Hard Knocks 31 will feature more local fighters than ever before. The Hard Knocks Fighting Championship card, set for Saturday at Spectra Place, will see nine Estevan fighters enter the octagon, five of them for the first time.
Of the eight, only Felix Jimenez, Greg Alberts, Josh Heinz and Mike Geib have fought for Hard Knocks before.
Jimenez (2-2) and Geib (0-3) have each fought several times at home, while Alberts (1-0) and Heinz (1-0) both won their debuts in Prince Albert last July.
The other locals taking part are Eric Gedak, Jordan Jones, Mike Keating, Tyler Traub and Travis Heibert.
There are 17 fights listed on the card, although that may drop to 15, as two fighters are without opponents.
"I think it's great to have guys from Estevan and Saskatchewan on the card. I think what happens when Hard Knocks comes into a city is we develop the sport of MMA in that city. I think that's what we're seeing," said Hard Knocks owner Ari Taub.
"(Jimenez) is going to have his fifth fight. I think you're going to see a different Felix. You'll see the experience he has, he'll come into the cage and be more relaxed. It's no surprise to me that there are more Estevan guys on the card."
Jimenez, looking for his third straight win, will take on Leeroy Johnson (2-0) of London, Ont., in a heavyweight bout.
Geib will face Jones in the only all-Estevan fight, while Alberts faces Danny Mayham of The Pas, Heinz fights former Estevan Bruin Lee Ruff of Brandon, Heibert goes up against Zachary Atkinson of Winnipeg, Traub takes on Jordy Correia of Thompson, Keating faces Ryan Moore of Biggar, and Gedak squares off with Jimbo McLeod of Stanley Mission.
"I think a lot of the other guys, they're the example of Hard Knocks driving development of the sport. They're all training and getting more experience. If you talk to the fans in Calgary, they go, 'We've been coming for four years, and we've seen these guys for four years and you see the difference in the quality of the fights,'" Taub said. "The exact same thing is going to happen in Estevan the actual events are like carrots for the fighters, like a yardstick."
Devon Smith (5-1) makes his return to Estevan, nine months after defeating local fighter Derek Daku at Hard Knocks 24 in June in a heavyweight title fight.
Smith, from La Ronge, has slimmed down and will be fighting Kevin Legasse (3-1) of Medicine Hat for the 205-pound belt.
"Devon's been a great fighter for Hard Knocks and the Estevan guys have not seen him at 205, only at heavyweight. He looked good at 205 in Prince Albert and I think he's only going to get better," said Taub.
The co-main event will feature another title fight, with Winnipeg's David Swanson (3-1) facing Red Deer's Chris Chapman (4-1) at 155 pounds.
"The Estevan guys have seen Swanson. He's a red-haired guy with red shorts. Chapman has fought for us in other cities and he's had a couple of pretty big knockouts," said Taub.
