows his opponent is going to bring out the best in him for this fight. “I’ve seen a lot of his footage. I know he has a lot of speed and he moves really well, but I have a lot of experience with that type of fighter and I fought a couple tough guys like that as well. I’ve got a really good game plan that’s going bring the fight to me and allow me to work with my strengths and skills.”
Here’s the preview for their matchup including a breakdown of their skills and abilities:
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