BFL Fight Night 26 is going to be an explosive end to 2013, and starting off our main card is going to be a huge matchup featuring Oliver Vajda and Bradley Nicholson. The stakes are high for these two, as they’re meeting in a catchweight bout, but a win for either fighter will give them a title shot in their respective divisions. Although these two athletes have never met in competition before, they closely mirror each other in skill and backgrounds.

With Vajda (9-1 record), this 20 year old switches his time between being a student at SFU by day, and a Mixed Martial Arts ninja at night. He got started in MMA at an early age, with his father being a boxer, and growing up with two older brothers who always gravitated towards sport. At an early age he was heavily influenced by Bruce Lee, and while grappling started early with wrestling with his brothers, it soon transitioned to training full time at Carlson Gracie Team Canada in Maple Ridge, BC. His hard work has paid off, as he is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt with three stripes under Master Soares, and he credits a lot of his training also with Jon Curtis. Not only is he ready for the fight if it goes to the ground – his striking technique is very diverse, and he credits a lot of his work with his standup to his coach Toby Cleary. With a perfect record as a Bantamweight, Vajda made his first trek into BFL’s Featherweight division at Fight Night 22 against Oren Hanscomb. Although he came up short with his first loss, he is coming back even more focused and determined to get a title shot.

His goals as a martial artist is to prove that he is making incremental improvements each day. Each day he wants to prove that he’s getting better by that 1% by competing as a martial artist, and wants to test his abilities both mentally and physically. He wants to become a pro fighter, and work his way up the ranks and become the best martial artist he can be. All of those goals start with winning a BFL title, and that first step has a big roadblock in Bradley Nicholson.

With Nicholson (2-2), his life growing up in Surrey, BC has a similar background to Vajda. When he isn’t working in a steel shop as a welder, he spends a lot of his time at Urban MMA in Surrey, BC honing his technique. Starting with boxing, he used gloves that were given to him by his father to kickstart his interest in combat sports around the age of 12. Sparring with his older brother Tyler on a daily basis helped build his foundation for striking, and he translated that into full time training in kickboxing and MMA. He credits a lot of his early striking technique to Jerome Grant, a 5-time American Freestyle Kickboxing Champion. Nicholson currently holds his 2nd degree black belt under Craig Yee and his brother. Fighting in the Bantamweight division, he defeated Mike de Chavez in his BFL debut, but came up short in his most recent fight against Kirk Tse – who’s fighting for the Bantamweight title on this next event.

His goal as a martial artist is to go Pro, win a title and go as far as he can and be the best he can be. He recognizes the benefits of having martial arts in his life and would like to eventually open his own school and give back to the community and train his own students. Even further into his career, he wants to become an entrepreneur and own a restaurant that caters towards athletes and mixed martial artists.

Nicholson has a tough test ahead of him though against Vajda. He has studied footage of both of his fights in BFL, and is aware that they are both similar in technique standing. He gives credit to Vajda’s striking, but feels he has an edge in power. “I’ve seen his fights before and I know that he’s really slick on the ground as well, but I feel we’re both at the same level of skill and technique. I really want that win.” Vajda also has researched some of Brad’s career, recognizing that Nicholson’s boxing and reach are going to be something for him to overcome. “I know if I can over come his reach, I’m going to try to keep the fight standing and go for the knockout. I really want to get a KO in this fight.”

Here’s a quick look at a breakdown of their skills and abilities:

Fight Night 26 is being held at the Boulevard Casino in Coquitlam, BC. Tickets for this event are on sale now at http://bfltix.com. In three days, we’ll give you an exclusive first look at our title fights and our breakdown of those athletes. Don’t miss it!