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Despite losing the heavyweight title main event, the Maximum Fighting Championships returns to AXS TV on Friday Night with a stellar card. The card will now be headlined by an interesting bantamweight division bout between Ryan Benoit and Anthony BIrchak. Also, a top MFC lightweight fighter will battle and a pair of UFC veteran s will be competing against each other.
Kicking off the action is a lightweight division fight as Peter Neufeld (6-3-0) competes against “Nasty†Garret Nybakken (5-5-0). Neufeld will enter the fight riding a two fight winning streak, with both wins coming in the Pure Fighting Championships promotion. Nybakken has spent almost his entire career in the MFC promotion and also enters the fight riding a two fight winning streak. Despite the bigger experience advantage in the MFC promotion, Nybakken will be falling to Neufeld in this one.
Middleweights will be stepping into the cage next as Paul “The Punisher†Grandbois (5-5-0) does battle against Allen Hope (7-10-0). Grandbois has only won one of three in MFC competition, with that lone victory coming over Jason Kuchera. Hope will enter the fight riding a three fight losing streak and he has not achieved a victory in nearly two years. How this fight got promoted to the main card is beyond my comprehension, but it will be Grandbois getting the victory.
Another middleweight division fight is up next as “Smilin’†Sam Alvey (19-5-0-1NC) is in action against Jay “Da Spyda Killer†Silva (8-7-0). Alvey was a contestant on a past season of the UFC Ultimate Fighter and is coming off of a MFC Middleweight Title fight loss to Elvis Mutapcic. Silva has not been that spectacular since getting his UFC release, but he does hold a victory over Kendall Grove. This is a very mismatched battle of UFC veterans and it will be Alvey getting the victory in this contest.
More lightweight action is happening next as “The Afrikan Assassin†Mukai Maromo (8-3-0) battles Kurt Southern (11-4-0). Maromo returns to the cage after dropping an MFC Lightweight Title bout to Graham Spencer at MFC 36. Southern has only competed one time in the last two years, which was a loss to Jonatas Novaes at MFC 36. Maromo needs this victory badly if he wants another title shot and he will get the victory to get one step closer to that opportunity.
Up next is a middleweight division fight as Luke Harris (9-2-0-1NC) stands across the cage from Jason Zentgraf (7-1-0). Harris had his nine fight winning streak snapped at MFC 34, when he suffered a TKO loss to Joseph Henle. Zentgraf will enter the fight riding a four fight winning streak, with his lone professional defeat coming to UFC veteran Mario Miranda. The winner of this fight could easily be in line for a shot at the vacant middleweight title and it will be Harris getting that shot.
Headlining this card is a bantamweight division bout as Ryan “Baby Face†Benoit (6-1-0) faces Anthony Birchak (9-1-0). Benoit will enter the fight riding a four fight winning streak, which includes a victory over UFC veteran Joseph Sandoval. Birchak enters the fight riding a three fight winning streak and has competed in the Bellator Fighting Championships, defeating Tyler Bialecki at Bellator 41. These are two fighters who got a huge opportunity after the original main event went under, but it will be Benoit getting the big victory.
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