TUF Nations: Laprise Fights Next, Theodorou Keeps Canada Perfect
This week, the Canuck spotlight shines on Mississauga fighter Elias Theodorou as he prepares for his fight against Australian black belt jiu jitsu player Zein Saliba. It has been said before that the Canadians believe that their skills are a bit more advanced than the Aussies and that sentiment can be carried over into the coach’s preparation of the fighters as well. Cote brings in retired Strikeforce veteran Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro to show them some valuable training techniques and is constantly heard barking out game plan advice as he is working with Elias. Meanwhile in the Aussie camp, Saliba states to the camera that he likes to form his plan once he gets in there and the fight starts. Australian Coach Kyle Noke offers no advice to the contrary, but states that he knows Theodorou is a model and hopes that Saliba can punch him in the face to hinder his future employment in front of a camera.
Theodorou is an undefeated 8-0 in his young career and he is a very deceivingly tough fighter. His flowing dark hair and model background may present him as a poser of sorts, but he tells the camera that he has worked his way up through the ranks to be the top middleweight in Canada outside the UFC. Sometimes it is tough to substantiate these claims but I have learned through watching him cage side in The Score Fighting Series and Bellator that he is a very technically capable and strong all around fighter. In my educated opinion he is not far off from his claim.
Saliba looks the part of a pure fighter, big, lanky and strong, with a jiu jitsu black belt on his resume. Both fighters make weight for the first 185 fight of the season.
The fight starts and Theodorou immediately jabs and pushes Saliba back to the cage and tries to gain leverage to drag him down to the mat. Elias leans on him hard but Saliba defends and counters to gain Theodorou’s back for an instant. Theodorou escapes and a brief scramble is followed by Theodorou again pushing Saliba against the fence. Both fighters struggle and wrestle to gain the upper hand with Saliba landing some small shots while Elias hangs on for the take down. He finally gets the take down but can only hold Saliba down briefly before they scramble to the feet again. Theodorou again smothers Saliba against the cage and is relentless in smothering his opponent. Theodorou finishes strong with two solid slams and a knee to clearly take the round.
Cote yells to his fighter to watch for Saliba coming out strong and desperate and he nails it as Saliba comes out of the corner with an aggressive superman elbow that Elias avoids. Theodorou gets another big slam and works the ground and pound in Saliba’s guard for the next minutes, doing just enough from the top to avoid a referee stand up. Saliba’s corner yells at him to fight to get to his feet and he is able to do it briefly before Theodorou takes him down again.
Theodorou does go after a submission attempt in the final minutes but a small error in his technique allows Saliba a chance to take his back. In a very shocking display from a jiu jitsu black belt, Saliba makes his own error and is unable to lock Elias up and take his back as time runs out.
Elias Theodorou defeats Zein Saliba via unanimous decision
Laprise to Fight Next
It was a very quiet episode for Chatham’s Chad Laprise in terms of time on the camera but it was announced at the end of episode two that “The Disciple” is up next for Team Canada. Laprise will look to keep the Canadians undefeated next week when he takes on Chris Indich.
Laprise is being touted as having very good hands, and his early career knockouts are a real testament to that. He has worked extremely hard on his wrestling and jiu jitsu over the past couple of years and his game is complete no matter where Indich wants to take the fight.
Will Laprise look to secure a safe win like Theodorou did to keep the Canucks undefeated and in control, or will he look to make a statement to the UFC and try to knock his foe out?
Don’t miss the next episode and your chance to see Laprise make Chatham-Kent and Canada proud.