Three fighters will be making their UFC debut this Saturday, Dec. 11, at “UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck” at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. John “The Bull” Makdessi, Sean Pierson and Jesse “Water” Bongfeldt (maybe the best nickname in all of MMA) are all three Canadian, and all began training their various disciplines at a very young age.

Makdessi is a karate and kickboxing champion and trains under Firas Zahabi. He has only been fighting professional MMA for two years and is still undefeated. Both Pierson and Bongfeldt are veterans. Pierson comes from a wrestling background and Bongfeldt wasborn into a family of martial artists.

John “The Bull” Makdessi

  • Pro MMA Record: 7-0
  • Pro Debut: 2008
  • Age: 25
  • Height: 5′ 8″ ( 172 cm )
  • Weight: 155 lb ( 70 kg )
  • From: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • Trains: TriStar Gym
  • Martial Arts/Sports Background:  Began training Taekwondo at 6-years-old. At age 17, he began taking karate and kickboxing, and at age 22 began MMA training.
  • Accomplishments: Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, Gold Medal in Junior Olympics for Taekwondo, WKA Gold in Karate Kickboxing, 2006 Eastern Canadian Championship in Kickboxing, USKBA World Championship.
  • Recent Activity: In September, Makdessi went the distance for the first time in his career, winning a unanimous decision against M-1 and WEC veteran Bendy Casimir (19-10-2). He knocked out his previous six opponents, each in two rounds or less.
  • UFC 124 opponent: Pat Audinwood
  • UFC 124 odds: Pat Audinwood -145, John Makdessi +115
  • Website: www.johnthebull.com
  • Facebook: John “The Bull” Makdessi

Sean Pierson

  • Pro MMA Record: 10-4
  • Pro Debut: 1999
  • Age: 34
  • Height: 6′ 1″ ( 186 cm )
  • Weight: 169 lb ( 77 kg )
  • From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Trains: Ruffneck/Tapstar
  • Martial Arts/Sports Background:  Started wrestling at age 4.
  • Accomplishments: Multiple Time Canadian National Greco Champion, Canadian University National Freestyle Champion, 7th at the World University Games, UCC World Welter Weight Champion, IFC Canadian Middle Weight Champion.
  • Recent Activity: Pierson is coming off a first round knockout of Ricky Goodall (6-4) at Warrior-1 in October. Prior to that, he won three fights via first round TKO and one first round submission, for a total of five straight wins.
  • UFC 124 opponent: Matt Riddle
  • UFC 124 odds: Matt Riddle -290, Sean Pierson +230
  • Websitewww.seanpierson.com
  • Twitter: @seanpierson

Jesse “Water” Bongfeldt

  • Pro MMA Record: 21-7
  • Pro Debut: 2002
  • Age: N/A
  • Height: 6′ 0″ ( 183 cm )
  • Weight: 184 lb ( 84 kg )
  • From: Kenora, Ontario, Canada
  • Trains: Canadian Martial Arts Centre
  • Martial Arts/Sports Background:  Began training Judo and Karate at a young age.
  • Accomplishments: Brown Belt Ishinryu Karate, Instructor – budojitsu, Amateur Canadian Welterweight Champion, Amateur Western Canadian Light Heavyweight Champion, 2X Professional T.K.O. Welterweight Champion, Professional R.I.T.C. Welterweight Champion, Professional R.I.T.C. Middleweight Champion.
  • Recent Activity: Currently on a seven-fight win streak. Last fought in Sept. 2009, defeating Nolan Clark (4-9) via first round submission (rear-naked choke). Defeated Chris Fontaine (18-12) in May 2009 via second round TKO. All 21 wins via stoppage.
  • UFC 124 opponent: Rafael Natal
  • UFC 124 odds: Rafael Natal -175, Jesse Bongfeldt +145
  • FacebookJesse Bongfeldt Fan Page
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