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'I hope to bring home that win': Indigenous Sask. MMA fighter preparing to make his debut

Caleb Ermine will make his professional MMA debut in the cage against Ozhan Yalcin in Vancouver, B.C. on Dec. 3. (Lisa Risom/CTV News) Caleb Ermine will make his professional MMA debut in the cage against Ozhan Yalcin in Vancouver, B.C. on Dec. 3. (Lisa Risom/CTV News)
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SASKATOON -

A Saskatchewan man from Sturgeon Lake First Nation is preparing to make his debut as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter on the main card in the UFC sanctioned Battlefield Fight League (BFL).

Caleb Ermine will make his professional MMA debut in the cage against Ozhan Yalcin in Vancouver on Dec. 3. At 5 foot 10 inches and 157 pounds, Ermine is classified as featherweight.

“It’s just something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid,” said Ermine.

Others are looking forward to seeing him enter the cage.

“I’m super excited to see what he can do,” said North Wake Martial Arts founder Lucian Phillips. “He’s just a well rounded athlete. He’s skilled, he’s got great hands. He’s a tough guy to get around.”

Ermine trains five days a week at North Wake and three days a week with a club in Saskatoon to work on his wrestling.

“He came in very green and over the years he’s grown into a guy that I think can handle being put into a professional fight,” said Phillips.

Ermine is training alongside Ryan Rohovich, 34, who’s also on the BFL main card.

“We’re going to represent our province. I just hope I can perform to my full potential,” said Ermine.

LIVING HIS CHILDHOOD DREAM

Ermine started boxing competitively in 2008 in R U Tuff Enuff. He says stories about his late grandfather Hilliard Ermine captivated his imagination at a young age and he aspired to be like his grandfather, a Second World War veteran who boxed in the army.

“My grandfather was a boxer and I decided I wanted to be in that ring one day and I just went ahead and did it."

MMA has helped him discover new things about himself and experience different emotions, said Ermin. He says he’s fighting has also challenged him to work on the mental part of the competition.

“In the past I’ve let my mind get to me and it hasn’t served me well,” said Ermine. “I hope to bring home that win.”

Ermine said he’s currently in “the best shape of his life.” He’s worked as a teacher’s assistant and said he wants to inspire children to live out their dreams.

“My main goal is to promote how much of a life changer any combat sport can be. You don’t even have to compete, you can do it for your mind,” said Ermine.

He said he’s had to overcome being homeless, a single parent and in the last year, five of his family members have died.

“MMA has kept me out of trouble, kept me healthy, kept my mind strong,” said Ermine.

“Training really helped me carry on through life. My coaches have passed a lot of knowledge to me.”

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