Canadas most successful MMA promotion, The Maximum Fighting Championship returns this Friday night for MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta. Tim Hardaway Jersey . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. "Im the forefather of MMA in this country and its going to continue to be that way -- When Im dead one day and they make (me) a statue. (Critics will) feel terrible about how they spoke about me. Thats whats going to happen." Pavelich told TSN.ca Founded in 2001, the MFC is the longest running MMA promotion in North America next to the UFC and has outlasted other organizations such as the IFL, Elite XC, DREAM, Affliction and most recently Strikeforce who have all ceased operations. "Im not a promoter; Im a fight pioneer thats what people dont understand. Fight promoters are guys that come around and do it once in a while Im a guy thats been in (the fight business) right from the beginning." While MMA has been thriving in Western Canada for years thanks to the success of the MFC, the province of Ontario hasnt been as responsive, only legalizing MMA back in 2010. Despite the UFC holding successful annual events in Toronto the last few years, local MMA promotions are essentially non-existent in Ontario. Even the MFC has only held one event in Ontario (MFC 29: Conquer, in Windsor, Ontario) and that was back in 2011. Whats keeping local MMA out of Ontario? According to Pavelich it is the governing bodies in charge and not Ontario Athletic Commissioner Ken Hayashi. "Its not (Hayashi), its the provincial government that makes these regulations and fees. Thats the thing they have to fix and alter before (the MFC) returns because these fees are astronomical, theyre the highest in the world. Las Vegas is cheaper (to run an event), Albertas cheaper, and Quebec is cheaper." Pavelich believes MMA cant grow properly in Ontario if the UFC is the only promotion running events. "Thats just something (the governing bodies) have to take a look at. If they really want to see MMA develop properly in Ontario, I think (the MFC) is the only brand of MMA that can actually do it. I mean if you want to wait around for the UFC to come once a year and you think thats going to develop MMA, its not going to happen that way." One of the catalysts for the MFCs success has been their out of the box type thinking, including their recent "Punch The Vote" contest where fans had the opportunity to pick which of the three title fights would serve as the main event for MFC 38. This included Canadian Smealinho Rama vs. Anthony Hamilton (for the heavyweight title), Sam Alvey vs. Jason South (for the 185lb title) and Anthony Birchack vs. Tito Jones (for the 135lb title). "What I loved about the voting -- It really showed were not a local a brand of MMA, were not even a Canadian brand of MMA, and we had people voting from all over the world. That proves thats lots of people are paying attention and thats really exciting." Proof of this was the Calgary native Rama who received the least amount of votes and bantamweights Birchack and Jones (both of whom are American) earning the main event slot. Rounding out MFC 38s main card, aside from the three title fights is a lightweight affair between Canadian Kurt Southern and Jason Novaes. Pavelich believes this rematch from MFC 36 will be nothing short of fireworks. "Kurt Southern is the best 155er in Canada. I think Novaes is a special individual as well. Theyre going to go at it again for the second time and Im super excited about that. But like I said its unfortunate because there are three titles and nobody is talking about (this) fight." On the topic of fighters on the MFC roster, many fans have been wondering why welterweight superstar Dhiego Lima hasnt been competing inside the MFC ring this year. The answer is simple, hes a free-agent. "Problem with Dhiego is we have too many American Top Team guys in our organization. He was crossing (fights) with them -- a few times he was going to have title fights with other American Top Team guys and then it got really weird. They wouldnt fight each other." "We released him and let him go to where he wants to go, because (not fighting teammates) is going to be a problem." This is the second time Pavelich has let a Lima brother leave his organization as a free-agent. Dhiegos older brother Douglas left in the Alberta based promotion back in 2011 and has recently found success in in the Bellator Fighting Championships, winning two welterweight tournaments. "Im happy for (Douglas) although I dont think hes fighting for the right organization, sometimes agents make the mistake. I dont blame him whatsoever." "Go check Limas twitter today, you know what it still says "MFC Champ" at the top of it. That tells you whats in his heart. He told us at our home one time that made a mistake going to (Bellator). He could have walked into the UFC, and not just walked in, he could have walked in like a star" "I dont think he gets the publicity like he did when he was with the Maximum Fighting Championship any more. (Bellator) fails to promote that end of stuff" As the sport of MMA continues to grow, the addition of women fighting is always a hot topic. With UFC introducing females into their organization earlier this year and debuting them on the Ultimate Fighter, could we see the same thing in the MFC? "I respect all female fighters. Im a huge Miesha Tate fan, I like Sarah Kaufman. I think theyre great athletes. The problem is I dont think I can get a quality ten girls together to make this a great division." Another budding issue with the MFC is their broadcast rights. Currently their events only broadcast live on AXS TV (formally HDNet) in the States. Canadian cable companies pulled the plug on AXS TV in Canada last year. The only way fans can watch MFC events in Canada is on a two-week tape delay on speciality channel the Fight Network. "Andrew Simon and Mark Cuban are very intelligent at AXS TV and everybody knows that. I know they want to be in Canada. Sometimes being Mark Cuban is difficult because people might charge too much for what (the network) is really worth. The cable networks and the fans have to realize that its your obligation to tell the cable company that you want AXS TV (in Canada)" Despite these hurdles, Pavelich believes the MFC is a unique brand of MMA and fans always get their monies worth seeing their events live. "Come watch our brand of MMA and then you tell me after that you didnt get your $60 worth or your $600 worth its impossible! (Quality fights) is the only thing were good at and weve been good at it for 14-years." "We have real fighters in the MFC. You cant pick who you fight in the Maximum Fighting Championships, you go in these other organizations and you can pick who you fight. We tell you youre going to fight because its our job is to the fans and we want to put on the best fight possible" MFC 38: Behind Enemy Lines takes place this Friday (October 4th) at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton Alberta Canada and on AXS TV. Hassan Whiteside Jersey . -- Andy Dorman and Kelyn Rowe scored in the second half to lead the New England Revolution to a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City in the first leg of their Eastern Conference semifinals series on Saturday night. Glen Rice Jersey . It was just time for him to make a big play. Nicolas Batum had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Wesley Matthews scored 18 points, and the Trail Blazers overcame poor-shooting nights by two of their best players in a 94-90 victory over the New York Knicks on Wednesday. http://www.basketballheatshop.com/Customized/ . The 12th-ranked Haas served well throughout the match at the Ibirapuera arena, allowing only one break point to the 152nd-ranked Italian. Both players held serve until the first-set tiebreak, when Haas stepped up his game to easily clinch the set.The Jamaican bobsled team may be headed to another Olympics. The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Olympic organizers said Saturday that Jamaica has qualified for the two-man competition at next months Sochi Games, though it remains unclear if the fledgling squad will get a chance to race. Funding is a serious problem and sled driver Winston Watts told The Associated Press on Saturday that hes trying to raise as much as $80,000 in the next couple weeks to cover travel and equipment costs. "Right now," Watts said, "were at zero." They are certainly among the worlds most storied bobsled teams, and that has little to do with results. Jamaica first competed in Olympic bobsledding in 1988 at the Calgary Games, a story that inspired the "Cool Runnings" film. For a nation lacking bobsled tradition, or snowy winters, Jamaica has often fared quite well on the international circuits. Its been 12 years since Jamaica has had a sled in the Olympics, with Watts finishing 28th at the Salt Lake City Games with Calgarys Lascelles Brown -- now a key part of Canadas national team. Brown won a medal at the 2010 Vancouver Games, one where the Jamaicans were hoping to compete but were again thwarrted by funding issues. James Johnson Jersey. Still, the 46-year-old Watts -- who called himself "retired" from sliding for nearly a decade -- has held on to hope of sliding again on the sports biggest stage. "Were pretty good," Watts said. "Were not there with the rest of the world, of course. But we if had some more sources for funding, wed have a better chance." He started the season thinking he could get a four-man sled ready for Sochi, before quickly realizing that was too expensive. His focus then shifted to the two-man sled and by racing in a number of lower-tier events at tracks in Park City, Lake Placid and Calgary in recent months, Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixon piled up enough points to get into the Olympic mix. Sochi officials tweeted word Saturday that the Jamaicans were in, but the International Bobsleigh & Skeleton Federation -- the sports governing body -- is not expected to confirm before Sunday at the earliest how many nations qualified for the Olympic fields. Watts said hes confident that Jamaica is qualified. "Im not a person who likes to quit," Watts said. "I put my heart into it and I know for a fact that people are going to help this team." Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '