MFC 37: True Grit lived up to the hype, as did the main event between bantamweights Anthony Birchak and Ryan “Babyface” Benoit. This was the organizations first bantamweight fight and the fans were on their feet the whole time. Birchak won a unanimous (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after securing multiple submissions, almost tapping out Benoit at the end of the second round.
“Yeah he is good and can hang with the best of them” Birchak told MMAFreak LIVE on Thursday. “Anytime I was in a bad position, it was because I gave that position up to Ryan. He didn’t earn anything, I gave him all the dominate positions that he had. To his credit, he is a tough kid and I couldn’t put him away.”
After the fight, Benoit wasted no time on going to twitter to make excuses about the elevation and to ask for a 5 round rematch, for the inaugural MFC bantamweight championship. Birchak not only thought this was petty, but didn’t understand it on a whole.
“Was it a split decision that I wasn’t aware of? Did I win controversially?” Birchak said. “I’m lost on why he would do that and it just shows his immaturity and his experience level as a professional fighter. He is just still young minded. If anyone wants to see that fight again they can tune in to TSN2 when it re-airs. If there ever is another fight, which I doubt there will be, it’s going to be an absolute murder.”
Birchak knows where he stands and is ready to keep fighting for the MFC. He has shown the organization he knows how to deliver big fights and he welcomes all challengers.
“I’m ready for whatever Mark Pavelich (Owner of the MFC) puts in front of me. We talked about it before and I really want to win this world title, this is what I want.”
With his dominating win, he thinks he should be getting a title shot next, and it might be coming to fruition sooner than later.
“It just hit me today that my next fight is going to be for the title.” Birchak told us exclusively. “Mark has promised me %1,000 that the next fight I fight for the MFC will be for the MFC bantamweight world title.”
The list of competition out there outside the UFC is really tough. You can bet when Birchak fights for the inaugural MFC bantamweight championship, that Mark and company will deliver an exciting fight for the fans and a dangerous opponent for the Arizona native.
“There is tough list of guys out there that Mark can pick from, and I’m ready for the highest level of competition, that’s why I’m in this sport. I want to fully actualize my potential in this sport and continue to test myself and achieve the goals I set in front of myself.”
We want to thank Birchak for taking the time to sit down with us and wish him all the luck. If you missed any of the show, listen to the replay here MMAFreak Live.