Local mixed martial artist (MMA) Cole Smith can be found hard at work at the top of Peak Fitness in Riverdale, as he trains for his first MMA fight in March.

Smith’s coach Miller Rogers said Smith made the transition to MMA after spending most of his youth in the crease as a hockey goaltender. Smith says he was inspired to try mixed martial arts after watching in on T.V.

“I’ve just liked it, I’ve always liked the sport,” said Smith. “I was just watching it on T.V. one night and decided to give it a try. I just came out and enjoyed it since day one and have been going ever since.”

Smith, 18, will be fighting at 145 pounds in the featherweight division. Although he is about to enter the ring for his first fight, he has been training for two years before taking on his first opponent.

“I’m definitely excited to get to compete after training for a couple of years now, two and a half years,” said Smith. “I’m feeling prepared, that’s why I’m taking the fight. I felt like I have been ready for a while and have been wanting to set up my first fight for a while. But the opportunity came up and we got an opponent, so we go March 1.”

Smith will be making his fighting debut against another rookie.

“He is making his debut as well so there is no way to know too much about what his game will be,” said Smith when asked if he has specifically game planned for his opponent. “We know his height is five-six, five-seven, so we are game planning for a smaller opponent.”

MMA combines all the disciplines in martial arts. Smith said he is comfortable on his feet or on the ground.

“I definitely like the striking aspect of it, but I’ve been doing jiu-jitsu as long as I have been striking,” said Smith. “I feel like I am well rounded, and wherever the fight goes I am prepared. That is the most important aspect. Making sure there are no holes in your game and that you are ready to go.”

Smith said he cannot separate the nerves from the excitement.

“It’s hard to tell the nerves from the excitement of it,” said Smith. “It’s definitely excitement just to get in there and finally get a chance to compete after training for so long. I’ve spent so many hours in the gym having come out multiple times a week. Never had any layoffs or injuries. I’m excited to finally get the chance to show off my skills I’ve been working on for so long.”

Rogers said that before a fight he tries to make sure the fighters have experienced everything they can in training.

“I’ve always liked the combat side of it,” said Rogers when questioned about preparing a fighter. “Seeing something as a challenge more so than being afraid of it. Especially for someone who doesn’t know what to expect from it, you want to make sure they experience everything in training that they would see in a fight.”

This includes putting the fighters into some undesirable positions if it were an actual fight.

“We will put them in a position where the person is on their back,” said Rogers.

“They have the rear-naked choke, they defend that position and as soon as they get out we put them back into the position. You put the person into a mount with open strikes and make them get up. It’s grinding, drilling, hours on the mat, just getting him mentally there.”

Once a fighter steps into the ring it is them and only their opponent. No matter how prepared a mixed martial artist is there is still someone across the ring trying to stop them. This means fighters have to prepare for the unknown and randomness.

“There is still that element of you are still fighting someone else,” said Rogers.

“There is that random aspect that will come in. What we try to do is prepare for all those random things here, so when he steps into the ring he is prepared.”

Rogers said that Smith is a naturally skilled fighter.

“He most definitely, I’d say, favours his striking but his grappling is equally as scary,” said Rogers. “He is naturally talented and he picked it all up really easily. His mindset is, he never shied away from the punches, he really wanted to learn off of everything he’s done. He doesn’t like getting hit so he moves out of the way instead of taking hits. He is also tall and rangy, has good distance so we are focusing on that now.”

Since the bout is the first MMA match for both fighters, the rules are slightly different from the ones you would see professionally, to keep the fighters safe.

“There are no head strikes on the ground,” said Rogers. “In the amateur rules, it’s about keeping the fighters safe. He’s also not allowed to throw head kicks, no knees to the head, punches to the head are okay. They really want to focus on the ground aspect of it, keeping people moving and defending themselves and not getting punched out in the first couple of seconds.”

In amateur fights, because the athletes are unknowns, some of the fights can be unevenly matched, and the rules are in place to make sure the fighters don’t get too hurt, in an inherently violent sport.

“In amateur, there is that gap,” said Rogers. “There is mismatched fights often enough. You move into the bigger fights and put one fighter that was doing well over here versus one doing well over there, the results can sometimes be devastating.”

Rogers said the MMA community is Whitehorse is small and that offers its advantages and disadvantages.

“In the Yukon sparring partners are scarce,” said Rogers. “Down south they will have more people rotating through so they aren’t getting hurt as much and is less chance for injuries. We have to be more in control here, but as a smaller community, it’s a lot more one-on-one time and getting him right ready so when he steps in he will be able to pull that trigger and be in a fight.”

Although fighters know they are looking to hurt someone based on the nature of the sport, Rogers said they train the fighters to be good sports.

“It’s a sport, it’s all about the sportsmanship and the respect of the opponent,” said Rogers. “It’s making sure they are shaking hands, it’s not about fighting. It’s about becoming a better human being. This is an expression of how some people need to express themselves differently. It’s an outlet for some people.”