Maximum Fighting Championships, Canada’s premier mixed martial arts promotion, returned tonight with MFC 23: “Unstoppable,” which was headlined by a middleweight title eliminator bout between former UFC contenders Thales Leites and Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister.

In the co-main event, Edmonton’s own Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald bounced back after a decision loss at MFC 22 with an extremely confusing victory over “King” Solomon Hutcherson. MMARising.com has live play-by-play of the bizarre event as it happened.

Thales Leites vs Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister

Round 1:
Leites landed a nice kick early on and Lister tried to pull guard. Leites stood up, then dove into Lister’s half-guard. A predictable stalemate between the jiu-jitsu aces followed, as Leites could do little to improve his position. The fight returned to the feet and Leites connected with two stiff leg kicks that backed Lister up.

Leites clinched and landed knees to Lister’s legs. The fighters separated and Leites landed a one-two. Lister tried for a takedown, but Leites stuffed it with a front choke. Little happened until Leites stood over Lister and kicked at his legs. An exchange of kicks ended the round. 10-9 Leites.

Note: Between rounds, it was announced that there had been a scoring error in the MacDonald vs Hutcherson fight and MacDonald did, indeed, win.

Round 2:
Leites stuffed a takedown and pushed Lister to the ground, then briefly looked to set up a Brabo Choke. He stayed in Lister’s half-guard for another 30 seconds, then stood up. Back on the feet, Lister landed a jumping knee and Leites took him down.

From half-guard, Leites landed weak punches as the crowd began to fall asleep. Lister looked to set up a kneebar, but Leites evaded and landed more small punches. The fighters stood again and Lister scored with a lunging left hook. Leites took him down again. Very poor round. 10-9 Leites.

Round 3:
Leites landed a quick combination and stuffed a takedown from Lister in the final round. Literally almost nothing happened for close to a minute as the fighters tried to gain a better position. Leites pushed Lister to his back and opened a cut beside his eye with elbows. Lister tried to reverse position, but had no luck at all and the referee stood the fighters up.

Lister quickly pulled guard, despite having zero success on the ground, and the fight went back to a battle of nothing happening. The referee stood the fighters again and Lister pulled guard one more time, but could do nothing with it. Expectedly terrible fight, as the pair’s strengths cancel each other out. 10-9 Leites.

Winner: Thales Leites by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) after three rounds. He improves to 15-3-0.

Jason “The Athlete” MacDonald vs “King” Solomon Hutcherson

Round 1:
Hutcherson rushed forward with three punches, but MacDonald scored a quick takedown and moved straight to mount. He trapped Hutcherson in a triangle choke from the top, but Hutcherson rolled over and slammed his way out. MacDonald tried for a takedown and got it on his second try. He moved to mount, but Hutcherson immediately swept and took top position.

From half-guard, Hutcherson looked to move to side-control, but MacDonald took his back in a scramble. MacDonald tried for a series of rear naked chokes, but could not secure the hold. He managed to lock on the choke twice, but Hutcherson freed himself. MacDonald tried for an armbar in the final seconds. 10-9 MacDonald.

Round 2:
Hutcherson landed a one-two to begin the second round and MacDonald pulled guard. From the top, Hutcherson threw hammerfists and a pair of elbows. MacDonald trapped his arms and prevented Hutcherson from doing any damage. Hutcherson managed to land a couple of quick left hands and elbows, then tried to pass guard, but MacDonald took his back and locked on a body triangle.

MacDonald worked for a rear naked choke again, but Hutcherson escaped. MacDonald briefly looked to be going for the never-seen Dragon Sleeper choke hold, but gave it up and switched to an arm-triangle choke. Hutcherson survived until the bell. 10-9 MacDonald.

Round 3:
Hutcherson rocked MacDonald with a one-two early in the final round and MacDonald fell to his back. Hutcherson dove into MacDonald’s guard, but MacDonald quickly scrambled and took his back. Hutcherson rolled over and MacDonald struck from mount. He trapped Hutcherson in an arm-triangle choke, but Hutcherson powered free and took top position.

MacDonald used rubber guard to keep Hutcherson in place and landed punches from the bottom. MacDonald remained active and looked for submissions. The fight returned to the feet and MacDonald seemed to rock Hutcherson with a right hook. He shot in for a takedown, but Hutcherson stuffed it and landed elbows from half-guard. MacDonald trapped Hutcherson in rubber guard again and landed elbows. Close round. 10-9 MacDonald.

In what is almost certainly the worst scoring decision in MFC history, and easily one of the worst of the year in all of MMA, this fight was originally ruled a Draw.

However, the scoring was later corrected to list MacDonald as the winner by Split Decision. This was not close enough to warrant a Split, much less a Draw. Terrible judging.

Winner: Jason MacDonald by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 22-13-0.

Ryan “The Big Deal” Jimmo vs Emanuel “The Hardcore Kid” Newton

Round 1:
The fighters traded kicks to begin the fight and Newton landed a couple of quick punch-kick combinations. More kicks followed from both fighters and Newton clinched against the ropes. He landed knees and pressed Jimmo into the corner. Short punches were traded in close, but neither fighter could land anything damaging.

After a lull in the action, Newton scored a brief takedown, but Jimmo grabbed the ropes on the way down and quickly stood up. Newton took him down again and Jimmo immediately rose to his feet. More short punches scored for Newton and he tried for a third takedown. He gave it up and landed two knees before the bell. 10-9 Newton.

Round 2:
Jimmo landed a one-two in the second round and Newton clinched. He threw a handful of uppercuts in close and Jimmo answered with knees to the body. Little transpired and the referee separated the fighters. Jimmo connected with a body kick and he followed with kicks to the legs.

Newton clinched again and backed Jimmo to the ropes. More short punches and knees landed for both fighters, but the action was few and far between and the pace slowed to a crawl. Jimmo landed knees to the ribs and tried briefly for a trip takedown, but the uneventful round came to a close. Very difficult to score. 10-9 Jimmo by a very slim margin due to the knees.

Round 3:
The final round predictably began with a clinch against the ropes and Newton tried for a takedown. He attempted to punch with his free hand, but Jimmo answered with knees to the body. The crowd grew restless at the lack of action and the referee separated the fighters. Newton clinched and threw a pair of knees, but Jimmo hip tossed him to the mat.

Newton quickly stood up and ate a kick to the face for his efforts. He punched his way into a clinch and pressed Jimmo into the corner. Little happened and the fighters separated, then teed off in the first big exchange of the fight. Both connected and Newton returned to the clinch again. A stalemate followed until the fighters engaged in another wild exchange just as the otherwise lacklustre fight ended. 10-9 Jimmo in another razor-thin round.

The scores for this fight were absolutely ridiculous, as Jimmo was somehow awarded the first round by one judge. This fight should have been a Split Decision, but Jimmo did seem to be the rightful winner.

Winner: Ryan Jimmo by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-1-0.