Recently I attended a local fight night called Battle Field Fight League in Vancouver, to support two of my friend fighting on the card. The whole night and experience was one of the best event I have been too here in Vancouver so in this article ill be walking you through the whole event and why hardcore fight fans, casuals, and even people who have never watched a fight before should all attend the next event!
The night started off with prelims, which is a great intro to fighting if you’ve never watched before. Prelims are essentially two up and coming fighters testing their techniques against each other. However, often the prelims are just as exciting as the actual event itself as both fighters have nothing to lose, only to gain. My favourite fight of the night was a kickboxing match between two prospects fighting for a amateurs title and boy did they leave it all out on the line. The energy in the arena was electric as these two went back and forth trading blows. When the match ended the whole crowd gave them a standing ovation and the main card hadn’t even started yet!
The main card started with my friend Alana Cook facing Maria Demers. These two women did not disappoint. Alana started off the first round strong with great takedowns to dominating Jiu jitsu sequences. However, Maria caught Alana in a tight submission attempt that put a tremendous amount of pressure on Alanas arm. At that point in time I think I was sweating more then the girls fighting were, but Alana stayed composed and escaped the arm bar. She finished the round on top of Maria raining down punches, winning the round. The second round started and Maria came out with a vengeance, catching Alana with a great punch. Alana wobbled on her feet for a second but when Maria came in to finish the fight Alana countered back with her own punch. However, Maria recovered faster and won the round convincingly with great counter striking techniques. This meant that whoever won this final round would mist likely win the fight. Both girls came out to win and Alana once again got hit hard, knocking her back against the cage. I have no shame in telling everyone I screamed at the top of my lungs when that happened, but Alana once again quickly recovered and got a fast takedown. If Alana was going to win this fight, this is exactly what she needed to do. She got to a full mount position and started to rain down more and more punches. She stayed in this position for the rest of the round, and Maria proved she is one of the toughest women alive surviving that round. Alana won the fight 2 rounds to 1 and both ladies inspired everyone in the crowd as they were without a doubt the most badass fighters of the night.
The next fight was my friend “The Juggernaut” Josh Kwiatkowski faced a tough fighter named Ryan Rohovich. The whole entire crowd was in support of Josh that night and he started off the first two rounds dominating Ryan. I was shocked along with everyone else that Ryan survived the onslaught that the Juggernaut put on him in the first two rounds, as he caught him with multiple punches and knocked him down multiple times. However, Josh took Ryan down in the third which led to Ryan submitting Josh from his back with just 30 seconds left to go. The whole crowd exploded with boo’s as Ryan proved why he is a great showman and climbed the cage to showboat. Even if you aren’t a fight fan you cant deny that the underdog getting a win with everyone going against him is a intriguing story. As for Josh, I can personally confirm that he is going to come back even stronger, and has another fight lined up soon. Josh is one of the most exciting fighters in the entire sport so don’t miss your chance to see him compete on the next BFL card.
The final fight of the night sure was a compelling one. Battle Field champion and grizzled veteran of the sport Dejan Kajic put his title on the line against undefeated prospect Saeid Mirzaei. Most people in the crowd had no idea how this one would play out and the arena was electric when these two fighters made their epic walkouts to the cage. The fight started slow and calculated, which was expected from Dejan but not Saeid. Suddenly Saeid threw a big punch that missed and he cringed in agony. Suddenly he started to run around the cage with his arm dangling at his side, as the lion Dejan went in for the kill. Saeid had dislocated his shoulder on the punch and Dejan went in for the kill. The referee luckily stepped in to save Saeid and the match ended with another win for the champion. However, I don’t think this is the last time these two will square off in BFL so make sure you don’t miss the next time they do.
That was my experience at BFL! It was a great time filled with amazing fights, compelling stories, and multiple potential fights set up for the future. Don’t miss the next time BFL comes to Vancouver July 7th!