Global Warriors 2: MMA’s rebirth in Ontario

In a secluded spot at the end of a street in Burlington, Ontario, Canada; MMA was having a regional rebirth. As the PA system hummed out catchy pop hits and people whizzed by to their sits, the excitement began to build. An entire legion of fans and supporters have gathered to support the hometown boys from their neck of the woods in Ontario.

Global Warriors 2: MMA’s rebirth in Ontario

Some of these “Gentlemen” have appeared elsewhere; such as TUF 19’s Josh Hill. Others are fighting to get their name known… literally and figuratively.

With the cage retrofitted into the hockey arena, media teams swarmed around the ring with a string of cable in hand. Cage side VIP seating starts to swell in size. Once Gary Goodridge, MMA Pioneer and UFC verteran, walked in; things started to look serious. The crowd was growing by exponential amounts with every moment that passed. Robin Black, lead anchor for FIGHT network, took his seat at the commentator’s desk to call the upcoming action. Last minute adjustments aside, the action was nearly at hand. The temperature in the building was reaching a boiling point and the fights still haven’t even started!

Lights were dimmed. The ring announcer made his way to the center of the cage. After a minor technical delay, his bellowing baritone voice began to echo out of the ringside speakers. He requested that all officials to report to their prospective positions. Show time! A thumping echo of hands clanging off of the bleachers began to echo throughout the right side of the building as the first fighters of the evening were introduced. The fans had clearly spoken. They were ready to see Dave Hale, hometown boy early into his fighting tenure, put on a winning athletic performance. Sweat began to trickle from everyone’s brow with the heat radiating from the cage. Once introductions were made; punches to the face began. Thomas Sumantri versus the aforementioned Dave Hale at 135 pounds. They traded early before Sumantri backed out of the pocket and went for his first attempted take down. Hale displayed some crisp grappling defense as he was pushed against the cage. Sumantri clipped him with a left hand after being stuffed and dove in again for a double-leg. They scrambled quickly after Hale stuffed it with some explosive hip movement, and Hale was able to take his back. Sumantri defended and got to his feet but was clearly shaken. Hale caught him with the end of a right straight and again defended another take down with a furious sprawl and scramble. This time Hale swung to his left and sunk in both hooks from that side and swallowed Sumantri’s movement. Hale rolled him over with a wicked palm to palm grip around Sumantri’s neck and got the finish at 3:35 of the first round. That would be the tempo for the rest of the card in most cases.

The next three fights saw two fantastic finishes as well. Toronto versus Kitchener was the first of these. Kyle Post, representing TKO Fighting Arts, took on Oliver Vadnais out of Open Mat MMA. Post took a tough TKO loss after getting hit with some big hooks from the chamber, mounted and pounded out. He didn’t seem to be able to pull the trigger in the 155 pound fight against Vadnais, who looked to be the bigger and stronger man in the cage that evening. Oliver Vadnais only has three fights under his belt, but looked impressive. Good grappling, big power and technical boxing. Definitely a prospect to keep your eye on. The other finish that represented the home crowd strong was Adam Assenza vs. Taylor Solomon, a highly anticipated rematch on the regional circuit. Both guys were throwing wicked shots at each other in this bitter war that packed huge action inside of one round. Assenza, the hometown boy, looked exceptionally talented with his striking. His chin was also put to the test as Solomon clubbed him with big uppercuts to the body and head in the clinch. Assenza persevered through adversity, let Solomon punch himself out and caught him slipping with a lighting fast 5 punch combo that put his lights out for a brief moment. Covered in battle scars but filled with adrenaline, Assenza climbed atop the cage and let out his battle cry. Another prospect that should be noticed.

The next four fights were supposed to be the draw of the evening… but it would be hard to top what the fans had just seen. While some of the guys may have had names from other places; it was time for the to test their mettle for the bloodthirsty crowd in Burlington.

Another TKO victory is just what the doctor ordered at that moment and Mike Hernandez gave it to them. He picked his opponent, Lyndon Whitlock, apart over the course of four minutes on the fight before the knockout came naturally. Next was Alex Ricci vs Kyle Prepolec; which turned out to be a the most technical fight of the evening. Prepolec’s kickboxing based style resembles the movement of Mirko Cro Cop. His left high kick is eternal trouble if you aren’t careful. Alex Ricci is ever expanding skill set that can be dangerous if he pulls the trigger; which he has struggled with in some of his past fights. He let everything fly at Global Warriors 2, firing the crowd up with some beautiful right switch kicks. Ricci was able to control the clinch grappling in the first two rounds from the clinch as well, landing a few nice elbows in the process. Prepolec threatened a few times with head kicks, but couldn’t quite connect the way he needed to put Ricci away. Ricci showed off his top game after sprawling on Prepolec in the third. While it wasn’t a finish, it was a very good fight.

Every good show needs a tragic moment.  For the Burlington crowd, it was the defeat of Ryan Dickson.

In the co-main event of the evening, Native son Ryan Dickson was defeated via strikes at the one minute mark of the first round. His opponent, Jason “The Vanilla Gorilla” Witt, an invading American fighter out of Kansas City came out with the victory after an impressive performance on the feet. He set Dickson up with a left hook- right uppercut combination that dropped him, and followed up with some wicked hammer fists from half guard. Ryan definitely disagreed with the referee’s decision to stop the fight; but that wasn’t enough to change people’s minds. Impressive showing from the American contender. With the evening’s excitement reaching a pinnacle moment just before the entrance of Josh Hill; the thumping from the right side of the room began again accompanied this time by a chant of “Canada!”. The people were clamoring for “Gentleman” Josh Hill.

Fighting out of Hamilton, Ontario (just down the highway from Burlington), Josh Hill’s last fight was against WSOF champion Marlon Moraes. He brought the fighting pride of the biggest province in Canada out to the ring with him. He stood tall in the ring after being rushed by fans during his entrance into the arena. Stepping in against Josh Rettinghouse was no joke however. Rettinghouse had finished the majority of his opponents in a variety of ways. Rettinghouse is dangerous everywhere and cannot be taken lightly. This was the reason Global Warriors sold out. This was the time for Ontario to shine. As the bell rang, it was clear that the fans were going to get the show that they were looking for. Hill’s flawless wrestling-based movement came into play almost instantly as he faked low and threw punches up high. He backed Rettinghouse into the cage several times but never blew himself out. Rettinghouse defended very well and came out with his own offense that Hill had to take notice of. Rettinghouse was looking for a powerful body shot as he followed up every left-right combo with a kick up the middle. Round one closed with both guys looking strong. Round 2 saw Hill weather a storm from Rettinghouse who threw a spinning side kick in combination with several hard punches. Rettinghouse circled away from the power of Josh Hill for awhile, but was eventually caught with a stiff right hand right on the chin that brought both guys to the mat. Hill capitalized and held Rettinghouse down in the sprawl and hit him with some big knees to the collar-bone, shoulder and side. As the round closed, Rettinghouse scrambled up and looked to still be in the fight. Round 3 began slowly but the action heated up after a few exchanges. Hill began to gain the upper hand in grappling, as he rag-dolled Rettinghouse in the clinch and took his back. After grounding him and controlling his hips, Hill threatened with a rear naked choke. Rettinghouse fought it off and reversed into Hill’s guard for a small period of time, but Hill got to his feet and took Rettinghouse back down after a quick flurry of hooks.  This time he did not give up the position. This time he didn’t make the crowd groan. This time, Josh Hill bit down on his mouthpiece and squeezed Rettinghouse’s neck until he tapped. The building erupted in energy in a display that nearly blew the roof off. Hill climbed out of the cage and celebrated his win like a triumphant superhero in front of the audience.

An outrageous ending to a particularly important card. Exactly what Ontario needed to re-invigorate the grass roots of mixed martial arts in the province.

This kind of evening will continue to draw full houses to arenas all around the golden horseshoe in Ontario. Global Warriors 3? 4? 5? Nothing but promise for MMA north of the border.