Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) will launch their new bantamweight division this spring on May 10 at MFC 37: True Grit, and now they have a fight fans shouldn’t miss. Anthony Birchak, a (9-1) Arizona native, is set to take on young up and comer Ryan “Baby Face” Benoit (6-1). This fight isn’t set to go down for a couple months, but the war of words has already started via social media.
“I woke up yesterday (Sunday) and checked my twitter and noticed all these little blue birds,” Birchak said. “This guy is just going off, launching his little verbal assault, so I went back at him.”
Not every fighter is a fan of verbal warfare, but this is nothing new for Birchak, he just thinks there are two different ways to handle it.
“My little brother, my sister(s), everybody is like , ‘The stuff that you say to him is so funny, then he just comes back with angry sh–, but this has been keeping me entertained all day long,” Birchak claimed.
Some fighters think they have to make a name for themselves off the fight, and some believe they need to start before the fight. Some spectators haven’t heard of Ryan Benoit, but Birchak is not one of them.
“I watch a lot of the Active T.V. stuff and saw that I had some Legacy fighting recorded,” Birchak said. “There has been this guy I have been wanting to fight for awhile that was signed to the UFC when he was 6-0 named Joseph Sandoval. He was undefeated in Shark Fights even though he was being spoon fed all these Texas fighters and we were supposed to fight but it never happened. So, I tuned in to watch him fight and saw him get knocked out in the first round by my current opponent Ryan Benoit. Not a lot of his fights last that long. He comes out and throws a straight one-two looking to finish early.”
Benoit has won three straight fights – all coming by way of stoppage. He has been wrestling since the age of 10, but has heavy hands as well. He definitely shouldn’t be overlooked.
“He has wrestling, limited jui-jitsu, I think he has finished one guy by rear-naked choke and it was basically given to him,” Birchak claimed. “He hasn’t seen anybody as well-rounded as me inside the cage or outside. I have talked sh– with the best of them. It’s nothing new to me. Everyone has something to say about me, and its just water off my back.”
Some believe that the sh–t talk/verbal warfare part of fighting is barbaric and pathetic, while others disagree.
“I saw a tweet the other day from a fan that said ‘I had no interest in the Birchak/Benoit fight until I saw their twitter war, Ill be sure to tune in May 10th. “
Smack talk always pumps up a fight, just look at what GSP has been doing. We all know he wants to lay and pray for five rounds, but he is talking crap to one of the best of them (Diaz) just to hype the fight up more for his fans. Birchak doesn’t believe they need to pump this fight up, but isn’t going to just stand in the shadows.
“We’re not talking sh– to help promote this fight.” Birchak said. “This is the buy product and if he wants to talk sh–, then I’m going to talk sh–. The way I talk sh– and the way he talks sh– is way different. I try and be funny with it.”
This fight is going to happen, and I guarantee the MFC’s first bantamweight fight won’t disappoint. Some expected Birchak’s first opponent to maybe be a fighter that was just recently released by the UFC, but Birchak isn’t disappointed and thinks this is a great challenge.
“I think Mark Pavelich (MFC CEO) is tired of seeing these bantamweights that should be coming forward, just dancing around.” Birchak said. “A lot of these fighters in Bellator or the UFC fight kind of safe. The guys that don’t fight safe are the ones on the top right now.”
Dana White has claimed lately that boring fighters aren’t guaranteed a job (look at Jon Fitch). The top bantamweights in the division always come to bang and finish their fights. Putting on a show while getting your win is a big thing now a days.
“Eduardo Dantas (current Bellator bantamweight champion) doesn’t fight safe and he is on top right now. Dominick Cruz and Renan Barao come and push the pace constantly and look where they are at.”
Birchak enjoys the sh–t talk and welcomes it, but knows either way that him and his opponent will back up every word and deliver a great fight for the fans by pushing the pace like the current champions of today.
“That’s something Ryan and I do really well, push the pace. I’m not afraid to get hit, he isn’t afraid to get hit, and we are both going to throw leather May 10th.”
Birchak is a big 135 pounder and Benoit has been quoted saying, “I’d like to start making my drop to 125 pounds. I’ve seen these guys at 135 and they’re just huge and even though I look muscular and stuff, they are a little bit bigger than me. I think if I can make the weight, I can be a force at 125 for sure.”
Benoit plans were to drop down to 125 before taking this fight. Not being completely comfortable at 135 could backfire for him in the long run.
“He hasn’t fought a guy with a physically large stature like myself.”
May 10th promises to be a great card for the MFC and Birchak knows when he steps in the cage that him and his opponent will be ready to throw down. The problem is, Birchak seems very confident, while he thinks his opponent has over hyped himself up, especially his offensive tools.
“I strike with the best of them,” Birchak said. “I believe he is over confident with his hands. He thinks he is untouchable because he comes from this Muay Thai gym, and that he has some wrestling experience, that he is going to stuff my take-downs. You can prepare all you want for my wrestling, but at the end of the day, I’m a funky wrestler, I’m unpredictable and he has never been put on his back the way I put guys on their back . That’s what I plan to do, beat him up on his feet, take him down and punish him in every single position. It’s probably going to be a violent ending. He comes forward and I come forward. One of us is going to sleep.”
Birchak would like to thank:
Training partners: Ed West, George Roop, Chris Cariaso, and Freddie Lux
His manager Mercedes White at Luta
Outlaw Fight Gear
Mentom Eyewear