It may have been called Battlefield 19 but it became known as Team Toshido’s night earlier this month at the South Okanagan Events Centre as the Kelowna based mixed martial arts club dominated a night of MMA in Penticton.
Five fighters from Toshido Mixed Martial Arts in Kelowna competee at Battlefield Fight League (BFL 19), the most ever fighters from Toshido to compete on the same card in the club’s 14 year hisotry.
Despite the enormous pressure, Team Toshido went on to completely dominate the competition going undefeated in all five bouts, and winning the BFL Professional Welterweight World Title to top off the evening.
“This will be a night that I will always remember,” stated an overjoyed David Lea, head coach of Toshido MMA. “Everyone performed perfectly and showcased the mixed martial arts talent that we have coming out of Kelowna. The icing on top came when Matt Dwyer became the undisputed BFL Professional Welterweight World Champion.”
Dwyer follows a long legacy of champions to come out of the Toshido MMA gym including current UFC star Rory MacDonald who won the KOTC Professional National and World titles while still in his teens.
Dwyer defeated Ryan Chiappe via TKO at 4:37 of the first round to win the BFL Professional Welterweight World Championship, capping off a great night by Kelowna fighters.
Along with Dwyer claiming the Battlefield welterweight title, other results included:
•Team Toshido’s Cuba Echegoyen won his MMA debut against Bryce Kilpatrick via ankle lock at 2:20 of round one.
•Team Toshido’s Cleve Bentley defeated Brandon Shorter by unanimous decision.
•Team Toshido’s Joe Pirrotta stopped Matt Shannon via armbar at 1:58 of round 1.
•Team Toshido’s Mike Adams increased his professional MMA record to 7-1 by defeating American Roy Bradshaw via side choke at just 1:39 of the first round of their bout.
Meanwhile Toshido MMA’s youngest member, fifteen-year-old Elijah Goulding is making his MMA debut this weekend at BFL 20 in Vancouver.
