TORONTO 鈥� Cody Chovancek won the Unified MMA bantamweight championship in June 2024 with a particularly nasty calf slicer submission victory over previously unbeaten American Gage (The Gremlin) Gill.
And there will likely be more pain Friday when the 26-year-old from Petrolia, Ont., defends his 135-pound title against American Jordan Howard in the Unified 62 main event at the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto.
Chovancek (7-0-0) hopes another win will open the door to the UFC.
"It's my time," he said matter-of-factly. "I'm going to go out there and do what I do. Give the fans an exciting fight. I've got knockout power in both hands. I can do it all 鈥� I want the UFC. I want (UFC president) Dana White, (matchmakers) Mick Maynard, Sean Shelby to let me fight in my 20s in the greatest promotion in the world, the UFC.
"I know they'll be watching (on UFC Fight Pass) and I'll earn my spot on (Friday)."
Chovancek turned heads with the painful calf slicer submission in the fifth round against Gill. The move involves using your leg to hook an opponent's leg and then, using your other foot to brace that leg, pulling the opponent's limb back against the grain, so to speak.
Done right, it can tear the calf and injure the knee joint.
"Normally when I do it to people in training, they tap very quickly," Chovancek said.
He trains at Niagara Top Team in St. Catharines, Ont., alongside (Proper) Mike Malott and Jasmine Jasudavicius, both of whom posted convincing wins at UFC 315 in Montreal last month.
Chovancek was taking it all in fight week, also fitting in some training sessions at TriStar Gym.
"It's really cool to see behind the scenes, how everything works in the UFC because that's where I'm going to be 鈥� very shortly," he said. "And to see those guys go out there and perform the way they did, it just speaks to the training that we're doing. We're doing all the right things and it can take us to the highest level."
Chovancek has been involved with other UFC shows. In Edmonton in November, he was on standby in case a 135-pounder had to drop off the card. But in Montreal, he was involved in more of the fight week proceedings, including taking the stage with Jasudavicius for the ceremonial weigh-in.
Fights have been hard to come by for Chovancek, who had two bouts in 2023 and just one last year.
"It's rough once you're at certain spot," he said.
He had been waiting, in case the UFC called with another short-notice opportunity.
"But I didn't feel like waiting any more," he said. "I want to get out there and give the fans what they want to see. I truly believe this will be my last fight on the regional scene."
He sees Friday as a chance for one more show in front of friends and family, hopefully followed later this year by an invitation to showcase his skills on "Dana White's Contender Series" 鈥� the road Malott and Jasudavicius travelled to the promotion.
Chovancek applied unsuccessfully for a spot on a cast of Season 32 of "The Ultimate Fighter," where he would have competed up a division at featherweight.
"I believe everything happens for a reason and it's just given me more time to hone my skills before the big show," he said.
The five-foot-nine Chovancek, who normally walks around at 160 pounds, fought as a featherweight (145 pounds) in his first three pro fights.
He is in 3-0-0 in Unified MMA action and has gone the distance just twice as a pro. Four of his bouts did not make it past the second round.
Howard (12-5-5) went 2-2-0 in Bellator.
"I don't think he's fought anyone with this much experience thus far," Howard speaking in a social media post, said of Chovancek. "And not just experience but experience at a high level, under the big lights."
Chovancek agrees the 35-year-old Howard is a step up in class but is not fazed.
"He's probably the best fighter I've fought," said Chovancek. "It's just going to bring out a better performance in me. The better the opposition, the better I perform."
Chovancek, who is half-Thai, grew up in southwestern Ontario, some 25 kilometres southeast of Sarnia.
"There wasn't a whole lot to do there (other) than fight and fish," he said.
Chovancek started wrestling in high school then added kickboxing at 16. He had just turned 18 when he had his first amateur MMA fight in August 2016.
A year later, he went to Thailand to train.
Chovancek has spent five years training at Niagara Top Team where he teaches Muay Thai classes, putting aside his job as a steel framer.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 28, 2025
Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
