Jeremy Osheim (photo via Tapology.com)

By Kelsey Mowatt

Securing fights hasn’t been easy for undefeated light-heavyweight Jeremy Osheim, so when the Maximum Fighting Championship contacted him about facing a UFC vet on October 3rd, the Colorado fighter jumped on the opportunity.

On October 3rd, Osheim will take on Victor Valimaki at MFC 41, in what could be a pivotal turning point for the fighter.

“As far as the local scene goes it’s been hard for me to find a fight in Denver,” Osheim relayed on a recent episode of Full Contact Fighter Radio. “There’s a lot of fighters here, but 205’s obviously a tough weight class to begin with, and on those smaller, local shows, there’s relationships established with certain people and certain gyms, that always plays into that. Promoters have their bottom line and they have to sell tickets, so they’ll go with the guys they think they can make some money off of.”

Since Osheim turned pro in 2012, the Altitude MMA fighter has gone 5-0, and most recently he earned a unanimous decision win over Todd Stoute.

“Then there’s the fact that I just beat up a couple of tough dudes from the very beginning,” argued Osheim, while discussing another factor behind his inability to lock up fights. “That always makes it harder to find someone who’s willing to step in, and take that challenge at the local level.”

“So I was kind of caught between a rock in a hard place trying to get to that next level, and maybe not having the street cred in the eyes of some people…the MFC called and I was very happy to hear that.”

While Osheim is trying to make a name for himself and climb the light-heavyweight ranks, Valimaki’s already been down that road. The Edmonton fighter is a former MFC champ, who incurred losses to David Heath and Alessio Sakara while fighting for the UFC in 2006 and 2007.

After putting together a seven fight winning streak, Valimaki proceeded to lose three straight bouts in 2010, before rebounding with two consecutive wins. Most recently, “The Matrix” took out Bill Wilder in the first round with a rear-naked-choke at MFC 40 in May.

“Obviously he’s a tough dude,” Osheim said about Valimaki. “I think it’s a good match-up for me, just because the way that he moves, I don’t think he can match-up with my speed on the feet. And on the ground, I certainly feel like I have the edge there. I’ve got a well rounded grappling game; I’ve been doing that for a long time.”

“So, I’ve been pushing the pace in the stand-up over the last couple of years too, and really developing that, so I feel great about how it’s developed. I feel like he’s got a couple of tools that I’m keying in on and I’ll just work to set those things down, and then kind of impose my game plan and my strong techniques.”

MFC 41 will be hosted by the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, and will also feature a 161 pound, catchweight fight between Shane Campbell and Marcus Edwards.

The events main card will be broadcast on AXS TV.