MM-Eh! News and Notes from Canada

The next installment of the TKO series, which launched the careers of such notable Canadian mixed martial artists as Georges St. Pierre, David Loiseau, and Jonathan Goulet, is scheduled for Thursday at Montreal's Bell Centre.

With its strong ties to the UFC, TKO has long been considered Canada's premier MMA organization. But now with Edmonton's Maximum Fighting Championship aligning with premium TV network HDNet and Hardcore Championship Fighting putting on world-class cards, TKO is in the unusual position of sharing the spotlight.

It's unfortunate then that TKO's 32nd event, titled "Ultimatum," will be one of the weaker overall cards that the promotion has put on in some time. However, there are a few bouts that fans should keep their eyes on.

In the semi-main event, Jesse Bongfeldt will make his first defense of the welterweight title that he claimed in a win over Chris Clements (Pictures) last September. He will be facing very stiff competition in Nova Scotian T.J. Grant.

The TKO welterweight belt has quite a pedigree, having been previously owned by current UFC interim champion Georges St. Pierre (Pictures), and both Bongfeldt and Grant are very aware of its cachet.

"This fight here is just as important as the last one," Bongfeldt told Sherdog.com. "This is a huge steppingstone for me."

Grant doesn't plan to make it easy for Bongfeldt, though.

"Jesse is a tough guy, the toughest to date," he said. "So I've got to be mentally strong, and physically I'm strong, so I'm ready to go."

The main event, while not particularly relevant in the grand scheme of things, should at least provide the Montreal crowd with an entertaining match. A transplanted Brazilian now living in British Columbia, Jose Landi-Jons (Pictures) is a longtime veteran of the sport and one of only four fighters to have defeated former UFC champion Matt Hughes (Pictures).

"Pele" will be taking on American Brian Gassaway (Pictures), another veteran, who has 46 professional bouts under his belt. Neither fighter will realistically make an impact on the sport at this point, but between the two of them will be a wealth of skill and experience to display for the audience.

Full Card:
Brian Gassaway vs. Jose Landi-Jons
T.J. Grant vs. Jesse Bongfeldt
Derek Gauthier vs. Yannick Galipeau
Jordan Mein vs. Samuel Guillet
Daniel Ferguson vs. Stephane Vigneault
Justin Tavernini vs. Guillaume Lamarche
Syd Barnier vs. Adrian Wooley
Johan Croes vs. Mark Fraser
Tyler Jackson vs. Jeff Harrison

Preliminary Bouts:
Scott Wright vs. Ben Gallant
Tim Wadsworth vs. Brad Duguay
Vladimir Victor vs. Christopher Hulme