Testing the limits in the cage

A young fighter stepped into the cage with fear, adrenaline, and the simple goal of seeing how far he could go.

“It was definitely a good experience,” said Tehoronhiathe Martin Larente Jr.

The 15-year-old recalled the emotions from his mixed martial arts (MMA) exhibition fight on Saturday, March 28, at Tristar Gym. “I was freaking scared at the beginning, but as I got into the cage, I just went in there and fought. It was fun.”

The fights are part of an initiative called Chimp 2 Champ Fight Camp, a three-month training camp that introduces newcomers to MMA and culminates in controlled exhibition fights. Coach Neil Sheppard explained that he started these training camps two years ago to give newcomers a safe, structured introduction to the sport while also building a pipeline for future amateur fighters.

Sheppard also shared that one of the reasons he does these camps is to give Indigenous fighters a chance in the ring.

“A lot of the guys in the community, they want to fight, they’re down to scrap, but are they prepared? Are they going to win? I want to see more Native people winning,” said Sheppard.

“I’m actually giving Native fighters a shot,” said Sheppard, adding that during the exhibition matches, there is no official winner, but usually it’s clear when someone did better than the other fighter. “And all my Native guys won on Saturday.”

For the young fighter Larente, the path to winning is already a daily commitment.

“I go almost every morning,” said Larente. “We get to the gym at five, train for two hours, and then I go to school.”

Larente shared that he is drawn to constant movement and that combat sports offer what other activities cannot.

“I like moving, I don’t like sitting down,” said Larente. “Lacrosse, MMA, boxing, wrestling, it’s all movement, that’s my thing.”

Larente has competed in four exhibition fights, which do not count toward an official record or have an official winner, but are designed to build experience. Larente’s next step is the amateur ranks, where results do carry weight.

“Now I’m going to have a record,” said Larente. “We’ll see how far I can go. If I do well, maybe championships.”

The match on March 28 ended early after Larente’s opponent, a training partner from the same gym, began bleeding heavily from the nose, prompting a doctor to step in and stop the fight.

Larente shared that before the match, he was encouraged by his opponent and teammates to try to entertain the crowd, which he now sees as a mistake.

“I came off as cocky, I wasn’t trying to be cocky,” said Larente. “I was trying to make the crowd happy, but next time I’m not going to do that.”

“We had a great turnout, everybody had a great time, and best of all, nobody got injured,” said Sheppard.

“We’re trying to get the guys as much experience as possible,” he said, explaining that the exhibition matches are deliberately controlled to protect the participants. “We don’t want anyone to look bad or get hurt.”

Larente, backed by his family and friends who attended the match on Saturday, plans on continuing to push forward, something Sheppard has encouraged, Larente said.

“He could see that I could go for it,” said Larente. “He’s like ‘keep coming and keep training, and see how far you can go.’”

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Fern Marmont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter