Ryan Ford, KB Bhullar among first three fights announced for Unified 43

Jan 6, 2022

EDMONTON – Hot on the heels of the biggest event in Unified MMA history, the first three action-packed bouts have been added to Unified 43, which takes place March 4 at River Cree Resort & Casino in Enoch, AB, LIVE on UFC Fight Pass.

Canadian MMA legend Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford makes his long-awaited return to the cage to take on Dawond Pickney in Unified’s stacked super-welterweight division.

Ford boasts an impressive MMA record of 22-5 with 12 wins by knockout and eight victories by submission. This is his first MMA bout since battling former UFC title challenger Jake Shields in 2014. Since then, “The Real Deal” has established himself as one of Canada’s best boxers, earning an impressive 17-7 record on the global stage, with another 12 wins by knockout.

While Ford has been practicing “The Sweet Science,” Pickney has been hard at work in the cage. This is the 35th fight of the Arkansas product’s career. He’s a Bellator MMA and CES MMA veteran and has shared the cage with several UFC vets since his 2013 professional debut. He returns to the Unified cage on the strength of back-to-back wins in 2021.

Also at Unified 43, red-hot KB “The Bengal” Bhullar welcomes Strahinja “The Werewolf” Gavrilovic to the Unified MMA cage in the middleweight division. 

Bhullar is coming off a picture-perfect, head kick KO over fellow former Unified champion Brandt Dewsbery at Unified 42. A win will improve the UFC vet’s record in the Unified cage to 7-0.

Gavrilovic, meanwhile, is coming off a 49-second KO victory in his native Quebec. Seven of his eight wins are by stoppage, including a TKO over former UFC and Bellator standout Maiquel Falcão.

Also at Unified 43, Andrew Mavridis and Evan Piercey collide in a battle of top featherweight prospects.

A former Canadian amateur MMA champion, Mavridis, a Lloydminster product, is hungry to get back to his winning ways against Edmonton’s Piercey, a former amateur MMA champion with professional boxing experience who won his MMA debut at Unified 40.

ABOUT UNIFIED MMA

Unified MMA is Canada’s leading mixed martial arts promotion, showcasing the country’s top-ranked fighters, LIVE on UFC Fight Pass. The organization has successfully promoted 42 events since it was founded in 2009, and has propelled several athletes to the UFC’s Octagon.