RAMA, Ont. -- Count Hamilton welterweight Joel Powell as the first winner at the first officially sanctioned mixed martial arts show in Ontario.
Powell (2-2) choked out Brandt Dewsberry of Lethbridge, Alta., at four minutes 54 seconds of the second round Saturday at "MMA: The Reckoning" at Casino Rama.
"We are making history tonight," the cage announcer said as the evening started.
Let history note, Dewsberry came out first to the ear-splitting sounds of Rammstein. Montreal's Yves Lavigne was the referee.
The main event featured former UFC welterweight Josh (The People's Warrior) Burkman against 21-year-old Jordan (Young Guns) Mein of Lethbridge.
Powell, a former national team wrestler whose twin brother Josh is also a fighter, used his wrestling skills to put Dewsberry down. He bloodied Dewsberry in the first round and did more damage from above in the second.
Eventually Dewsberry (5-1) gave up his back and Powell sank in a rear naked choke.
The referees on show were better known than most, if not all, of the fighters. (Big) John McCarthy, Dan Miragliotta and Lavigne are all familiar faces to MMA fans.
The card featured judges from Manitoba and Quebec, who used the occasion to train Ontario counterparts.
There have been MMA shows in Ontario before, but they were held on First Nation reserves and not sanctioned by the provincial government.
That changed last August when Ontario announced plans as of Jan. 1 to regulate the sport using the provincial Athletics Control Act, which is administered by the Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services. The act already sanctioned pro boxing and kickboxing.
A Maximum Fighting Championship card is set for Windsor next Friday, while UFC 129, a 55,000-seat sellout at Rogers Centre, is slated for April 30 in Toronto
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