Author Archives: Ryan Plessl

Big UFC Fighter Comes To Vancouver!

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Jared Revel will be defending his Battle Field Fight League (BFL) title March 30th against UFC veteran Jesse Taylor at the Harbour Convention Centre.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoFo1-wpiCL/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Jared Revel is a 11-4 MMA fighter who has proved himself time and time again in the BFL cage. He’s beaten great fighters in the BFL cage like Micah Brakefield, Collin Hart, and most recently Drayton Agnus. The past three years Revel took some time away from BFL to compete in other promotions which unfortunately gave him a losing record of 1-2. Now Jared will be returning back to the BFL cage to defend his title, but it’ll be against Jared’s toughest opponent to date.

Jesse Taylor is a UFC veteran with a 33-16 record. He’s fought the likes of Denis Kang, Luke Rockhold, David Branch and many more. He won his way into the UFC after destroying the competition in The Ultimate Fighter reality t.v show competition. Jesse is a veteran of the sport with years of experience under his belt.

While both fighters have high level skill, it’s tough to bet against Jesse Taylor. Jesse is far more experienced and that will play a factor in this match as he debuted nearly 6 years ahead of Jared, and has more then triple the amount of fights.

However, Jared has fought tough opposition before and will be sharpening his tools the next coming months to prepare himself for the challenge that is Jesse Taylor.

Catch the battle between these two titans on BFL 76 at the Harbour Convention Centre March 30th, or watch live on UFC Fight Pass!

Vancouver Jiu Jitsu League Is What The Community Needs!

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The Vancouver Jiu Jitsu League (VJJL) is the fight club the jiu jitsu community is talking about!

The VJJL is a event started by Matt Kwan, a well known local jiu jitsu coach and competitor. The event is a monthly competition where competitors can be booked for super fights and come out to test their skills. Matt started the league to bring the community together:

“I started the VJJL because I wanted a place for athletes to compete outside of tournaments. The idea is to bring the community together and create friendly competition between clubs, while featuring different gyms around the city as hosts. There aren’t prizes or buy ins (yet). Just matches of all different levels and rulesets, and a place for people to gain competition experience on a platform besides tournaments. The goal is to build competitors and the community. I compare it to a weekend game of streethockey.”

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CoQ_8zvBGFI/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

 

Gyms and competitors all over the lower mainland have flocked to these events so far. On February 4th the league hosted its most recent event at Hero Academy in North Vancouver. The card had 20 super fights with competitors of all different ages, size, and rank competing. Matt talked about why it’s important for all competitors that these events happen:

“I suppose these events are important for athletes because they can gain competition experience and use it to succeed at an international level. Another huge benefit of these events is that athletes, coaches, and parents can network within the community and build relationships. Some of my favourite training partners are people I once competed against. It is important for us to have relationships like this, and to create exposure for our academies as entrepreneurs. People support this event because of the good intentions of the initiative; it’s about our passion and love for Jiu Jitsu.”

While competitors in Vancouver often find themselves trying to choke each other unconscious at these events it’s important to recognize the bigger picture and reasoning behind these super fights. The goal is for Vancouver to eventually be recognized as a “well known jiu jitsu destination, with athletes who can win at the highest level” said Matt. The only way this can happen is for the whole community to work together and sharpen their skills.

These events will continue to happen in the future to help BJJ in Vancouver reach the highest level.

Lookout For Oliver Taza!

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Oliver Taza is a Lebanese-Canadian jiu jitsu athlete.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz85sZ0p8R0/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Taza  started to develop his jiu jitsu skills in Canada, but made the move to New York to improve his skills with the Danaher Death Squad team.

It was there Taza decided to turn professional in the sport and he met friends like Craig Jones, Nicky Rod, and Ethan Crelinsten. The team eventually split though and Taza was forced to find a new home. Taza made the decision to stick with coach John Danaher through the split and joined the New Wave jiu jitsu team.

New Wave jiu jitsu is a team that hosts the best no-gi grappler in the world Gordon Ryan, the best gi grappler in the world Nicholas Meregali, and tons of other stars in the jiu jitsu community.

Since making the move to the team Oliver’s skill level has drastically increased and he’s been able to showcase his skills at the highest level.

Oliver would look to put his skill to the test tonight against Ben Eddy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoNORLXJuhV/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Ben Eddy was set to be a real test Taza, as Ben is a 10th Planet black belt, combat jiu jitsu veteran, and ADCC trials match winner.

Oliver was able to easily beat Eddy at his own game though as he initiated a tight leg lock entanglement to get the outside heel hook tap.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoRGJdNjv3n/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Even after tonight’s win Oliver Taza continues to fly under the radar. I think its time the jiu jitsu community respects Taza’s recent accomplishments and gives him some more notoriety in the coming months.

 

Sami Zayn VS Roman Reigns At Elimination Chamber!

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Canadian WWE superstar Sami Zayn will take on tribal chief, and undisputed champion Roman Reigns at the Elimination Chamber.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoOeEUhsbGb/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Sami Zayn has been in very long storyline with Roman Reigns and the rest of the Bloodline for quite some time now. Most fans expected that the whole point of this storyline was for Sami to win the Royal Rumble and challenge Reigns for his title at Wrestlemania.

However, Sami didn’t enter the rumble and instead turned on Roman Reigns in the main event to help his Canadian brother Kevin Owens.

The Bloodline mauled Sami Zayn for his betrayal and left him beaten and battered in the ring.

Roman Reigns came out to address the events of the Royal Rumble on Smackdown this week but he was met by Sami Zayn who attacked Roman. It wasn’t long though before the Bloodline came to Romans aid and attacked Sami Zayn, once again leaving him beaten up in the ring. Roman Reigns then got on the microphone and confirmed a match between the two for the Elimination Chamber Pay Per View on February 18th.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoObWvCAY1M/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

It’s a toss up who’s going to win this match. Sami Zayn is a huge crowd favourite and has all the momentum in the world behind him. Roman is unbeaten in nearly 900 days, and it’s unlikely he will drop the titles before Wrestlemania.

Only time will tell what route the WWE takes with this match, but Canadian fans will be cheering on their country’s hero to win the WWE championship.

Express VS Bulldogs Was One Of The Best Games Of The Year!

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The Coquitlam Express put on one of the games of the season last night against the Alberni Valley Bulldogs!

The game was a fast paced one and you could feel the tense atmosphere between teams.

Liam Tanner was first on the board as he slap shotted the puck in to give the Express the early lead. The Bulldogs fired right back though and we’re able to tie the game on the power play. Shortly after that goal, Emmet McHardy banked it in to give the express the 2-1 lead to end the first period.

The Bulldogs came out strong in the second period tying the game fast. Just a minute later though Liam Tanner answered back and got the Express back in the lead with his second goal of the night! This was another short lived lead for the express though as the Bulldogs were able to tie up the game 3-3 to end the second period.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoOxJQCsx5a/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Tyler Kopff started out the third with a goal for the Express giving them the 4-3 lead. It seemed as though the Express were going to hold on to this lead and fans started to file out of the train station! But with under one minute of play left Alberni pulled the goalie and Brandon Buhr was able to score for the Bulldogs sending the game to overtime!

No goals were scored in overtime and the game went to shootout. Will Elger and Dakota Macintosh both scored for the Bulldogs to give the team the 5-4 lead over the Coquitlam Express.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoOsyKFNzZI/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Neither team wanted to lose this one which led to the back and forth battle throughout the night.

The Express have their chance to get back in the win Column tomorrow night against Surrey.

Pettersson Wins Hardest Shot Contest!

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Elias Pettersson just won the All Star hardest shot competition.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoOWAZws69z/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Every time Elias Pettersson enters this competition fans have doubts as to how he will preform.

He has all the talent in the world, with a strong slap shot but Elias Pettersson is nowhere near the biggest guy in the league.

This was the problem he ran into back in 2020 when he participated in his first hardest shot challenge. Pettersson undoubtedly had the skills to win the challenge, but fell short due to his lack of size and strength.

Even being the smallest in that competition though, Pettersson still managed to grab third place.

It was expected to be more of the same this year. While Pettersson has grown significantly he was still undersized in the competition and it’s hard to beat size with skill in competitions like this.

Pettersson proved everyone wrong though, and shot a 103.2mph shot (166kmh) to win the competition and solidify that he has the hardest shot of the 2022-23 season.

Vancouver fans went wild on social media, with some fans saying “this is our Stanley Cup” and “our first win of the season!”

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoObioVD275/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

While fans may be overstating the importance of this event, it is nice to see the teams next team captain get a win and represent the Canucks well on All Star weekend.

The Canucks return from the All Star break on Monday against the New Jersey Devils.

Elias Pettersson Is The Canucks Only All Star!

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Elias Pettersson is Vancouver Canucks only All Star!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoK454POVeD/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

For some it may come as a surprise that Elias Pettersson is the only All Star on the Vancouver Canucks this year.

The team is full of big names and individual superstars. J.T Miller, Quinn Hughes, and more all have All Star team potential.

However, it’s those players inability to play as a team and get some wins in the regular season, that inevitably excluded them from the All Star team this year.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoL3Nh4MowP/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Elias Pettersson has made the trip to Florida all by himself after being named the teams only All Star. He will compete in the All Star games itself and the Hardest Shot event.

This will be Pettersson’s second time competing in the Hardest Shot event, after shocking the competition in his 2020 appearance. Pettersson ended up coming 3rd place being nearly 30 pounds lighter then the rest of the competition.

He will look to shock the world again this time around.

The Canucks almost had two All Stars this year, but they decided to trade team captain Bo Horvat at the start of the All Star break. This weekend will likely be the last time Pettersson and Horvat play together.

You can read about the Canucks trading their team captain here:

The Bo Horvat Trade

Elias Pettersson will have big shoes to fill over the next few weeks, as the Canucks only representative in the game, and carrying the expectation that he will be the Canucks next team captain. If Pettersson preforms like how he has all season though, he’s going to be just fine.

You can watch the NHL All Star game tomorrow night!

Kenny Omega Is Back In AEW!

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Canadian wrestling star Kenny Omega is set to make his in ring return!

Kenny Omega is one of the most popular wrestlers outside of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) right now, and has solidified himself as one of the best wrestlers of all time in the past few years.

His work on New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) put him on the map, specifically his Wrestle Kingdom match against Kazuchika Okada. His latest stint in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) helped him soar to new heights, as him and his popular faction the Bullet Club helped grow the company from the ground up, and rival WWE.

However, Kenny has been away from the company since January 11th, as he had visa issues that he needed to resolve.

Kenny’s last match in AEW saw Kenny and his best friends the young bucks defeat the current AEW world trio champions, and win the titles for themselves in a exciting back and forth match.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CnVCWYdO2Mr/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Omega left the company right after for a short period of time, but now his visa issues have been resolved and Kenny will make his return to the company to defend his titles with the Bucks.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CnVMeL4qn97/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

A official match announcement is yet to be made for Kenny’s return but fans are ecstatic to hear Canadian star Kenny Omega make his return to the ring, as every time he competes you can expect fireworks.

Josh “The Juggernaut” Kwiatkowski Returns!

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Josh “The Juggernaut” Kwiatkowski is set to make his return to Battle Field Fight League, March 30th at the Harbour Convention Centre.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn2X9SoPyoF/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Josh is Vancouvers favourite fighter and fans are ecstatic to see Josh return to the octagon. Josh is excited to preform for his home crowd once again but says he has to find a balance between the motivation and nerves that the home crowd gives him:

“I always say when your fighting in front of your momma you never wanna get your ass whooped but my moms there for most fights so I always gotta do my best to be laying out the whoopings. A fights a fight and no matter where it happens it’s the same intensity, the same is on the line and I try my best to shut out everyone and everything to do my best every time.”

Josh is coming off a unanimous decision win against Tim Tamaki at the Rumble In The Cage event in Lethbridge, Alberta.

Before that fight Josh had a tough stint in the BFL cage losing some closely contested fights.

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CW86q7ZjhUP/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

However, in his time away from the BFL Josh has been making improvements to make sure that he’s able to come out on top of these close fights:

“I feel like I’ve grown up as fighter recently and fighting and life has just been clicking and in doing so I feel as I’m in a flow state a lot more where my fighting feels so natural and controlled. So the most improved part of my game is my awareness and control.”

Josh will have a tough test for his next fight, as he faces off against jiu jitsu black belt JT Donaldson. Josh is prepared for the challenge though, and predicts a fast finish to the fight:

“My prediction is tko late first or second round with him shooting on me and me sprawling out and finishing the fight!”

Come watch Josh “The Juggernaut” Kwiatkowski March 30th, at the Harbour Convention Centre!

The Bo Horvat Trade

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The Canucks have made a trade for team captain Bo Horvat.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoD5y4AJYDe/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

Bo Horvat was with the Canucks for nine years and a captain for four years.

During his time as captain Bo Horvat led the team to one playoff run, and was a fantastic leader and ambassador for the team.

Earlier today it was announced that Horvat had been traded to the New York Islanders.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CoDoce6vpWq/?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

In return the Canucks gained forward Anthony Beauvillier, forward Aatu Raty, and a 2023 first round pick.

The trade came as a result of the team not having enough money to keep Bo happy. This left the team no choice but to look for trade options.

Fans seem to have mixed opinions on if this trade will benefit the team long term. Having up and coming prospects is what fans have been begging the team to add to the roster for years, but it’s unfortunate that it comes at the loss of the teams longest tenured player.

With Bo gone it seems likely that Elias Pettersson will be named captain of the team. Time will tell if Pettersson will step up to the plate or if another player will take the reigns as captain.

The Canucks have the week off and will return Monday against the New Jersey Devils.