A ‘Stout’ Return for TKO
Freddie DeFreitas Sep 27, 2007
After a nearly four-month hiatus, TKO returns Sept. 28 to
Montreal.
While at first glance the organization's 30th show lacks that one marquee matchup, there's no shortage of talent or excitement on the card slated for the Bell Centre. In the main event, TKO lightweight champion Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout returns to defend his title against Martin "The Hammer" Grandmont.
These two are not strangers. They met on the kickboxing stage a few
years back, with Stout notching the decision win.
Stout's crisp stand-up rarely offers an uninteresting fight. Add Grandmont's in-your-face style, and you have the recipe for five potentially awe-inspiring rounds.
Stout's chin certainly can't be questioned after the June UFC bout, in which he was caught flush with several shots that would have stopped a charging rhino dead in its tracks. In front of Stout on Friday, though, will be another opponent who will continually move forward and pressure him no matter how many times Stout tags him.
"The Hammer" has displayed flashes of brilliance since making the move down to lightweight. He holds wins over Dave Pariseau (Pictures) and Tyler Jackson (Pictures) and appears to have found his place at 155 pounds. His time at 170 had been an up-and-down affair, as he looked reckless in losses to Stout's teammates, Aaron Tregear (Pictures) and TKO welterweight title challenger Chris Clements (Pictures).
With the TKO welterweight title still needing a new owner after Montreal's favorite son, Georges St. Pierre (Pictures), relinquished it, TKO 30 will see the hardware finally placed around the waist of a new champion.
Chris Clements (Pictures) will meet Jesse Bongfeldt in a five-round title bout that has "fight of the night" stamped all over it.
The match is another chance for Bongfeldt to further solidify himself as one of Canada's top up-and-coming welterweights. After a disappointing loss in his TKO debut to Jonathan Goulet (Pictures), Bongfeldt returned strong with back-to-back stoppage wins, including a victory in Hardcore Championship Fighting over former TKO welterweight title contender Sean Pierson.
Clements, on the other hand, is coming off his first professional loss in more than two years at the hands of Rory Markham (Pictures) in the IFL semifinals. The Team Tompkins welterweight had looked unstoppable before the Aug. 2 bout, winning four fights in less than eight months by TKO or knockout.
Only one of those wins got out of the first round, and one added the record for fastest knockout in MMA to Clements' list of accomplishments.
Bongfeldt has shown in recent bouts an incredible ability to absorb punishment and yet find a way to pull out the win. Clements has an uncanny knack for administering punishment. With that said, this looks to be a true match made in heaven.
After an unsuccessful WEC debut loss to Rani Yahya (Pictures), former TKO featherweight champion Mark Hominick (Pictures) returns to the organization that kick-started his career more than five years ago. A participant in more than a dozen TKO events, "The Machine" returns to Montreal for the first time since losing a controversial decision to current featherweight king Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) in a hotly contested five-round affair.
For the native of London, Ontario, it will be far from easy sailing against the seemingly unstoppable, yet widely unknown Ben Greer, who's currently sporting a nine-fight winning streak.
Fighting out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Greer poses a definite threat. His strengths are Hominick's weaknesses: Greer's dynamic ground game has brought him success throughout his 12-fight career, with six of his 10 wins coming by submission.
Hominick possesses an amazing ability to keep fights where he excels -- standing -- and only against the highest caliber of grapplers has his lack of submission defense been exposed. Greer is a talented fighter, but is his ground game in the same category as Hioki's and Yahya's? It remains to be seen.
Former hockey enforcer Steve Bosse looks to make it two in a row as he faces Lance Evans (Pictures) in a heavyweight super fight.
Bosse made a successful foray into mixed martial arts when he quickly stopped David Fraser at TKO 29 in June. Evans has lost his last two bouts by knockout and has been inactive since his TKO debut in September 2005.
With Evans, Bosse appears to have someone who will stand and trade with him -- at least until he gets hit.
Full Card
Sam Stout (Pictures) vs. Martin Grandmont (Pictures)
Lance Evans (Pictures) vs. Steve Bosse
Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Clements (Pictures)
Mark Hominick (Pictures) vs. Ben Greer
Stephane Dube (Pictures) vs. TJ Grant (Pictures)
Syd Barnier vs. Justin Tavernini
Marcus Celestin (Pictures) vs. Dan Chambers (Pictures)
Samuel Guillet (Pictures) vs. Yves Lemelin
Bob Landry vs. Jody Burke
Sean Thompson vs. Ray Noel De Tilly
Adrian Wooley vs. Adam Kastner
While at first glance the organization's 30th show lacks that one marquee matchup, there's no shortage of talent or excitement on the card slated for the Bell Centre. In the main event, TKO lightweight champion Sam "Hands of Stone" Stout returns to defend his title against Martin "The Hammer" Grandmont.
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Stout's crisp stand-up rarely offers an uninteresting fight. Add Grandmont's in-your-face style, and you have the recipe for five potentially awe-inspiring rounds.
One question the bout should answer is whether "Hands of Stone" has
fully recovered -- mentally as much as physically -- from his
second war with Spencer
Fisher (Pictures).
Stout's chin certainly can't be questioned after the June UFC bout, in which he was caught flush with several shots that would have stopped a charging rhino dead in its tracks. In front of Stout on Friday, though, will be another opponent who will continually move forward and pressure him no matter how many times Stout tags him.
"The Hammer" has displayed flashes of brilliance since making the move down to lightweight. He holds wins over Dave Pariseau (Pictures) and Tyler Jackson (Pictures) and appears to have found his place at 155 pounds. His time at 170 had been an up-and-down affair, as he looked reckless in losses to Stout's teammates, Aaron Tregear (Pictures) and TKO welterweight title challenger Chris Clements (Pictures).
With the TKO welterweight title still needing a new owner after Montreal's favorite son, Georges St. Pierre (Pictures), relinquished it, TKO 30 will see the hardware finally placed around the waist of a new champion.
Chris Clements (Pictures) will meet Jesse Bongfeldt in a five-round title bout that has "fight of the night" stamped all over it.
The match is another chance for Bongfeldt to further solidify himself as one of Canada's top up-and-coming welterweights. After a disappointing loss in his TKO debut to Jonathan Goulet (Pictures), Bongfeldt returned strong with back-to-back stoppage wins, including a victory in Hardcore Championship Fighting over former TKO welterweight title contender Sean Pierson.
Clements, on the other hand, is coming off his first professional loss in more than two years at the hands of Rory Markham (Pictures) in the IFL semifinals. The Team Tompkins welterweight had looked unstoppable before the Aug. 2 bout, winning four fights in less than eight months by TKO or knockout.
Only one of those wins got out of the first round, and one added the record for fastest knockout in MMA to Clements' list of accomplishments.
Bongfeldt has shown in recent bouts an incredible ability to absorb punishment and yet find a way to pull out the win. Clements has an uncanny knack for administering punishment. With that said, this looks to be a true match made in heaven.
After an unsuccessful WEC debut loss to Rani Yahya (Pictures), former TKO featherweight champion Mark Hominick (Pictures) returns to the organization that kick-started his career more than five years ago. A participant in more than a dozen TKO events, "The Machine" returns to Montreal for the first time since losing a controversial decision to current featherweight king Hatsu Hioki (Pictures) in a hotly contested five-round affair.
For the native of London, Ontario, it will be far from easy sailing against the seemingly unstoppable, yet widely unknown Ben Greer, who's currently sporting a nine-fight winning streak.
Fighting out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Greer poses a definite threat. His strengths are Hominick's weaknesses: Greer's dynamic ground game has brought him success throughout his 12-fight career, with six of his 10 wins coming by submission.
Hominick possesses an amazing ability to keep fights where he excels -- standing -- and only against the highest caliber of grapplers has his lack of submission defense been exposed. Greer is a talented fighter, but is his ground game in the same category as Hioki's and Yahya's? It remains to be seen.
Former hockey enforcer Steve Bosse looks to make it two in a row as he faces Lance Evans (Pictures) in a heavyweight super fight.
Bosse made a successful foray into mixed martial arts when he quickly stopped David Fraser at TKO 29 in June. Evans has lost his last two bouts by knockout and has been inactive since his TKO debut in September 2005.
With Evans, Bosse appears to have someone who will stand and trade with him -- at least until he gets hit.
Full Card
Sam Stout (Pictures) vs. Martin Grandmont (Pictures)
Lance Evans (Pictures) vs. Steve Bosse
Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Clements (Pictures)
Mark Hominick (Pictures) vs. Ben Greer
Stephane Dube (Pictures) vs. TJ Grant (Pictures)
Syd Barnier vs. Justin Tavernini
Marcus Celestin (Pictures) vs. Dan Chambers (Pictures)
Samuel Guillet (Pictures) vs. Yves Lemelin
Bob Landry vs. Jody Burke
Sean Thompson vs. Ray Noel De Tilly
Adrian Wooley vs. Adam Kastner
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