Avalanche MMA received a big boost from supporters at the Roadhouse Bar and Grill Saturday night.

The Whitehorse-based mixed-martial arts club received $1,600 in donations from fans during the fund-raiser, aimed to offset costs for fighter Miller Rogers and coach Cliff Schultz to ship down to Castlegar, B.C., for Caged Rage 5 on Oct. 15.

"This is actually a little more than I thought it would be,” Schultz said. "I thought, ‘OK, hopefully we at least fill the tables.' But it's packed in there, so it's kind of nice to see. And everybody was excited to see the fights, everybody's pumped. It's pretty exciting.”

The night featured taped bouts of the four Avalanche MMA fighters – Schultz, Rogers, Stefan Brynjolfsson and T.J. Woodman – who competed at WarPath MMA in Chiliwack, B.C., earlier this month.

Schultz, Rogers and Brynjolfsson won their debut amateur fights, while Woodman picked up his third win to remain undefeated in his amateur career.

The Roadhouse was packed with fans reacting to fights on the flat screens as though the fights were going live.

"It's just phenomenal to see the support,” Schultz said. "About three-quarters of the people in there we don't even know. It's just nice to see Whitehorse get behind us and do something like that.”

The support the club saw Saturday night will translate into confidence for the fighters, Schultz added.

The money raised will also allow fighters to focus on their future bouts.

Focusing on past bouts, however – especially with a room full of people – can add some anxiety.

Schultz admitted that he was squeamish while watching his fight.

"I'm almost cringing, I'm getting nervous, my palms are sweaty, everything – it just feels like I'm back in the ring. It felt a little different, but it was exciting,” he said.

Schultz's wife Erin, manager and co-founder of Avalanche MMA, said watching her husband on the screen was "surreal.”

"It's something that we were a part of, on TV, with everyone cheering for our guys. It was just amazing,” Erin said.

But it was a different story when she watched the bouts live.

"It was hard to watch him. I knew he was going to win, but I was sick to my stomach.”

She was considerably more relaxed over the weekend.

"I know the end result here, but I still got nervous and excited,” Erin said. "It's a nice feeling to be excited like that.”

And the fighters will be excited about the money raised.

Cliff said the cost per fighter can be upwards of $1,500, which covers all expenses for heading south to take on some of B.C.'s best amateurs.

The capacity at the Roadhouse is roughly 180 people, which meant that if all fans paid the $5 minimum donation at the door, the club stood to raise $900.

Clearly fans contributed more than the bare minimum.

And local businesses helped in the cause, donating their products for draws throughout the night.

Sippel's Fine Foods Inc., Bigway, Northland Beverages, North of 60, Peak Fitness, Earl's Restaurant, Hello, Gorgeous Hair Salon and Sandor's Clothing donated for the prize baskets, Cliff pointed out. The combine value of the baskets: $1,845.

"It's huge,” said Cliff, "especially how much support we had from the donations.

"Thanks to everybody,” Cliff said. "And now we get to go out and fight. It's hard to go out every month and a half, two months, take time off work, buy plane tickets, go down; but then seeing the support of the city is just beautiful.”