Weyburn will be in for an exciting night of fights on April 13, when The Rising will take place at Crescent Point Place. Local MMA club members Dean Hodgkins and Clint Mohan, as well as young members Ryder Backlun and Zachary Olson, will be hitting the cage for their first ever MMA fights.
Mohan will be fighting in the 185 pound class and Hodgkins will be in the 155 pound class. Nonetheless, in preparation for the big event, the two have been training together several days per week.
"We're kind of bouncing all over, just because we really don't have an MMA trainer here in Weyburn," said Dean Hodgkins, noting that aside from the Weyburn MMA regular meetings three days per week, they visit Regina weekly to train with MMA coach Jeff Wiley at Regina Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and they meet with a boxing coach at the Soo Line Boxing Club in Weyburn.
Three days each week, the men also head down to Olympia Fitness.
"That's the only place in town here that has a quarter cage," said Mohan, adding that the gym also allows for some additional strength and conditioning training.
The first MMA fights for both athletes leave them without a strong sense of what kind of cardio, strength and stamina will be required of them in the cage so they are preparing themselves for the most difficult challenges.
"We're trying to train for hopefully more than what is required," said Mohan. "You never know until you actually step in there. Nine minutes of fighting doesn't sound like much, but once you get into having a person lying on top of you and punching you in the face, it's a little different as far as being able to breathe and maintain your cardio abilities."
Rest also has its place in training.
"We try to take one or two days off each week from training, just to let our bodies rest, to heal up the bumps and bruises, swollen lips and cut eyes," said Mohan.
While Hodgkins has been boxing for more than a decade, and did once take a kick boxing match, he said that he never aspired to be an MMA star.
"The fights were coming here and people around town were throwing my name out to the promoter and he kind of said hey man you kind of have to fight," said Hodgkins. "It's more of a 'bucket list' thing for me. I'm not necessarily going to be making a career out of it but it's definitely something that I enjoy doing, so I figured it's either now or never."
Mohan has always had an interest in fighting but didn't know if he would ever have the chance.
"I've been training with Dean at Weyburn MMA for three years or so," he said. "As far as taking a competition, I work in the oil patch and I have a wife and three children so finding time to go train and travel out of town has always been the problem for me, as far as taking a fight. Now that there is one coming here, it gives me the opportunity to actually take part in it and it's also a time of year that it's actually slow in the oil patch, so I can take my time on training. So it kind of worked out perfectly for me."
When asked about their future plans with MMA fights, the Rising will be an educational experience for both athletes at the very least.
"I'm going to see how it goes," said Mohan.
"Right now I just want to have fun with it and if it ever stops being fun then it's probably not something I'll continue to do," said Hodgkins.
Weigh-in will take place on April 12 at 5:30 p.m. at Olympia Fitness.
Tickets for The Rising are $20 for kids and $40 for adults and are available at Olympia Fitness, the Weyburn Red Wings office and at Fitzgerald's.
