By Ryan Pike
The sport of mixed martial arts has grown in popularity in the United States for the past several years, to the point where pundits have touted organizations like the Ultimate Fighting Championship as more popular than boxing. That popularity has spread to Canada, where groups like the Maximum Fighting Championship, Hardcore Championship Fighting and TKO Championship Fighting have become prominent. Some of the sport’s rabid fanbase, like Red Deer-based UFC middleweight Jason MacDonald, have become fighters themselves.
“I was playing volleyball for Mount Royal College and we used to watch the UFC on the bus trips,” said MacDonald. “It kind of sparked my interest. After I graduated from Mount Royal in criminology, obviously I wasn’t playing volleyball anymore and I was looking to get into a sport, get into something new.”
A curious MacDonald went online and Googled mixed martial arts, trying to find a way to get into the sport. He found a training centre in San Jose run by former UFC light heavyweight Champion Frank Shamrock and decided to try it out.
“I drove down there, tried out [and] made the team,” recalled MacDonald. “Then I travelled home, got my affairs in order and I travelled back down there, stayed down there for a couple months and learned the basics of mixed marital arts. Then I came back to Canada and continued to learn as much stuff as I could. The sport was in its infant stages and there weren’t any gyms where you go and specifically train mixed martial arts, so I fooled around with a little of kickboxing and boxing and jiu-jitsu.”
Eventually, mixed martial arts became popular in Canada and MacDonald was able to convert his training into a career as a fighter. After debuting in a pair of amateur fights, MacDonald fought and defeated UFC veteran Bill Mahood in his professional debut. This served as a wakeup call for MacDonald, who decided to commit himself to fighting professionally. Eight years and 26 fights later, MacDonald will be competing at UFC’s first Canadian show in Montreal against a fellow UFC veteran and former opponent, Joe Doerksen. MacDonald says he doesn’t tailor his training for a specific opponent.
“As far as training goes, I train six days a week,” he said. “I don’t really change up my training too much for a specific opponent. I tweak it a little bit, but we’re involved in mixed martial arts. You have to be proficient at each aspect of your fighting–you have to be decent at standup, you have be a decent wrestler and you have to be decent on the ground. If you let any one of those areas lack or you focus too much on any one area, then obviously you get weaker somewhere else. We try to just continue to build on our skills and get better.”
MacDonald notes that, eight weeks before a fight, he and his trainers come up with an extensive training regimen that he commits himself to. To prepare for his meeting with Doerksen, he’s working with longtime trainer Mark Pavelich and jiu-jitsu specialist Josh Russell as well as training with wrestlers from the University of Calgary. He believes that a commitment to all aspects of mixed martial arts make him a well-rounded fighter, but also admits that his familiarity with the UFC’s octagonal cage helps him utilize his ground skills.
“The cage plays in really well for me because I’m able to put my opponent against the fence, work positions and submissions and then work punches and elbows,” said MacDonald. “It’s hard for those fighters who rely on their standup and rely on the ring to corner their opponents, to be as successful. The octagon’s a big adjustment for them.”
The UFC’s middleweight division has been ruled over by Brazilian standout–and UFC Middleweight Champion–Anderson Silva since his arrival in the company in 2006 with a 49-second knockout victory over Ultimate Fighter reality show star Chris Leben. MacDonald is no stranger to success against former Ultimate Fighter competitors, as he’s beaten three of them and hopes that a victory in Montreal against Joe Doerksen will put him right in the thick of the middleweight title hunt.
“My goal is to go out there and win every time,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who they put in front of me or where they came from. I was fortunate to come into the UFC and make a big name for myself with a win against Ed Herman, who was an Ultimate Fighter veteran. My two losses in the octagon are to Rich Franklin and Yushin Okami, two fighters that are ranked in the top 10 in the world. Regardless of if they’re from the TUF show or where they’re from, on any given day I can compete with the best middleweights in that division and walk away the winner.”
MacDonald has cemented himself as a fan favourite in UFC and he’s been rewarded with plum spots on many of their biggest shows–their highest grossing show in Dec. 2006, their first show in Northern Ireland in Jun. 2007 and their most-attended show in Columbus in Mar. 2007. The Columbus attendance record has since been broken by advance ticket sales in Montreal. MacDonald, who recently signed a new four-fight control, aims to reward the fans and the UFC brass for their continued support by posting some high-profile wins.
“I definitely think there are some good opportunities for myself in the middleweight division to really step up, put together some quality wins and become that number-one contender,” said MacDonald hopefully. “From a fighter standpoint, I want to be the middleweight champion. I’m happy that I’m fighting the UFC and it’s a dream come true for me. But at the end of the day, whether it’s a year from now or two years from now, I want to be wearing that middleweight title.”