Thousands of Saskatoon natives have made a name for themselves in the NHL, CFL, the music industry or Hollywood. Mitch Clarke is going where no one from the Bridge City has gone before: Ultimate Fighting Championship.
The 24-year-old graduate of Walter Murray Collegiate and the University of Saskatchewan reached a deal last week to compete under the banner of UFC, the billion-dollar mixed martial-arts promotion. A verbal agreement is in place for Clarke to make his debut at UFC 140 on Dec. 10 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Though he now finds himself on a roster that includes world-class fighters and global stars like Georges St-Pierre, Anderson Silva and Cain Velasquez, it hasn't completely sunk in yet, said Clarke, who is undefeated in nine professional fights.
"It's one of those things. It's weird when you wait all these years for something you really want to come along and then finally it's there," said Clarke, who currently trains in St. Albert, Alta., at the Hayabusa Training Centre and Manduruca/Cardinal Jiu Jitsu Academy.
"I'm like, 'I have no idea what to do.' " Debuting in his home country will make a special moment even more memorable, said Clarke, who agreed to a lightweight bout versus John Cholish, 27. The New Jersey native has a 7-1 career record, training with Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu.
"Canadian fans, I think we're the best fans. You look at Rogers Centre, we packed almost 60,000 people in that one arena (for UFC 129 in Toronto in April). Montreal always sells out. Vancouver sells out. I'm sure this will be a sellout," he said.
"Personally, it almost puts a little bit of pressure. But at the same time, you're fighting in the UFC. There's going to be pressure regardless. It's awesome to have it there. If it would have been Vegas, Wisconsin, Germany - I really don't care. This is what I've been working to try to do and UFC is where I want to fight."
The bout between Clarke and Cholish appears even. Both have a wrestling background (Clarke at the U of S, Cholish at Cornell University). Each is an accomplished grappler (six of Clarke's nine wins have come via submission, while Cholish has won four of seven by submission). Their standup game is comparable, says Clarke, joking that "our kung fu matches up well. ... He's not afraid to stand and bang. I don't think he really likes getting punched but neither do I. So I think it works out that way."
Clarke's manager called him around 11 a.m. last Friday to inform Clarke that he was being pulled from his Oct. 1 bout for Evolution Fighting Championship, the Lloydminster-based promotion for which Clarke is lightweight champion. He didn't tell Clarke the reason, letting him put it together himself.
It didn't register right away, however.
"I'm like, 'Why? What's going on? Something wrong?' 'No. You're getting pulled,' he told me," said Clarke.
"Then it was 'Congratulations.' " Clarke was told to keep the news a secret, to only tell his coaches. After a training session that morning, Clarke checked his phone, which had blown up during the couple hours he was at the gym: Twenty-two text messages, 40 notifications on Facebook, calls from friends. Clarke still tried to stay quiet, not even confirming the news to a friend and training partner who phoned him. But when his friend told him he had read about it on the Internet, a moment of panic set in.
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone anything," Clarke said with a laugh.
"I'm thinking, 'Oh my God. Is this my fault? Did I do this? Am I going to get fired before I even get going?' " Turns out, Cholish's camp was the one with loose lips, letting word out about what will also be his UFC debut. With that tiny scare put behind him, Clarke is focused on being the best he can be on a night he's dreamed of for years.
"I had a talk with a couple of guys who have fought in the UFC that I know. They said, 'You've got to not let it overwhelm you.' " He's taking the advice to heart, not wanting to burn out physically or mentally. It would be easy to want to train nonstop in anticipation of the biggest fight of his career, but Clarke has overtrained in the past and performed worse because of it. Instead, he's "pulling back the throttle" until it's time to start his full camp in the weeks before UFC 140.
Though he'll keep the training relatively light for the immediate future, that won't stop him from imagining Dec. 10 in Toronto: getting ready in the locker room, walking down the aisle, going 1-on-1 inside UFC's famed octagon.
"Right before I put my head to the pillow and I'm trying to close my eyes," said Clarke, "that's what's going through my head."
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