MFC 37 results: Anthony Birchak earns decision over scrappy Ryan Benoit

In the first bantamweight fight in Maximum Fighting Championship history, Anthony Birchak (10-1) earned an entertaining decision win over a game Ryan Benoit (6-2).

The fight headlined Friday’s “MFC 37: True Grit” event, which took place at Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The night’s main card aired on AXS TV.

Benoit found himself in trouble early, giving up mount. He ducked out of the ropes to stall, but when the pair was restarted in the center of the ring, Birchak went back to work with punches. Benoit rolled and exposed his back, and Birchak immediately latched in a rear-naked choke. It looked certain to end the fight, but a gutsy Benoit refused to relent and even briefly scrambled to his opponent’s back before the end of a thrilling first frame.

In the second, Benoit threatened with an early kneebar, but Birchak pushed through and settled into dominant position. From there, multiple submission attempts followed, but a game Benoit again survived each transition and ultimately scrambled to mount. It wouldn’t last long, as Birchak again reversed courses and locked in a triangle choke in the final seconds of the round that saw Benoit appear on the verge of unconsciousness as the bell sounded.

A gritty Benoit again found himself in trouble in the third, but he refused to tap to another series of submission attempts and survived until the final bell. Despite Benoit’s grittiness, Birchak was justly awarded a unanimous-decision win, 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28.

Harris, Southern , Alvey earn stoppage wins

In the night’s co-feature, submission ace Luke Harris (10-2) dominated Jason Zentgraf (7-2) en route to a tapout win.

After an early clinch, Harris used a slick judo toss to slam Zentgraf to the floor. From there Harris controlled from a headlock position and baited Zentgraf with a fake to the arm before settling into a combination neck crank/choke that earned a tap from his opponent at the 2:21 mark of the first round.

Harris has never fought out of the first round, and all 10 of his career wins have come by way of submission.

In a lightweight contest, Kurt Southern (12-4) made quick work of Mukai Maromo (8-4).

Southern wasted little time taking the fight to the floor in the opening frame and controlled the position as he looked for submission opportunities. One came in the form of a north-south choke, and while Maromo tried valiantly to withstand the hold, he was ultimately forced to tap at the 2:54 mark of the opening round.

In other notable action Sam Alvey (20-5) earned a third-round stoppage over Jay Silva (8-8) in dominant fashion, even if it did end in slightly controversial fashion.

Alvey looked as if he’d finish the fight in the second round when a big right hand sent Silva toppling to the floor. However, Silva somehow survived the ensuing barrage and earned a trip to the third.

In the final round, Alvey again went on the attack with his hands, and while a flurry of punches landed flush, it did appear as though an inadvertent head butt was ultimately want sent Silva to the floor. The referee waved off the fight 65 seconds into the final round.

MFC 37 was expected to see a headliner between Chris Barnett (7-1) and Smealinho Rama (6-0). However, Barnett’s pre-fight medicals revealed three holes in his retina, and the contest was scrapped.

Complete MFC 37 results include:

MAIN CARD

• Anthony Birchak def. Ryan Benoit via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Luke Harris def. Jason Zentgraf via submission (neck-crank choke) – Round 1, 2:21
• Kurt Southern def. Mukai Maromo via submission (north-south choke) – Round 1, 2:54
• Sam Alvey def. Jay Silva via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:05
• Peter Neufeld def. Garret Nybakken via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Allen Hope def. Paul Grandbois via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 1:54

PRELIMINARY CARD

• Jared McComb def. Marcus Hicks via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:09
• Chris Treadwell def. Mike Treadwell via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:22
• Maged Hammo def. Allan Munroe via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:53

For additional coverage of MFC 37, check out the MMA Events section of the site.

(Pictured:Anthony Birchak)