Jordan Cabrejos lives so close to the Vernon Curling Club he was able to race home to retrieve a pair of fighting shorts for a fellow Unity Mixed Martial Arts club member prior to the fightersa国际传媒檚 bout getting started.

Cabrejos, who resides in an apartment on Centennial Drive, about a two-minute drive or 10-minute walk from the curling club, raced home at 7:30 p.m., ate some eggs and waffles, got the shorts (teammate originally had shorts with pockets, a mixed martial arts no-no), returned to the curling club in 15 minutes and then began to prepare for his XFC Middleweight Championship bout against Calgary 101 Academy fighter Will Grieves.

The bout, in front of Cabrejossa国际传媒� girlfriend, family and friends, and a partisan hometown crowd of several hundred on hand for XFC Unbanned, was still nearly five hours away, the second of three main events as mixed martial arts made its successful return to Vernon following a near-decade-long hiatus.

Cabrejos didnsa国际传媒檛 disappoint.

In a bout that started at 12:15 a.m. Sunday, he scored takedowns of Grieves in the first three rounds, landing body punch after body punch. When Grieves didnsa国际传媒檛 answer the bell for the fourth of the scheduled five rounds, Cabrejos was the new XFC Middleweight champ, improving his record to 3-1-1. Grieves dropped to 2-4.

sa国际传媒淭his is amazing, a dream come true,sa国际传媒� said a beaming Cabrejos in the ring to announcer Kevin Rothwell, with loud cheers thundering down from the crowd. sa国际传媒淭o do this so close to my home, with my girlfriend, family and all these guys in the crowd, itsa国际传媒檚 awesome.sa国际传媒�

Cabrejos was one of six Unity fighters taking part in the 14-card fight.

The five-round main event, which started at 12:43 a.m., saw Vernonsa国际传媒檚 Kenny Pope take on Dylan Schellenberg of CMAC in Lethbridge.

After waiting more than five hours for their match, Schellenberg made short work of Pope, grabbing the Vernon fighter in a neckhold sa国际传媒榞uillotinesa国际传媒� submission, forcing a tap-out just 28 seconds after the start to claim the XFC Welterweight championship belt.

sa国际传媒淗onestly, I expected it to go longer,sa国际传媒� said Schellenberg, who improve to 3-4 with the win. sa国际传媒淏ut the way he shot put his head right in my arm and I just started squeezing. Ideally, I wanted to keep him standing, knowing hesa国际传媒檚 more of a grappler on the ground, and with those long limbs I wanted to stay away from those. In the end, 28 seconds, it worked out for me.sa国际传媒�

Pope dropped to 4-6 overall.

Braiden Jacobi of Unity, in his MMA debut, scored a disqualification win over Abdulla ElHefnawy of Vancouversa国际传媒檚 Tristar club. ElHefnawy was DQed for an illegal hit to Jacobi on the ground.

Raphael Quolett of Powell River Brazilian Jiu Jitsu scored a controversial three-round split decision over Unitysa国际传媒檚 Damon Marlow, who suffered his first loss (2-1). Rothwellsa国际传媒檚 announcement of the decision brought a chorus of loud boos from the partisan crowd, many of whom thought Marlow was the deserved victor of the 155-pound class bout.

In a 150-pound match, Nick Leblac improved to 4-1 with a second-round chokehold submission win over Unitysa国际传媒檚 Cameron Lane (2-2).

Nick Matthews from Calgary Champions Creed club won a unanimous three-round decision over Angus Franks of Unity. Both fighters were making their MMA debuts at 155 pounds.

The other main event match, for the XFC Featherweight title, saw Usman Khattak of Calgarysa国际传媒檚 Dynamic Club hand Edmontonsa国际传媒檚 Solomon Coachoreille his first loss (5-1) with a five-round unanimous decision.

Kelownasa国际传媒檚 Jackie McLean of Toshido Mixed Martial Arts, making her MMA debut, scored a three-round unanimous decision over Grande Prairie Champions club member Amanda Rogers in the cardsa国际传媒檚 lone womensa国际传媒檚 bout.

The card attracted clubs and fighters from Vernon, Kelowna, Calgary, Lethbridge, Vancouver, Powell River, Grande Prairie, Coquitlam, and Winnipeg.

Promoter Saverio Loria of Loria Entertainment Group thanked the crowd for a successful return of the sport to the North Okanagan.

sa国际传媒淭hank you all very much for coming,sa国际传媒� said Loria. sa国际传媒淲e will assess this one (event) and hopefully do another one in the spring.sa国际传媒�

roger@vernonmorningstar.com
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