Ultimate cage fighting comes to Moncton
Published Thursday October 2nd, 2008
Saint John's Ryan Jimmo is one to watch for.
Fans of martial arts will be able to witness the best in the field at the Moncton Coliseum's Ultimate Cage Fighting on October 4. Known as MMA, mixed martial arts pits two fighters who confront each other within a cage, both of whom are versed in several martial arts, such as judo, kung fu, karate or amateur wrestling.
Among the athletes to look out for is Saint John's Ryan Jimmo, who will be fighting against Jason Cecil.
"With his solid background in karate, he's a consummate pro," Vic Thériault, event organizer with Chris Arel, explains. "Ryan Jimmo is the only one who has made it to the UFC in the Maritimes until now. It's like going to the Super Bowl of the marital arts. I think he's one of the most hidden secrets in mixed marital arts today. And he's going to blossom into a huge superstar of the sport if I have my way and promote him." Jimmo is well-loved in Saint John, with the first 150 tickets available sold in one day.
"We had to send out 75 more," Thériault says. "There are buses coming from Saint John just to see him."
Other fighters include: Dan Fowler, Scott Frazer, Jonny Roscoe, Brian Mazerrole, Jeremiah Bernard, Justin Bourgeois, Dana Dickeson, Chris Currie, Dave Simms and Chris Doucet.
Thériault, who is the father of MMA in Canada, explains the sport has come a long way since he first brought it to Canada in the early '90s. At first, it created a huge controversy.
"The government tried to shut it down," he explains. It took place on the Kahnawake Indian reserve in Quebec where boxing commissions didn't have jurisdiction.
"We held the show at that Indian reserve and after the show eight of the ultimate fighters got put in jail for the night. It made world wide news." Eventually, MMA was recognized as a sport and started getting legalized.
"They saw how ridiculous it was to put athletes in jail that weren't street fighters," he explains. "One of those athletes was a school teacher, another one was an engineer. One was a therapist. People thought they were all just street fighters and when they started interviewing these guys they saw that these were well-versed athletes." Since then, MMA has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world today.
"It's a billion dollar industry now. The sport has really, really grown. On Pay Per View, when the Ultimate Fighting Championship airs once every month and a half, it generates up to 1 million buys at $75 a hit. These athletes are getting big, big money. We're not comparing ourselves to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), but this show that you'll see in Moncton will be a similar look."
Thériault describes a typical fight: "You have two guys facing each other. We can have one guy that's well versed in, let's say judo. So he's going to try to take the fight onto the ground. Or he could be a wrestler and the opponent could be a boxer. And the boxer is going to try to keep the fight standing. It becomes a chest match in the martial arts. These two athletes try to put their form of fighting against the other and see which on is better." He says that the sport has evolved so much that you can't go into the cage anymore if you're well-versed only in one form of marital art.
Thériault himself first got involved in combat sports while helping his brother, Jean-Yves Thériault, a famous maritime legend in kick boxing.
"He was the world kickboxing champ for 13 years without a loss," Thériault explains. "He had the title almost 20 years. Two decades. He fought all over the world. He was on NBC, CBS. All those major networks. They called him the ice man." Thériault remembers growing up following his brother's career as his corner man for 75 of his 80 fights.
"We fought all over the world: Geneva, France, Denver, Las Vegas, all these places. So I really got into the game." Fans will be happy to know that Jean Yves Thériault will appear as special guest of honour on October 4.
Ultimate Cage Fighting Featuring Saint John's Ryan Jimmo runs October 4, 7 p.m. at the Moncton Coliseum. Tickets are on sale and range from $29-$75 depending on the section and the VIP table is $1,000 for eight seats. Go to www.tickets.moncton.ca or call 857-4100 for more info. You can also visit their website at www.xfights.com
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