It stings to lose an MMA fight. It’s heart-breaking to lose by split decision.
But it’s even worse the next day, said Nanaimo’s Nick Hinchliffe, to wake up so banged up and battered that you can barely move.
“And to know that you didn’t win the war, and you feel that sore and hurt and beat up, that’s when it really sinks in for me.”
Nick (the Juggernaut) Hinchliffe (18-8) doesn’t usually have that feeling after his mixed martial arts fights – usually he wins.
But Bastien Huveneers (10-3-1), who won that fight in Edmonton a year and a half ago, is one tough customer. Over five rounds he banged up and battered Hinchliffe that night. Did he beat him? Not everyone thought so.
“You got robbed; you got robbed,” people told Hinchliffe.
“And I said, ‘Yeah, well, it’s my fault for leaving it in the judges’ hands.’ I should have finished it.”
This Friday (April 27) at Nanaimo’s Port Theatre, Hinchliffe will get that chance to finish it.
The hometown guy will headline Battlefield Fight League 15 against Huveneers in a 180-pound catchweight bout.
It wasn’t a rematch that was always destined to happen. The bigger, taller Huveneers fights one weight class higher than Hinchliffe, and the Nanaimo fighter was under contract with a different promotion, anyway.
But when an offer came up for Hinchliffe to fight on a Battlefield show in his hometown, he was able to get out of his contract. Originally he was supposed to face Tyler Jackson, but Jackson was forced to withdraw.
It set up a new main event, one that perhaps should have been the obvious one all along.
“Because there was such controversy over our last fight, as soon as Bastien got word, he took the fight immediately and my hat’s off to him…” Hinchliffe said. “I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ So it’s time for Round 6.”
Each of the warriors has the experience of five rounds in the cage against the other. Each man has seen the others’ strengths and weaknesses, but all of Hinchliffe’s training, every day, always, is built around trying to eliminate any vulnerabilities.
“So that when somebody steps in the cage and fights me, they can’t find a weakness, there is no hole,” he said. “It’s a human chess match and I kind of want to be Bobby Fischer.”
Huveneers is the right opponent for Hinchliffe – avenging losses shows improvement and growth, the Nanaimo fighter said.
Hinchliffe really, really wants to win. He wants to feel that on Friday night. And he wants to wake up the next morning none the worse for wear.
“It’s going to be a barnburner; it’s going to be a very fast-paced round,” he said. “So don’t blink, don’t go to the bathroom, don’t get up for a snack because you could miss something pretty impressive.”
FIGHT FACTS … The Battlefield Fight League BFL 15 mixed martial arts card will be held Friday (April 27) at the Port Theatre. The semi-main event is Marcus Aurelio versus Matt Dwyer and Nanaimo’s Eli Wyse fights Morgan Bentley on the undercard. The eight-match card will be comprised of four amateur fights and four professional fights. Doors are at 5:30 p.m., the first fight is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. and the main card begins at 7:15 p.m. Tickets, $41-$121, will be available that night at the box office and may be purchased online now … Weigh-ins are tonight (April 26) at 5:30 p.m. at the Front Street Grill.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
