Jonathan “The Aggressor” Agnew and Tak “Tsunami” Sasaki touched gloves and immediately began trading kicks and punches. Sasaki got a hold of Agnew’s left leg, lifted him above the ropes, and slammed him to the mat. They then struggled for control on the ground, where Agnew quickly earned himself the victory.

“It was too quick, unfortunately,” Agnew told the Georgia Straight after the fight. “I know, with Tak, we could have had a war. That guy could have put a beating on me and vice versa. But just it went my way early, and I got what I could get. But he’s a tough dude. We didn’t get to put up the fight that we could have put up.”

Agnew, a 26-year-old Cloverdale resident who works in conveyor sales, is one of 16 fighters who squared off in eight matches last night (November 27) during the Honour Combat Championships amateur mixed martial arts event at the Edgewater Casino.

The sold-out event was one of Vancouver’s first MMA events in two years. Promoter Gerry Gionco also put on a fight night yesterday at Fraserview Hall, which featured both MMA and kickboxing bouts.

Honour Combat’s event got a positive reception from the three Vancouver city councillors in attendance—Vision Vancouver’s Heather Deal and Kerry Jang, and the Non-Partisan Association’s Suzanne Anton.

Jang told reporters during a break between fights that he was “impressed” by how the event was put on and that he enjoyed himself.

Council is expected to make a decision in December on allowing professional MMA events to return to the city after a two-year ban.

In the interview, Agnew said he hopes the councillors went home with the understanding that MMA fighters and fans are “not a bunch of hooligans”.

“This is not street fighting,” he said. “This is more organized a sport. The training is more intense. You can’t be an idiot in here and win. I mean, the hours you put in—it just won’t allow it. You have to be dedicated. It teaches you dedication—it’s everything. And the camaraderie among even guys that fight each other is bigger than any other sport. You can’t hate somebody once you’ve fought them.”

Agnew’s first-round win in Honour Combat’s main event of the night came in his fifth MMA fight.

While he said it would have been great to fight on a professional card—he plans to turn pro now after two years at the amateur level—Agnew felt it was important to participate in last night’s event, as it was significant to the future of the sport in Vancouver.

“Everything went smoothly,” he said. “The media would have jumped on us if something had gone wrong or somebody was an idiot, or any number of things that could have potentially happened. If that had happened, the media would have jumped on us. The fact that they saw what MMA really is about, which is respectful sport, I don’t know what bad you can say about it except that it’s fighting. It’s fighting, but it’s as honest as it gets.”

According to Agnew, the obvious reason that the city should bring back MMA fights is the money.

“It’s going to be a great boon to our economy,” Agnew said. “But honestly, as a fighter, the real reason is so that we get it out of the underground and so that we get a commission, that we get it safe, that we get the rules, so that if you lose by a knockout, if you get a concussion, you’re not fighting for a month. That kind of stuff is so important—to make the sport even safer.

“The statistics go on and on about how figure skating is more dangerous, cheerleading is more dangerous than MMA,” he added. “But none of that really matters. The fact is we need it safer, and safer comes with regulation.”

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and UFC fighter Denis Kang were among those in the audience for the Honour Combat event.

If council allows pro MMA fights to return to the city, the UFC plans to bring a pay-per-view event to Vancouver in June 2010.

You can follow Stephen Hui on Twitter at twitter.com/stephenhui.