By Press Release

Prestige FC, the first home-grown mixed martial arts promotion in the Province of Saskatchewan, is excited to announce its inaugural event.

Prestige FC 1: Atonement will take place on Saturday, October 24th, live at Crescent Point Place in Weyburn, Sask., with co-main events topping the bill. The main card will stream on GoFightLive.com and air on tape-delay on both The Fight Network and ACCESS Communications.

Headlining the card will be a welterweight clash pitting three-time UFC combatant Mike “Biggie” Rhodes against Ryan “The Sylvan Lake Strangler” Machan, who is the top 170-pounder in Canada outside of the UFC roster.

Completing the co-main event is Saskatchewan’s own Kurt “The Hurt” Southern battling Gabriel “Solo” Solorio in a bantamweight tilt.

“We are very proud to be Saskatchewan’s undisputed first born-and-bred MMA promotion, and just as proud to be able to put together this level of a lineup in our very first event,” said Cord Crowthers, CEO and Matchmaker of Prestige FC.

“There is MMA talent on this card from across Canada as well as the United States and Brazil, and from world-renown elite camps like Tristar and Roufusport. Our intent is to become the leading source of live MMA events in Canada and this is certainly an outstanding start to that end goal.”

Rhodes (7-4), who is originally from Waterloo, Iowa, started his career 4-0 and has since racked up three knockouts wins and two victories via submission. Rhodes’ biggest win to date was a unanimous decision verdict over current UFC rising star Alan Jouban.

Machan (23-9) is one of Canada’s most accomplished competitors, having finished his opponent in all 23 of his wins – seven by knockout and 16 by submission. The Sylvan Lake, Alberta, product has won five in a row and boasts career wins over such notables as current UFC fighter Kajan Johnson and Richie Whitson. Machan competed nine times under the banner of the Maximum Fighting Championship and was previously coached by Jason MacDonald, one of Canada’s original UFC standouts.

After spending most of his career in the 155-pound division including twice contending for the MFC lightweight belt, Southern (13-6) now makes his debut in the featherweight (145-pound) division. The Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, product has finished 10 of his opponents with three knockouts and seven submissions. Southern is best-known for his five-fight run in the MFC that featured a spectacular submission win over Mukai Maromo in May 2013 followed by a TKO victory that avenged a previous loss to Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Jonatas Novaes.

Solorio (12-10), a well-seasoned fighter now competing out of Seattle, Washington, is unbeaten in two previous fights 2-0 on Canadian soil.

Also on the card is one of Canada’s pioneering women’s fighters, Charmaine “Not So Sweet” Tweet. Currently the #10-ranked female featherweight fighter in the world, Tweet expects to have quite a cheering section at Prestige FC 1 as she hails from nearby Regina – the capital of Saskatchewan. Tweet (6-5) has competed three times under the flag of Invicta Fighting Championship, the preeminent all-female MMA organization. Tweet has toed the line against the world’s two best female fighters in facing both UFC megastar Ronda Rousey and long-time phenom Cris “Cyborg” Justino.

Tweet’s opponent is up-and-coming Ontario fighter Bobbi Jo Dalziel.

Two of Canada’s veteran MMA fighters are also slated to be in action on the Prestige FC 1 card. Ontario’s Alex Ricci (9-3) will take on Gil Guardado (4-1) of Las Vegas in a lightweight tilt, while Calgary’s Jordan McKay (7-2) goes head-to-head against undefeated Mariusz “The Iron Pole” Ksiazkiewich (4-0) from Winnipeg.

Several promising Saskatchewan fighters are also slated for action including welterweights Sheldon Leblanc and Clayton Schira, both of whom will be fighting with home-town support behind them in Weyburn, plus heavyweight Josh Heinz from nearby Estevan.

Many more fights, including additional bouts for the main card, will be announced very soon.