TKO MMA held their 43rd event Friday night from The Videotron Centre in Quebec City (Check out the full results HERE). Champions Marc-Andre Barriault and Jesse Arnett defended the Middleweight and Bantamweight Titles respectively with impressive stoppage victories both extending long winning streaks in the process.
Keep in mind, in most cases the match-ups listed here are hypothetical and have not been announced or rumored to be taking place unless otherwise noted.
Let us know your thoughts on who should be up next for the big winners and the rest of the card and who you think would win our hypothetical match-ups.
185lbs- Marc-Andre Barriault (10-1) vs. Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz (6-0)
***Middleweight Title Fight
Marc-Andre Barriault continued his winning streak and defended his Middleweight Title this weekend with a huge KO over Brendan Kornberger. “Power Bar” has now won 7 in a row and is in need of a new challenger for his title. While it’s possible that TKO could bring in an international fighter to contend for the belt that’s no fun for us to look at so instead we’ll suggest a fellow Canadian. TKO signed Mariusz Ksiazkiewicz a couple months ago and would be the most logical choice among Middleweight’s currently signed to the TKO roster. If they are not ready to give “The Iron Pol” the title shot perhaps having him fight Khetag Pliev in a #1 contenders bout would be the best option.
170lbs- Jonathan Meunier (9-1) vs. Michael Hill (10-4-1)
***Welterweight Title Fight
Jonathan Meunier should still be in the UFC however he was released from his contract after a brief 1-1 stint in the organization with the UFC citing medical concerns. Doctors gave Meunier the go-ahead to continue his MMA career however the UFC still chose to terminate his contract. Meunier took a Unanimous Decision victory over late notice replacement Menad Abella in a bout which was supposed to be for the vacant Welterweight Title however both men missed weight and the title was not on the line. While there is no one currently on the roster who is close to a title shot and an international fighter would be likely again we’re going to choose to stay north of the border and suggest someone like Michael Hill to battle Meunier for the vacant Welterweight Title. Hill is undefeated in his last three outings with wins over Cody Krahn and Spencer Jebb under the XFFC banner and a Draw against Maxim Butorin in Russia last summer.
135lbs- Jesse Arnett (15-4) vs. Josh Hill (16-2)
***Bantamweight Title Fight
Excuse my language but can we just stop fucking around and get this one done already. I’m not sure if Josh Hill is exclusive to Fight Nights Global but if he is they’re sure not doing much with him so why not make this fight happen… I know, I know we’re kind of beating a dead horse here. The fans have been debating and asking for this fight for years, let’s do this. Jesse Arnett rattled off his 12th straight victory this weekend over a less experienced but extremely game late notice opponent in Sebastian Ruiz. Arnett has one fight left on his TKO contract and then it’s very likely off to the UFC for him. Arnett has also stated that if he receives a formal contract offer from UFC of ONE Championship he has an out clause with TKO. Barring a contract offer from one of those promotions let’s finally get the two best Bantamweights in Canada in the same cage at the same time and settle this debate, on second thought why not just get this bout done inside the Octagon!
265lbs- Adam Dyczka (8-0) vs. Raphael Pessoa (8-0)
***Heavyweight Title Fight
Adam Dyczka continued to impress with a massive KO over Icho Larenas this weekend, his 8th straight. It’s a shame that the top 3 Heavyweight’s in Canada are all locked up to exclusive contracts with different promotions because it would be great to see Dyczka take on Tanner Boser or Dustin Joynson but it just doesn’t seem like that’s in the cards for a little while at least. In the meantime TKO has another undefeated knockout artist signed to their roster in Raphael Pessoa. The Brazilian signed with TKO back in January and it seems like a title fight with “Kung Fu Panda” is an inevitability. Dyczka should already be the Heavyweight Champion but was stripped of the title after testing positive for marijuana (rolls eyes).
145lbs- Alex Morgan (8-3) vs. TJ Laramie (8-2)
***Featherweight Title Fight
Alex Morgan holds a contentious TKO victory over TJ Laramie back at TKO 38 and would not be surprising if both men were itching to run it back. Laramie to prove that it was an early stoppage and Morgan to prove that he can beat Laramie without controversy. Morgan did his job and won his bout this weekend against Peter Petties putting him in the running for that title shot. Laramie has been impressive since the controversial loss defeating Jimmy Spicuzza to earn his title shot, beating Charles Jourdain to win the title and finally defending it against Joao Luiz Nogueira.
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