TORONTO, December 1st, 2011 – He’s got a 36-hour per week day job and a wife and three children at home, but that hasn’t stopped John “Haggis Basher” Fraser from pursuing his dream of becoming a Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) world champion. On Saturday, the streaking bantamweight (135 pounds) will step in the cage to pursue his seventh straight victory at The Score Fighting Series event at RBC Centre in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, live on theScore.com.
“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time to become a champion in this incredible sport and I’m determined to do it no matter how much responsibility I have in my life,” said the 34-year-old, 5-foot-7 Fraser (9-3), a resident of Sarnia, whose six consecutive victories all came by way of submission.
Fraser will square off with 29-year-old Travis Reddinger of St. Paul, Minn. Reddinger (16-3) has won his last two bouts, both by first round submission (rear-naked choke), and six of his last seven fights.
Fraser, who works three, 12-hour shifts per week as a Process Operator for oil manufacturing giant Shell Canada, has quickly gained a reputation for his relentless, punishing style of fighting. “I’m very aggressive and I’m not afraid to fight in any range I need to. I can stand with my opponent or go to the ground with him. Either is fine.”
Reddinger’s skill set and experience are not likely to change Fraser’s game plan since Fraser admits that he typically doesn’t study his opponents in advance of bouts and knows little about Reddinger. “I just go in there and fight my fight. Whatever the other guy comes into the cage with, I’ll deal with it how I need to after the bell rings.”
When he was 16 years old, Fraser watched UFC® 1 on Pay-Per-View. From that point, he was hooked and quickly joined a local Japanese Jiu-Jitsu school, hoping to learn some of the skills he saw executed in The Octagon.
“It was the only kind of training that was available near where I lived,” said Fraser who earned his black belt in the traditional fighting art and, later, added boxing and kickboxing skills to his arsenal.
Fraser owns an MMA gym in Sarnia, but hones his skills elsewhere, including several local boxing gyms and Adrenaline Training Center in London, Ontario, the home of UFC stars Mark Hominick, Sam Stout and Chris Horodecki.
Soon after he ignited his MMA career, Fraser was tagged with the nickname “The Haggis Basher,” a phrase printed across a t-shirt that he is often seen wearing. Haggis is a traditional food in Scotland, where Fraser’s father was born.
His Scottish heritage is also brought to life during Fraser’s walk to the cage when the sounds of bag pipe music resonate through the arena.
In The Score Fighting Series co-main event, UFC veteran Rich “No Love” Clementi (42-20-1) will take on Chris “The Menace” Clements (9-4).
Tickets start at $40 and are available at the RBC Centre box office and online at www.rbccentresarnia.com.
The 10 bout card will be streamed live in its entirety on theScore.com with commentary by The Score Fighting Series’ broadcast team of Mauro Ranallo and Robin Black. The live stream will not be available in the Sarnia area.
The fights will also air on The Score Television Network at a later date.