Ford said, “I have to stay off it for a bit so there was no way I could have a full training camp which means I couldn’t be fully prepared for the fight.”

The rematch is rescheduled for MFC 20: Destined for Greatness 20 February, in Edmonton.

Ford is coming off a unanimous decision victory over “Thrill” Nabil Khatib (9-4) at Raw Combat in October.

Ford was submitted via armbar in his fight with Healy for the vacant welterweight title in July.

Heath never had a chance versus an aggressive Newton who held on to back control for most of the first round.

In the second, Newton shrugged off a Heath footlock, scrambled into side control, then took Heath’s back to secure the submission.

Fighters.com’s original Fighter of the Month “Real Deal” Ryan Ford (7-1) rebounded from his first professional loss to slap a guillotine choke on Miletich welterweight LaVerne Clark (25-17-1) at 2:30 of round two.

Both Newton and Ford inched closer to title shots in Maximum Fighting Championships, Newton earning the right to challenge 205 titlist “Hulk” Roger Hollett (8-1) in Calgary 5 December and Ford will rematch “Bam Bam” Pat Healy (19-13) on the same card for the welterweight belt and to avenge his only professional loss.

Light heavyweight Jay Whitford (3-0) tapped Aron lofton (3-1) in a side choke at 3:11 of round two.

Lightweight Simon Marini (6-1) won a UD over Gerald Lovato (6-5).

Welterweight Ryan Machan (6-2) tapped fellow Canadian Gavin Neil (4-1) in a rear naked choke at 2:47 of round one.

Middleweight Chis Camozzi (7-2) won a UD over Elliot Duff (2-1).

Lightweight Evan Sanguin (2-2) knocked out Troy Sorensen (3-1) at 2:04 of round three.

Welterweight Josh Russell (1-0) won a UD over Mike Gates (11-6-1).

Welterweight Jesse Clarke (1-1) TKO’d Jason Zorthian (3-3) at 2:44 of round one.

Sheldon Westcott (1-1) tapped Jeff Kilisolsky (0-1) at 3:33 of the first round.

The MFC also announced that “The Real Deal” Ryan Ford (6-1) will face LaVerne Clark (25-16-1) in the featured welterweight bout.

Heath, who lost his last three UFC fights, TKO’d Shepard Owens (1-1) in 1:19 at the Freestyle Cage Fighting in June.

Newton won his seventh-straight fight this month when he submitted B.J. Lacy (10-9-1) by rear naked choke at Pure Combat.

Ford suffered his first career defeat in July when “Bam Bam” Pat Healy (19-13) submitted him with an armbar in round three for the vacant welterweight title.

Clark (25-16-1) TKO’d Matt Kelly (0-1) in round one at Courage Fighting Championships in June.

Ford looked dominant for most of the fight but Healy defended well; Healy attempted submissions, but Ford escaped using brute strength. In the end, Ford left himself vulnerable one too many times as Healy secured the armbar and forced Ford to tap at 3:02 of round three.

One punch was all it took for light heavyweight Aron Lofton (3-0) to defeat Dwayne Lewis (3-5). After faking a jab, Lofton threw an overhand right to knock out his opponent at 0:17 of round one.

Lightweight Benson Henderson (5-1) dominated the first round with strikes, Ricardo Tirloni (3-1) controlled the second, but it was Henderson who jumped on Tirloni, locked in a guillotine, and ended the fight at 3:49 of the second round.

Levi Avera (10-4), a welterweight who moved up for this fight with middleweight Ron Faircloth (31-17), started strong in both rounds. But Faircloth turned Avera’s takedowns to his own advantage and dominated from the top for almost the entire match. He finally sank a rear naked choke and after desperately fighting it, Avera tapped at 2:57 of round two.

Lightweight Jason Maxwell (15-9) controlled Donald Sanchez (13-8) from the beginning. By round two Maxwell had worn himself out and Sanchez, who managed to conserve his energy, locked in a triangle choke to tap out Maxwell at 2:03.

Preliminary fights:

Lightweight Ryan Machan (5-2) TKO’d Ryan Heck (5-2) at 4:19 of round one.

Light heavyweight Jay Whitford (2-0) submitted Jason Kuchera (3-2) via armbar at 4:31 of round two.

Lightweight Gavin Neil (4-0) TKO’d Evan Sanguin (1-2) at 4:11 of the first round.

Welterweight Mike Sorensen (4-1) TKO’d Lemont Davis (1-1) at 2:52 of round one.

Middleweight Elliot Duff (2-1) TKO’d “The Brick” Brandon Curts (3-2) at 4:30 of round one.

Welterweight Jason Zorthian (3-2) won a unanimous decision over Jesse Clarke (0-1).

Ford’s previously-scheduled opponent, Joe Jordan (44-14-2), was removed from the card due to a back injury.

Healy most recently fought in the IFL.  He lost his last fight to Jake Ellenberger (17-4) by unanimous decision in February.

Healy will be cornered by “Short Fuse” Ed Herman (17-7), and Ford will be cornered by “The Athlete” Jason MacDonald (20-9), who submitted Herman in his UFC debut.

Pavelich said, “This is going to be a phenomenal title fight.  It’s the combination of Ford’s athleticism and deep-seeded aggression against Jordan’s crafty skills and instincts.”

Ford, Fighters.com’s original Fighter of the Month, won six straight in just over a year, most recently submitting CJ Fernandes (14-7-3) with a first-round rear naked choke in May.

Jordan has won his last four fights, including a unanimous decision over Ryan Williams (5-3) at Adrenaline MMA’s debut event last month.

Jordan replaces Drew Fickett (34-5), who was pulled from the card for breaching his contract.

“Drew Fickettwill never fight in the MFC,” Pavelich said.

Fickett was contracted to fight Ford in Edmonton 25 July, but agreed on a day’s notice to fill-in for “Diesel” Joe Riggs (27-10) Friday in San Jose after Riggs was denied a license by the California State Athletic Commission.

Pavelich said, “We were shocked to learn Drew agreed on one day’s notice to fight as a middleweight in another organization’s event this past Friday.  When I contacted this other organization, its owner immediately cancelled Drew’s fight when informed that he was under contract to fight on the MFC show and as part of Mr. Fickett’s contract he was not allowed to take another fight up to five weeks before the MFC show.”

Fickett told MMA Rated that, “Some jerk-off wanna-be like promoter, some tough guy, like calls us and he’s like pullin’ the frickin’ contract card on me.  I’m like, ‘Dude, I don’t care.  I just want to fight.’  This guy’s like, ‘Oh, you M-F this, you M-F that, frickin’ son-of-a-bitch.  I’m going to fly down there and I’m going to kill you.’”

Fickett published online a profanity-laced voicemail that Pavelich – said jerk-off wanna-be like promoter – left for Fickett’s manager.

“I admit to being very upset, angry and frustrated not only by Drew’s action but also by not being able to reach his manager and the tone of that voicemail reflected my feelings,” Pavelich explained.  “For Drew to post the private voice mail – which was not left on his phone – was just ridiculous and petty.”

The soap opera mirrors an incident earlier this month when Fickett postponed an EliteXC title fight versus Fighters.com’s eighth-ranked welterweight Jake Shields(20-4-1) because of a knee injury, only to fight “Steuss Killer” Jeff Horlacher (5-12) in Arizona 7 June while on the DL.

Fickett accused Shields of further delaying the fight until August, forcing Fickett to take “a very low risk fight” for a $2,500 pay day.

“Before I fought, I even e-mailed [Shields] to let him know, ‘Hey, man, I’ve got to take this low risk fight to make some money,’” Fickett explained.  “So, now all the sudden [Shields is] better, and he’s not injured until August, and he’s fighting Nick Thompson for his little fake-ass little belt.”

Fickett was replaced by EliteXC with ninth-ranked “Goat” Nick Thompson (36-9-1).

“We now completely understand why that despite his excellent record so many organizations will not work with Drew and we have a pretty clear indication why he has been banned by the UFC,” Pavelich pointed out.

Fickett is a fighter, in personality and profession, but his personality has got in the way of his profession twice recently, amounting to a single $2,500 purse and a reputation that will turn promoters away.

For Ford, Fighters.com’s original Fighter of the Month, Pavelich said, “I will also move immediately into replacing Drew Fickett with a top-level fighter to contend for the MFC welterweight title.”

MFC 17 features a title fight between Fighters.com’s original Fighter of the Month “The Real Deal” Ryan Ford (6-0) and UFC veteran Drew Fickett (34-5). The welterweight title is currently vacant.

Edmonton-native Ford will look to extend his win streak. He submitted his last opponent CJ Fernandes (14-7-3) with a rear naked choke in 2:32 at MFC 16.

Fickett is also riding a win streak. He has five consecutive victories, four of them by submission.

Brad Zazulak (3-0) is also on the card, to fight Ron Faircloth (28-14). Zazulak in his last fight TKO’d veteran “Mr. International” Shonie Carter (41-17-7).

Ford must’ve had a hot date after the show because he shot right through UFC 27 fighter CJ Fernandes (14-7-3), sinking a rear naked choke submission after just 2:32 at Maximum Fighting Championships.

Ford has set his sights on the MFC welterweight title, which is currently vacant.