MMA Universe

The Maximum Fighting Championship wasted no time in finding a top-notch opponent for the recently signed Thales Leites as another big-name middleweight has joined the fray.

Former Abu Dhabi world champion Dean Lister signed a multi-fight deal last night and immediately agreed to meet Leites at MFC 23: “Unstoppable” on Friday, December 4 at the River Cree Resort and Casino. The bout will be the main event of the fight card broadcast live throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico on HDNet Fights.

“This is an outstanding matchup and I am particularly pleased that both Dean and Thales agreed to fight each other so quickly – no discussion, no delays. Just signed, sealed and delivered,” said MFC Owner/President Mark Pavelich.

“It is a great fight. Both guys have a lot to prove and both guys want the MFC title belt. There’s a lot at stake in this fight and that’s when things get very interesting.”

With the signings of Lister and Leites along with the return of Jason MacDonald, the recent main-event victory by Travis Lutter, and other names such as Bryan Baker and Solomon Hutcherson, the MFC’s middleweight division has suddenly become very deep in experienced talent.

“I couldn’t be happier about reloading our 185-pound division,” noted Pavelich. “For too long the division was pretty empty but now the cupboard is full – and full of names that the fans want to see fight.”

Lister (11-6) is one of the most-decorated submission fighters in the world of mixed martial arts, and he holds career victories over such notables as Jeremy Horn, Yuki Sasaki, and Alessio Sakara. Seven of Lister’s nine submission wins have come inside the first round.

The San Diego, California, product has numerous other grappling credentials on his resume. In addition to his Absolute Division championship at the 2003 Abu Dhabi, Lister captured victories in tournament superfights in 2003 and 2005, and he holds the event record with four straight wins in the ‘03 event. Lister, a master of foot and knee locks, is a two-time U.S. national sambo champion, a four-time U.S. national champion in Machado Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and a U.S. national champion in Gracie jiu-jitsu.

The detractors have said their piece — now it’s time to prove them wrong.

That is the sentiment coming from the camp of Thales Leites, who has officially signed on to join the middleweight ranks in the Maximum Fighting Championship. In all likelihood, the standout Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace will make his debut with the organization at MFC 23: Unstoppable on Dec. 4 – quite possibly against another top-ranked title contender, Bryan Baker.

Leites sports a strong 14-3 career record with nine of those victories coming by submission – a list that includes Drew McFedries, Ryan Jensen, and Jose Landis-Jons. The six-foot-one native of Rio de Janeiro also holds wins over Nate Marquardt and Pete Sell, and he has not been stopped in any of his three defeats. Leites’ manager, Ed Soares, immediately declared that Leites is eager to show what he truly can do.

“He’s looking forward to getting back on the right path, getting wins and putting on a great show,” said Soares.

“I think he’s going to go out and prove people wrong. There’s not much to say. Talk is cheap. Thales is going to show everyone what he can do.”

Leites last fought in Canada against Anderson Silva, unquestionably one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. It was a disappointing night for Leites – a result that called into question his willingness to engage and do battle. That situation, Soares indicated, won’t be repeated.

“Thales is very excited about going out and showing everyone what he’s capable of doing,” said Soares. “It’s not a new Thales. There were a lot of changes going on in his life before the Silva fight and he wasn’t as focused as he should have been but he still went five rounds with Silva when Forrest Griffin couldn’t get out of the first round.

“Thales is very eager to go out and finish a fight. It doesn’t matter who is opponent is, Thales is going to look to finish the fight. He has the heart of a lion and he’s going to go and leave it all out there in the ring. I feel he’s at the top of the MFC middleweight division right now but he’s got to go out and get the win and have an impressive performance.”

Leites has obvious credentials as a submission specialist, but Soares also noted the 17-fight veteran has improved his stand-up skills of late – a much-required attribute should a showdown with Baker come to fruition.