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| Freedom Fight's Valerie Letorneau |
Brent Fryia is hungry, but he doesn’t want anyone feeding him.
That’s why the mixed martial artists from Sault Ste. Marie eagerly agreed to face the dangerous David ‘Bo’ Harris at Freedom Fight: Caged Combat, April 21 at Sudbury Community Arena. And that’s why, after Harris withdrew two weeks ago, Fryia wanted another opponent of similar stature.
He believes he’s found that in Syd Barnier, a knockout artist from Stratford, Ont., who introduced himself to Sudbury fight fans with a violent second-round stoppage of Chuck Mady at Freedom Fight’s first local offering last September.
Fryia has only just begun collecting information on his new opponent, but already has a healthy respect for Barnier’s skills.
“He fought a lot around 2007 or 2008, then kind of went away for a while,” said Fryia, 30, who takes a record of 6-2 into the bantamweight (135-pound) bout. “But he came back last year and, since then, he’s really been surging.”
So was Fryia, posting back-to-back wins over increasingly high-calibre competition before agreeing to face Albertan Jesse Fox at Freedom Fight’s September show. But a back injury forced the Northern Ontarian to withdraw.
Now rested and refreshed, he’s eager to take the next step in his burgeoning MMA career.
“I feel good,” said Fryia, who teaches high school and coaches wrestling in Desbarats, Ont., while running his own gym, Steel City MMA, in the Sault.
“My body’s a bit beat up, a bit sore, all the typical training bumps and bruises, but no injuries.”
That’s a change from his last fight, a July 2011 tilt against American Michael Hernandez. But despite his ailing back, Fryia was able to use his wrestling to take the fight to the mat and secure a fight-ending armbar at 1:48 of the opening round.
“Last time I fought, it wasn’t an ideal situation,” Fryia said. “I was injured leading up to the fight. But now I feel better, I’m healthier, and working out full-time at the gym. It’s like a second home for me.”
One of his training partners at Steel City is his younger brother, Mitch Fryia, who will also fight on next month’s card.
Mitch Fryia’s opponent, Derek MacDonald, who represents Tapout Training Centre in Burlington, Ont., is making his professional debut in Sudbury after going undefeated as an amateur.
“I’m really excited about this fight,” Freedom Fight promoter Pete Rodley said. “This kid’s a killer and so in Mitch, so it’s going to be fireworks.
“I’m really thrilled to have the Fryia brothers on the card. It’s great for them, it’s great for Freedom Fight and it’s great for Northern Ontario.”
Brent Fryia was in Sudbury recently to participate in open workouts with local bantamweight Mitch Gagnon, from Team Shredder, who recently signed by the UFC, the world’s largest MMA promotion.
Gagnon is due to make his UFC debut against Bryan Caraway at UFC 149 in Calgary this summer.
Gagnon and the Fryias regularly spend time on each other’s mats while training for upcoming fights.
“Mitch (Gagnon) is a great training partner,” Brent Fryia said. “He’s skilled everywhere — a good wrestler, a solid striker and his ground game is getting very strong, too.”
Preparing for his next fight requires Fryia to stay well-rounded, especially if injuries or other circumstances force another change in opponents.
And while his background as a CIS wrestling medallist, combined with Barnier’s as a Muay Thai kickboxer, might have some thinking his game plan would be to get the fight to the ground as quickly as possible, he’s taking nothing for granted.
After all, Barnier extracted himself from several sticky situations on the canvas against Mady before returning to a standing position and opening up with hands and feet.
“You want to be as well-rounded as possible,” Fryia said. “I have been working a bit more on my wrestling, because I don’t want to let that slip, but I want to be sharp everywhere, so I’m working on some other things, too.”
He’s excited by the possibility of making a run in the 135-pound weight division, especially since the UFC added that class, as well as one for 145-pounders.
“That’s huge, to have that opportunity, to have that goal,” Fryia said. “It’s big for a lot of guys. I mean, imagine being one of the best fighters in the world, but not being able to compete in the biggest organization. And now they’re adding 125, too, which is awesome. Fans really seem to love it. So it’s great for the fans, it’s great for the fighters and it’s good for the sport, too.”
Featured matchups at Caged Combat include a women’s tilt between Valerie Letourneau (4-2) and Vanessa Mariscal (2-0).
BRAZILIAN INVASION
Rodley announced on Thursday the addition of three fights to the Caged Combat card, featuring a trio of Brazilians from the Nova Uniao camp in Rio de Janeiro.
Daniel Almeida, Felipe Olivieri and Claudia Gadelha will have their bouts filmed for the program Fight Exchange, a reality series which follows three Canadian fighters in Brazil and three Brazilians in Canada and airs in October on the SuperChannel network.
Claudia Gadelha (6-0) will take on Julianna Pena (4-0) in a marquee matchup at 130 pounds, adding a second women’s tilt to the card.
Almeida (7-2) will face Sam Alvey (17-4) at 185 pounds. Olivieri (10-3) will faced a yet-to-be-named opponent in the 155-pound division.
Tickets for Caged Combat start at $39.50 and are available from the Sudbury Community Arena box office. Call 705-671-3000 or visit
www.greatersudbury.ca and click the ‘Buy Tickets’ link.
ben.leeson@sunmedia.ca
Twitter: @ben_leeson
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Fight card
- Valerie Letourneau vs Vanessa Mariscal
- Felipe Olivieri vs. TBA *
- Chris St. Jean vs. Jimmy Kim
- Daniel Almeida vs. Sam Alvey *
- Claudia Gadelha vs. Julianna Pena
- Brent Fryia vs. Syd Barnier *
- Peter Nolan vs. Blake Nash
- Mitch Fryia vs. Derek MacDonald
- Chucky Mady vs. Mike Imperato
* pending approval from the Ontario Athletic Commission
