VICTORIA -- After 14 years away, John Alessio is coming home to fight. The 33-year-old from Duncan, B.C., who now calls Las Vegas home, returns to Victoria on Saturday to meet Dave (The Pain Train) Mazany in the 160-pound main event of Aggression FC 13. Alessio (34-16) has been fighting professionally since 1998 with several stints in the UFC as well as WEC, Pride and other organizations. For promoter Jason Heit, its a welcome homecoming. "I started training John when he was 15," said Heit. Heit stopped to fill up at a Vancouver island gas station and Alessio saw some Gracie Jiu-Jitsu stickers on his car. "He started asking me about it and was stoked to train. He wanted to train. I gave him my number, the kid came over and we started training." Heit, who was working out of a garage at the time, helped Alessio in the early part of his career. Both eventually went south to further their fighting careers. "Hes gone on to do some great things," Heit said of the well-travelled Alessio. "He hasnt fought here since 98. Were really excited to get him back." Alessio is coming off UFC losses to Canadian Mark Bocek and Shane Roller. Also on the pro portion of the card at Bear Mountain Arena, former UFC middleweight Kendall (Da Spyder) Grove (15-10) takes on Ariel Gandulla (8-7), featherweight Diego Wilson (6-1) tackles Louis Fisette (4-1), middleweight David Perron (4-1) meets Dan MacIver (6-2), lightweight Tristan Connelly (3-3) fights Myles Merola (9-7) and middleweight Ryan Janes (4-1) faces Keto Allen (6-5). Bill Fraser (3-6) meets Miles Arnstead at 180 pounds. Mazany (10-4) trains at Wanderlei Silvas gym in Las Vegas and has won six of seven since being stopped by Canadian Ryan Ford in May 2009. The fight card is the latest show by the Aggression Fighting Championship, which was created by the April union of Edmonton-based Aggression MMA, Victoria-based Armageddon FC and Calgary-based AX Combat. 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Kyle Palmieri added a goal in the second period, followed two minutes later by a power-play goal by Justin Faulk. In other action, Russia beat the Czech Republic 2-0, Slovakia shut out Switzerland 1-0 and Norway humbled Germany 12-4.MEDINAH, Ill. -- Sergio Garcia has never been so happy to lose a title. Two years after a slump relegated him to the administrative role of vice captain at the Ryder Cup, Garcia is back where he belongs. His win at last months Wyndham Championship earned him a spot on his sixth European team. "It was definitely a little bit of an inspiration to see your teammates playing and you not really being able to do much," Garcia said Wednesday. "So it definitely helped. I hope that it was one of the reasons why Im here now." Whatever the reasons, the Europeans are thrilled to have Garcia back out on the course. Garcia may be a flop when it comes to the majors -- he pretty much owns that dreaded "Best Player Never to Win" title -- but he is perhaps the finest Ryder Cup player of his generation. With 16 points in his previous five appearances, the 32-year-old is already ninth on Europes all-time list. He needs only nine more points to catch leader Nick Faldo, which looks feasible considering he won at least three matches in each of his first four appearances. He has Europes third-best point percentage, and has played twice as many matches (14-6-4) as the two guys in front of him. (Ian Poulter is 9-2-0 and Luke Donald is 8-2-1.) He has never lost in foursomes. "Hes very passionate about the Ryder Cup," said Lee Westwood, the only European with more experience. "He gets stuck in." Two years ago, however, Garcia was simply stuck. Devastated by a breakup with Greg Normans daughter, his game unraveled. After winning The Players Championship in November 2008, he went 2 1/2 years without a top-three finish. It would be almost three years before hed win again, on either the PGA or European tours. His ranking, a career-best No. 2 in 2009, plunged as low as 85. He didnt come close to qualifying for the 2010 Ryder Cup, and he knew Colin Montgomerie couldnt afford to waste one of his captains picks on someone whose game was in total shambles. So he asked Montgomerie if he could be part of his staff -- a job normally reserved for golfers on the back side of their careers, not one who had just celebrated his 30th birthday. "I think that made him realize how important it is to be a player in the team," current European captain Jose Maria Olazabal said. "I remember his words when we were having a little chat a couple years ago, he said, If I knew this, I wouldnt have come -- in the sense that he wanted to be playing." Not that Garcia ever showed it. Garcia has the same passion for the Ryder Cup as Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros, and the event is one of the few occasions when hell let down his guard and give a glimpse of the almost whimsical exuberance that made him so appealing as a teenager.dddddddddddd He made the Energizer Bunny look like a slacker as he bounded around Celtic Manor, cheering on all of European teams, offering advice to the rookies and relaying messages to Montgomerie and the other assistants. When Graeme McDowell made a 15-foot birdie on the 16th hole to beat Hunter Mahan and give Europe the Ryder Cup for the fourth time in five meetings, Garcia was as elated as if hed delivered the winning point. "We achieved what we wanted to achieve that week, so it was very positive," he said. "But at the same time, Id rather be on this side than on the other one." Especially at Medinah, the site of his spectacular showdown with Tiger Woods at the 1999 PGA Championship. Just 19 then, he played with audacious abandon, ripping balls through trees, jumping into the air to see where his shots landed. He even dared to talk some smack to Woods, who was so fearsome in those days he could beat most of his opponents simply by showing up at the range. When a birdie on 13 got Garcia within three, he turned around, looked back at Woods on the tee and tugged his cap as if to say, "Your turn." And who could forget the tree? When Garcias tee shot on 16 sailed wide right and settled behind the knotted roots of a large oak tree, he grabbed a 6-iron, closed his eyes, swung and then sprinted out to the fairway to watch the ball land on the green. Garcia wound up second to Woods, but he had left his mark on Medinah. When the PGA Championships returned seven years later, Garcia finished in a tie for third. He has finished third or better at only three other majors: the 2008 PGA in Oakland Hills (tie for second), the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie (second) and the 2005 U.S. Open at Pinehurst (tie for third). "It has changed a little bit," Garcia said, referring to Medinahs No. 3 Course. "Personally, I liked it better in 99. I thought it was a better course." After his stint as a spectator, however, Garcia really wouldnt care if they asked him to play in a parking lot. So long as hes playing. "I feel pretty good about my game," he said. "Im hoping to play well, help my team and my teammates as possible and just try to get as many points as I can so we can achieve the goal we came here to do." ' ' '