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Big night for lighter Bordi
Manteca High grad drops weight class for his pro debut
MMA - Vince Bordi PIC for 4-26
Mantecas Vince Bordi will be making his professional MMA debut tonight against Bercharis McGill after graduating from the CAMO ranks with an 11-1 record (6 KOs).


Vincent Bordi will make his much-anticipated pro Mixed Martial Arts debut tonight, which also means he’ll be collecting a paycheck for his work in the cage.

The Manteca High 2006 graduate and San Francisco State University alumnus will take on Bercharis McGill in a middleweight fight tonight at 6 p.m. at the McClellan Conference Center in Sacramento.

Bordi, who won the 2013 California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization (CAMO) championship at last year, finished his amateur career 11-1 with six knockouts. He also had a KO to claim the Northern California championship and the state amateur title as well.

“It’s kind of a big deal because I’m crossing over  (to pro) and there’s no going back,” Bordi said. “I’m stuck here, but this is where I want to be.”

Bordi has sacrificed plenty to get here.

But in order for Bordi to perhaps accomplish his dreams of making to the UFC, he knew he had to drop from his 205-pound class if he wants to get to the big stage. He wrestled in CAMO at 205, but in order to pick up this fight with West Coast Fighting at the WCF 9 he had to weigh in at 185 Friday.

Bordi didn’t do it by just running with garbage bags, either. He did it by changing his diet entirely.

“I had to get myself in better shape, but I didn’t change my workout,” he said. “I changed my diet by eating better foods. I ate healthier than the average American, but that (wasn’t) saying much.

“One of the biggest things about cutting weight whether you’re an athlete or a stay-at-home mom is will power.”

He used that power of will to cut fast food items and had to completely cut out dairy.

It would have been a dramatic weight loss for the average person, but Bordi isn’t so much that. He is seasoned when it comes to cutting weight due to his nine-plus years of wrestling in high school and college.

Bordi wasn’t a slouch inside the matted circle, either.

Not only was he a member of Manteca’s 2005 football section championship squad, but he also took second at the CIF State Wrestling Championships in the 215-pound class that ’06 winter. He went on to wrestle at San Francisco State and earned a kinesiology degree. Bordi also fell one match short of being named a wrestling All-American during his senior campaign.

McGill, who fights out of a gym in Newark and has a 1-2 pro record, is known to have a rich wrestling background, too.

But Bordi isn’t worried.

He says he’ll be stepping into the ring tonight weighing back over 200 pounds despite having to cut over 50 pounds in less than five months.

“I feel like (tonight) is a dress rehearsal,” said California’s top-ranked amateur fighter. “They couldn’t find me a great first pro fight, but it’s hard when you’re coming out for your debut.

“During the weigh-ins, he couldn’t look me in the eye. He’s saying his strongest aspect is wrestling because he wrestled in high school, but I looked him up and couldn’t find anything.”

Bordi says he plans to stand McGill up and perhaps go in for the “Knockout of the Night” or flat out win in the “most dramatic way possible to attract the most attention,” he says.

There are also bonus incentives for the winner of awards for the event’s best KO and best submission.

“The (paycheck) is nothing incredible,” Bordi concluded. “But it’s better than the amateur ranks where I showed up and got nothing. There are also decent bonuses whether it’s $100 or $500 – that’s extra motive.”

The fight will be broadcasted live at westcoastfighting.com. The price of admission to the event is $50 and the event will be held at 5411 Luce Avenue in Sacramento.