Pete Spratt Returns To MFC

The Sword · 03-22-2010, 07:18 PM

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BY Jeff Chan - The Maximum Fighting Championship loves an exciting fighter and welterweight Pete “Secret Weapon” Spratt more than fits the bill. Of his 20 wins, ten have come via KO and eight by submission. Only half of his fights have gone beyond the first round and only two of those ended in a decision. Pete Spratt obviously comes to win. And his experience in impressive – in his 11 years as a professional MMA fighter he’s been in the ring with Carlos Newton, Robbie Lawler, Georges St. Pierre, and Josh Koscheck, to name a few.

Pete Spratt first appeared in the Maximum Fighting Championship against Ryan Ford at MFC 15: Rags to Riches, on February 22, 2008. It was anything but a smooth introduction to the organization. “A lot of funny stuff happened”, recalls Spratt, “and it put me at a disadvantage mentally, so I couldn’t get things done.”

What kind of funny stuff? Well it started with his corner man being deported to Brazil after weigh in, leaving Pete to scramble for a replacement. Then during the fight, Ford landed two solid elbows to Spratt’s head after the first-round bell. A dazed Spratt ended up losing that fight via a rear naked choke in the second round for a loss that MFC CEO Mark Pavelich himself has called, “a robbery”.

But true warriors never give up and Pete Spratt was willing to give the MFC another chance. Just under one year later, Spratt returned against Nathan Gunn in MFC 22: Payoff in a fight that has earned it’s place in the annals of Maximum Fighting Championship history.

Spratt was behind on the scorecards in the second round when he noticed a pattern in the way Gunn was ducking his head. A former Golden Gloves boxer who currently trains under former WBC champion “Jesse” James Leija, Spratt knew what to do. He landed three vicious right hooks right on target, then closed the deal with a thunderous, perfectly timed uppercut that, to quote Pavelich, “looked like it was out of Popeye”.

Gunn dropped like a sack of rocks and Spratt went down in MFC history, scoring the 2009 Knockout of the Year. Anyone who’s seen that fight will understand why Pavelich says, “when he’s matched well, Pete Spratt is one of the most exciting fighters out there”.

On May 7, 2009 at Maximum Fighting Championship 25: Vindication, Spratt will be facing off against Luigi “The Italian Tank” Fioravanti. When asked about his opponent, Spratt’s response is matter-of-fact. “He’s a good, well-rounded fighter and I’m not going to approach it any differently than any other fight… just a lot of hard training.” And what does hard training mean to Pete Spratt? It means muay thai with Mark Dellagrotte, Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Rodrigo Pinheiro, boxing with “Jesse” James Leija, and a two-week training camp with Dan Henderson and Team Quest or Randy Couture and Extreme Couture.

So what does Spratt have to say about his return to MFC after such a rocky start? “It was a no-brainer. I consider the Maximum Fighting Championship to be one of the top MMA promotions in the world. I’m excited to be back and look forward to showing some fireworks.” So if you like fireworks, come to the Northlands Expo Centre in Edmonton, Alberta on Friday, May 7, 2010 for MFC 25:

Vindication and watch the Secret Weapon and the Italian Tank break out the heavy artillery. But buy your tickets soon, because the question isn’t whether the show will sell out, but when. The card will also air live on HDNet fights.