Former Petit-Rocher resident preparing for mixed martial arts debut
Denis Lagace admits he's never pushed himself like this before.
The 28-year-old former Petit-Rocher resident has decided to try his hand at mixed martial arts, and expects to make his debut in the sport this fall.
"I've never pushed myself like this before. It is a challenge I guess," said the son of Lina Doucet and Claude Lagace. "I've never really pushed anything at all in my life, to try to go to my fullest and bring myself to a point where I can compete seriously. I just figured I'd try it. If I fail, I fail. It is a good experience."
Mixed martial arts is is a full contact combat sport that allows a wide variety of fighting techniques ranging from boxing and wrestling to martial arts.
Lagace, who works in construction, originally took up martial arts when he moved to Moncton to attend college in 2001.
"I did a little bit of jukaijutsu...when I was a kid," he said. "I really didn't take it seriously back then. In Moncton, I took up...a bare knuckle style of karate and got really interested in fighting. Then I moved to Halifax (six years ago) and started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and started to get to know a lot of guys who were fighting and I got more of an interest for it.
"When I was in Moncton, I also started watching a lot of UFC."
(UFC stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts organization in the United States which has televised matches.)
Lagace has competed in both karate and jiu-jitsu before, but has yet to take part in a mixed martial arts competition yet. That is expected to happen this September in Halifax, N.S., although details surrounding the fight card are still being worked out.
Despite the obvious risk of injury involved in a sport like mixed martial arts, Lagace said he isn't worried about stepping into the ring.
"The training is the worst part of it," he said. "There's nothing that that guy can put me through in the cage that I haven't been put through in class. That's the way I look at it. I get punished more in class. I have to do that with them every day, for two to three hours a day, and a fight is only three five-minute rounds.:"
Lagace trains with current Maximum Fighting Championship light heavyweight belt holder Roger Hollett, the son of former Canadian middleweight boxing champion Ralph Hollett.
"I get my block knocked off on a daily basis by those guys," he said. "It just prepares you."
Lagace was at home last month to visit family and friends before making his way to Calgary, Alta. to work for the summer. He spent a lot of his time at the Acadie Boxing Club working on his boxing skills with owner Ken Roy.
"I'm fortunate enough to have Ken help me out with my hands when I'm in Bathurst," said Lagace. "It has made a big difference. Just little things, like keeping my elbows in and proper hand posture."
"He has come a long way since he first came here," said Roy. "At first, he was always tight, and now he is dropping his shoulders. He's got his hands up so high he can't see on the side of his face, so what I want to work on with him is to get him to drop his hands a little bit more. He is strong, but we also want to work on his speed."
Lagace is listed at 6'1" tall and 220 pounds. He expects to get his weight down to 205 pounds by September so he can fight in the light heavyweight division.
"There are lots of places to train in Calgary," he pointed out. "I'm going to go back to the school I went to when I was there last year, and find a good boxing school and a kick boxing school."
"I'm also training to go to the world championships in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in Los Angeles in June 2009," he concluded. "After I'm done training for this fight, then I have to modify my training for the worlds. But right now I'm concentrating on one thing at a time."
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