Unified MMA #63 – September 26, 2025

So I followed our Simon Marcus all the way to Unified MMA #63, and I’m glad I did! What a night it was. I should start by saying that the professional fighting scene is a completely different ball game. I saw quite a few familiar faces among the spectators, but they also looked very different when they were drunk. 

The scene was also very mysterious. The commissioners said they weren’t allowed to talk to the media! I told them I’m only a blogger for fun and in the business of keeping people’s secrets during the day, but that didn’t help the situation. I wonder why the commissioners are not allowed to speak to the media, though! After the commissioners wouldn’t speak to me, I approached John Ramdeen, the play-by-play commentator, with a lot of hesitation. I was worried he was going to tell me he couldn’t comment. But John was happy to share! He said his favorite part about an MMA fight was the hugging afterward. He may have emphasized the fighters being in their most violent phase before the hugging, but I’m leaving that part out just to push John’s buttons a little. Maybe I can get him to talk about the commissioners. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Kru Jeff Harrison from Ottawa Fight Factory and had a very brief conversation with him. Kru Jeff said that MMA is the closest thing to real combat. You can have a winning streak in Muay Thai, but when fighting in MMA, your chances are just the same as your opponent’s because the combat involves everything. Kru Jeff then ended our conversation and said he had to go find his team. I’m guessing he had lost his team?

Weird things happen in MMA…

Did you know that in MMA, they lock the cage after the fighters get in? There is just no way out once you get in the cage. And there isn’t an open slot for the coaches to throw in the white towel! There are also a few interesting rules in MMA, where I thought there were no rules at all. For example, you can’t knee an opponent who’s down. You can also grab your own shorts but not your opponent’s, but why would you want to grab your opponent’s shorts? The commissioners also report on each round separately and include the winner for each round in the announcements, which is very different (they don't this in UFC). Let’s get to those fights: 

Claudia Baril and Danielle Lentini were the only female fighters that evening. Their fight started slow, but there was an eye gouging (hopefully unintentional) by Claudia that made Danielle very angry, and from that point on it was all animal instincts. Danielle kept lifting Claudia and smashing her down as if Claudia was two weight classes lighter. Danielle won the fight, making Claudia tap in the rear naked choke.

Fawaz Olayemi fought Miraz Hopovac that night. Fawaz started training in 2020 after watching his first UFC fight at a COVID party during the pandemic. Fawaz is the reason we had that second lockdown! When it comes to two heavy fighters, who lands that first overhand is very important—as it’s quite possibly the first and the last. This is why it’s often harder for heavyweights to defend their titles. The heavy fighters also gas out faster, so they rested in clinch from time to time. Miraz won the fight in the second round by KO. Just before Miraz’s hand was raised, I thought I’d do him a favor and give him a quick haircut, but the cutman wouldn’t share his scissors.

Gino Ghalehpardaz and Jordan Tecson got in the cage that night. Gino had a particularly rough time during the pandemic, cutting weight for fights that kept falling through. But at the end of 2021, he finally got a shot on five days’ notice in his hometown, and that was just the beginning of a new high. I’d like to note that Gino and Jordan were two of the most stubborn fighters I’ve ever watched. This was a rematch after Gino beat Jordan back in January of this year by split decision. They were back at it at Unified 63, even more stubborn. The fight was more like a chess game than MMA. With how stubborn these two were, many guillotine locks and headlocks didn’t lead to submissions by either one of them. Again, Gino won by split decision. I really don’t envy their wives…

Liam Macfadyen (613 Fight Factory, Ottawa) and Tylor Wilson (Hayabusa Academy) were locked in the cage that evening. Liam started Judo when he began crawling under the table, and his two Judo instructor parents had to pull at his PJs and wrestle him out. I don’t know if it was the same time Liam got acquainted with Jolly Ranchers, but these days he chews on them while running to cut weight. Imagine cutting weight one spit at a time! Liam skipped amateur MMA and started in pro right from the beginning. His fight with Tylor got bloody in the first round after Liam got a bloody nose. It made Liam so angry, he lifted Tylor so high I thought he was going to throw him over the cage. In the third round, it was mostly Liam striking and Tylor trying to escape. I think Tylor even thought about trying the door! Liam won by unanimous decision.

Bobby Poulter (Para Bellum MMA) had a brief encounter with Allan Ruiz from Mexico. Allan is ranked #3 in Mexico and was brought in on five days’ notice! I looked for the Mexican cartel among the spectators, but luckily they needed more advance notice, so Bobby was allowed to win by submission in a rear naked choke in the first round.

Simon Marcus (The ONE) and Ricardo Chavez from Mexico were the co-main event that evening. Simon was cornered by Kru Alin, and once Simon got in the cage, a commissioner sat by Kru Alin… to hold him down, in case??? I would buy a ticket just to watch anyone try to hold down Kru Alin… Simon was very difficult to get a hold of, as he was held in back control by his four kids until the very last day, but I finally got to speak with him. For Simon’s fighting career and legendary wins, read Wikipedia. I talked with Simon about how he feels he has evolved over the years. He said you can’t fight MMA without evolving, as it’s a far more strategic fight. “I’m also used to fighting standing up, so I’m learning and improving all over again, training in BJJ and wrestling.” I asked Simon about his teaching career. He said teaching is the natural progression in the fight game. “Some fighters wait until they stop fighting to teach. I have 30 amateur and 2 pro fighters on roster. I didn’t want to wait to share my knowledge.” I asked Simon if his kids are training and whether he would let them fight. Simon said, “They train from time to time, and if they love fighting, how can I tell them to stop doing what they love?” Simon won by submission due to strikes in the second round. By the way, Ricardo goes by the nickname Woody. So Simon beat Woody.

The last fight of the evening and the main event was between Bilal Nasari and Joash Walkins. Joash has 25 years of international fight experience in Sambo, boxing, and Judo. In MMA, up until that night, Joash had a record of 15 fights and only 3 losses. I didn’t get to interview Bilal, but he was starting the night with a clean record of 6 wins. So in my opinion, this fight was an indication of how much experience matters in MMA. And the answer is: not much, as Bilal won in the second round by KO strikes.

The night ended with a lot of smiles. MMA fights are 3 x 5-min rounds! I highly recommend wearing a poncho before hugging the winners. Unified MMA 65 is coming up in February. I plan on going to Unified 65, if for no other reason than to find out if Kru Jeff Harrison found his team!

See you all next week at Clinch + Conquer.