Ryan Ford (photo via Aggression MMA / N. Winski)

Welterweights to Battle For Canadian Title Feb. 21st

By Kelsey Mowatt

As a result of a five fight win streak and two wins under the Bellator banner, Ryan Ford has been booked for a compelling bout in his World Series of Fighting debut. On February 21st, the Tristar fighter will battle Joel Powell for the promotion’s Canadian welterweight title in Edmonton, Alberta. Although it may not carry the same prestige as the belt world champ Steve Carl currently has, Ford understands it’s a massive opportunity nonetheless.

“Oh yeah, for sure, it’s going to be televised on NBC Sports, which is in over 80 million homes,” Ford said on Full Contact Fighter Radio recently, while discussing the benefits of fighting for the WSOF Canadian title. “There’s a lot of people who haven’t got the chance to see “The Real Deal” perform and step into that cage; they will get that chance to see me.”

Ford will be competing for the first time since last July, when he submitted Michael Hill while competing for Aggression Fighting Championship. Executives from the promotion reached an agreement with WSOF before 2013 concluded, and a Canadian branch of the organization was created.

“At first they wanted to pretty much just give me the title, because I was the Aggression Fighting Championship’s welterweight champion, but me, I fight for titles, I don’t just want to be given them,” said Ford, who prior to facing Hill, knocked out Brendan Tierney at AFC 17 last March. “It’s another organization so that means I should be put to test and fight for it.”

Ryan Ford attacking Kyle Baker (photo via Bellator)

That test will come in the form of Joel Powell, who after losing two of his first three pro bouts, has gone 6-1 since. The only man to defeat the Hamilton Muay Thai fighter in his last seven fights is UFC veteran Joe Doerksen.

“I’ve actually seen Joel fight a few fights,” said Ford, when asked for his assessment of Powell, who scored a split decision over the aforementioned Hill at AFC 18 last May. “He’s coming off a win over the guy I just beat, Michael Hill; Joel’s going to come in, he’s a tough guy, and he’s going to come into fight. I’m not looking past him at all. I know it’s going to be a tough fight, but at the end of the day, I know what I can do when I step into that cage.”

“In mixed-martial-arts records can be deceiving,” added Ford (21-4), while discussing Powell’s overall record of 7-3. “In this sport we’ve got four ounce gloves. So it can end very quick. I have 25 fights now, and I’ve had a lot of tough fights, and Joel Powell’s not going to bring anything into the cage that I haven’t seen, against the opponents that I’ve fought, or the training partners that I’m training with.”

Powell, who is a former member of the Canadian national wrestling team, has also defeated vets like Advin Omic, Andrew Buckland and Brandt Dewsbery during his career.

“I see his stand-up not being on the same level that mine is, but he does have decent strikes and he comes from a wrestling background,” Ford noted about Powell. “But everybody can say this, and everybody can say that, but when those cage doors close, it’s a total different ballgame.”

The February 21st, WSOF Canada show will be hosted by Edmonton’s Expo Centre.