Ryan Janes takes down Keith Berish in three-round unanimous decision
It took three tries, but Newfoundlander Ryan Janes was ready for his UFC debut, beating Keith Berish at Fight Night 102 in New York.
Janes won the decision — his eighth mixed-martial arts victory in a row — with unanimous 29-28 scores against Berish, who was also making his UFC debut.
“This is magic,” Janes said after the win, according to mixed-martial arts news site MMA Junkie. “It was good to put on an exciting fight, and it’s good to get the UFC win.”
Janes — who was born in Grand Falls-Windsor and grew up in Mount Pearl — is the first Newfoundlander to fight in the UFC. He said he didn’t feel much pressure battling Berish in his hometown of Albany.
‘This is magic. It was good to put on an exciting fight, and it’s good to get the UFC win.’ – Ryan Janes
“I guess I was more preoccupied with this being my UFC debut than being in his backyard. I don’t know if you saw me out there, but I was kind of laughing while they were booing me,” he said.
“I’d like to fight Elias Theodorou next and prove that I’m the best in Canada.”
Friday’s three-round middleweight bout was the first time Janes stepped into the octagon for the UFC.
His first scheduled bout, in August, was scuttled because his opponent was flagged for a potential doping violation. The fighter, Adam Hunter, has since been given a two-year ban after testing positive for several banned substances.
Janes was then scheduled for a bout in Fight Night 97 in the Philippines, but after one of the headlining fighters pulled out, the entire event was cancelled.
By Daniel MacEachern, CBC News