Canadian Fighters Guarantee Sweep On TUF Nations
Chad Laprise – Photo by UFC Canada
Westcott did exactly that in very quick fashion by charging out to the middle of the cage, getting first position and slamming Grujik down to the mat. He quickly shifted in to half guard and submitted the stunned Aussie with a modified Von Flue choke from the half guard. Westcott is supremely violent when he goes in to engage and he simply shocked Grujic with his ferocity.
The win now ensures that a Canadian will win both the welterweight and middleweight portion of the competition as the Australians have been shut out of the finals.
Chatham’s own rising star Chad Laprise will be stepping in to hostile territory in the final against Montreal’s Olivier Aubin-Mercier, a compact and very strong wrestler who has already been compared to Georges St-Pierre in his young career for his athleticism, power and wrestling ability. Olivier secured his spot in the final with a very slick rear naked choke submission against Richard Walsh.
Walsh opened the episode in the house talking to Westcott and Laprise about how he made one simple mistake or had one simple pause in the cage and Olivier was able to pounce on it and end it. Westcott quickly stated from the kitchen that Olivier hits that move on everyone in training all the time, even the middleweights, while Laprise listens closely.
“It’s going to be an interesting fight between me and him.” Laprise states as he leaves Walsh and Westcott to continue the discussion.
The fighters also got a very big surprise in this episode as they were paid a visit to the house by none other than the former welterweight champion himself Georges St-Pierre. GSP sat in the kitchen and pontificated on his training and fight preparation, and gave the fighters valuable advice about longevity in this sport.
“A fighter only has maybe ten or fifteen years and you have to plan it out and be smart about it,” he stated, as all the fighters watched and listened to him attentively and in awe.
“It is a short career but you need to train like it is a marathon and not a sprint if you want longevity,” was another solid tip he gave them, stressing that sparring twice a day, every day is not the smartest way ensure your health and skills long-term.
The TUF Nations Canada vs. Australia Finale is set for Wednesday April 16th, from the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City. Aside from your local finalist Laprise, the card is stacked up with the very best fighters that Canada has to offer as Canuck Coach Patrick Cote will take on Aussie coach Kyle Noke and Sam Stout, Mitch Gagnon, Mark Bocek, Ryan Jimmo and Sarah Kaufmann will all be in pivotal action on the card.
The event will be headlined by a very relevant middleweight contender fight between brash Brit Michael Bisping against American Special Forces sergeant Tim Kennedy.
The complete fight card is as follows:
Main Card
Middleweight Michael Bisping vs. Tim Kennedy
Welterweight Patrick Côté vs. Kyle Noke
Middleweight Sheldon Westcott vs. Elias Theodorou
Welterweight Chad Laprise vs. Olivier Aubin-Mercier
Featherweight Dustin Poirier vs. Akira Corassani
Preliminary card
Lightweight Sam Stout vs. KJ Noons
Women’s Bantamweight Sarah Kaufman vs. Leslie Smith
Light Heavyweight Ryan Jimmo vs. Sean O’Connell
Bantamweight George Roop vs. Dustin Kimura
Lightweight Mark Bocek vs. Mike de la Torre
Middleweight Nordine Taleb vs. Vik Grujic
Welterweight Richard Walsh vs. Chris Indich
Bantamweight Mitch Gagnon vs. Tim Gorman
Dwight Wakabayashi is a freelance mixed martial arts reporter who has been covering the UFC and Combat Sports for over ten years