As the latest addition to the rapidly-expanding Maximum Fighting Championships roster, highly-decorated submission expert Dean “The Boogeyman” Lister will battle fellow ex-UFC contender Thales Leites in the main event at MFC 23: “Unstoppable” on December 4th.
Both fighters are already entertaining thoughts of holding title gold in the MFC and they will look to position themselves in line for a title fight with an impressive win. Each possesses outstanding submission skills and the fight has the potential to be a great ground war.
Lister (11-6-0) is easily one of the most decorated submission fighters in mixed martial arts. He is the 2003 ADCC Absolute Division Champion and holds U.S. National titles in Sambo, Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
Nine of his 11 victories in MMA have come via submission, with notable wins over James Lee, Alessio Sakara and Jeremy Horn. He has never been submitted or knocked out in his career.
A veteran of King of the Cage and PRIDE, Lister made his UFC debut at UFC 60 and went on to win four of his six fights inside the Octagon, with his lone defeats coming against top contenders Nate Marquardt and Yushin Okami.
However, fans were critical of Lister’s slow and often methodical style of fighting and he was released from the UFC after his UFC 92 loss to Okami.
Leites (14-3-0) is also an extremely talented grappler and has had considerable success in mixed martial arts. He won his first nine fights and picked up wins over Ronald Jhun, Jason Guida and Jose “Pele” Landi-Jons along the way. Like Lister, Leites has never been stopped in his career.
While his UFC debut against Martin Kampmann at the TUF 4 finale did not go his way, Leites rebounded with five straight wins, including a victory over Marquardt.
This led to a title shot against reigning UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva, but Leites was completely outclassed in the lacklustre fight and drew the ire of UFC President Dana White.
After dropping a second straight fight to gatekeeper Alessio Sakara, in a considerable upset, Leites was also released from the UFC.
Looking to get back among the elite at 185, Lister and Leites will square off at MFC 23 in a pivotal fight that will likely see the winner face Travis Lutter for the MFC Middleweight Championship sometime early next year.
MFC 23: “Unstoppable” takes place on December 4th at the River Cree Resort and Casino in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The event will air live on HDNet.