MMA returned to Vernon, British Columbia, last Friday night, as KOTC Canada held its "Insurrection" card at the cities’ Multiplex facility. From all accounts it was a triumphant return for the sport to the city, as due to a legal review and safety assessment of MMA that was ordered by Vernon’s City Council, the city had not held a MMA event since 2003.

"I don’t have the final ticket count yet, but the Vernon Athletic Commission estimated 2,300," KOTC Canada promoter Ken Kupsch tells FCF. "I think they’re very close. The crowd was very excited and enthusiastic, they loved it! When you have a crowd that’s 100% behind you, it’s the best feeling in the world. It’s always different when you work with other promoters. I did this fight with Bill Mahood and Jason Towns. It could not have gone better and I think you will see a long term relationship with us in BC."

Team Toshido has recently begun to turn heads across Canadian MMA circles, and the Kelowna fight team only furthered the up and coming team’s reputation at the event. Team Tompkin’s 18 year old fighter Chris Horodecki, is perhaps Canada’s most mentioned young talent, however, Toshido’s Rory Macdonald is yet another young fighter who is quickly rising up the ranks of the Nation’s MMA top prospects.

"17 year old, Rory "The Phenom" Macdonald fought Quentin Moreno," reports Macdonald’s instructor David Lea. "A fighter from Lion’s Den Idaho with a 6-1 record. After a brief exchange on the feet, Moreno took Macdonald down, however, Macdonald quickly took over control on the ground, secured a triangle armlock from the guard, then switched to a triangle choke, forcing the 22-year-old to tap out. Macdonald now has an undefeated record of 4-0."

Tim Jenson took on another tough young fighter in Jordan Mein, a Canadian Martial Arts Centre member from Lethbridge, Alberta. Jenson was able to continue the winning streak for Team Toshido however, extending his own record to 5-0, by submitting Mein in the first round.

"Jenson started the fight with a couple inside leg kicks," says Lea, "then took it to the ground where he took Mein’s back for the bout ending rear-naked choke, at approximately three minutes of the first round. To Mein’s credit, he did a good job defending the choke, but eventually Jenson was able to sink it in for the tap out."

Gary Wright also earned a unanimous decision victory over Aaron Bruce, extending his undefeated streak to 4-0. The win for Wright only added to Toshido’s impressive overall professional record as a team, which now stands at 22-4.

The main event of the evening pitted Jason Ireland against Canadian veteran Jason St-Louis, who stepped into fight Ireland on short notice as a replacement for Mario Stapel.

"Last year I was in Cleveland and saw the fight between Jay Ireland and Jorge Gurgel," says promoter Ken Kupsch. "What a war that was! We were very excited to have Jay fight in Vernon for us. His opponent, Mario Stapel, dropped out of the fight two days before. We thought we were screwed until Jason St. Louis stepped up. They both put on an awesome show and it was a close fight right to the end. St. Louis tapped with about 1 second to go. It was a close fight, but lots of fans think he would have got the decision. It doesn’t get more exciting than that."

KOTC Canada will be heading to Prince George, British Columbia, for a November 3rd card, and then back to Edmonton, Alberta, for another event to be held on November 26th.

Manderson Ready for Bocek at Apex Fighting Championship this Saturday

Gatineau, Quebec, will host Apex’s "A Night Of Champions", at the Robert Guertin Arena, this Saturday night October 14th. Kevin Manderson (12-5-1), who is trained by UFC veteran Joe Doerksen, will be taking on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and instructor Mark Bocek, who will be competing in only his second career MMA fight. Bocek defeated Mark Colangelo by TKO due to injury at TKO 15 in February of 2004.

"I know that Bocek is a very experienced and accomplished BJJ competitor," says Manderson. "He has trained with some of the best including the Gracies. As far as his takedowns and his stand-up are concerned though I really don’t know what he brings to the table."

As far as Manderson’s game plan in taking on Bocek, the Winnipeg fighter offered this little nugget to FCF.

"My game plan is to go out there and out pose him," Manderson reveals. "We are both pretty white and almost translucent. I have been doing some training at the tanning salon as of late and I think that if I can look better topless than the judges are sure to give me the nod if it goes the distance. Otherwise I plan on hitting him in the face and seeing what happens from there."