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42 Sports Oakville Beaver www.aplushomes.ca from 2 .4% ·Full MLS ·Full Service Call ADAM CAMPBELL Broker 905-844-4444 SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2006 Local fighter set to go pro Rory McDonell to compete in Apex Fighting match By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Rory McDonell was only looking to see where he stood. Now, as the result of his performance at a mixed martial arts audition, McDonell will be standing in the ring for his first professional fight Saturday night. A university wrestler, McDonell knew his options for competing would be limited when he finished school. That put him on a search for competitive avenues to pursue, but mixed martial arts ended up finding him. Jeff Joslin, a pro mixed martial arts fighter from Hamilton, was looking to improve his wrestling skills when he came to the University of Guelph. McDonell, a Canadian university bronze medalist and a former national junior Greco Roman champion, shared his knowledge of wrestling but was also intrigued. He went to Joslin's gym for a few classes and showed some promise in mixed martial arts. "A lot of wrestlers get punched a few times and don't really like it," Joslin said. "Rory's not really worried about the striking. If he takes a shot, he wants to know why he took the shot. He's a tough guy by nature and adding the other skills to his game has made him more confident." Not that he lacked confidence, but, being a newcomer to the sport, McDonell really wasn't expecting much when he attended the Apex Fighting audition and mixed martial arts camp in Mississauga in April. "I just wanted to see where I was in terms of skill level," McDonell said. Instead, the open tryout landed the 24-year-old a contract to make his professional debut, not to mention a sponsorship deal with Hayabusa Fightwear. McDonell will fight Ottawa's Cedric Genron Saturday in Gatineau, Quebec. As brutal as mixed martial arts can appear to spectators, McDonell said the physical side is only one aspect of the sport. "There's as much a mental side as there is a physical side," he said. "It's been compared to a chess game with your body. There's so much strategy and you have to be able to use the tools in the ring." Wrestling skills still paying off McDonell said learning submission wrestling and Brazilian ju-jitsu -- two disciplines commonly used in mixed martial arts -- wasn't that difficult as there was enough overlap from wrestling. Polishing his boxing skills took a lot more effort. He's been training six days a week with Joslin, who will also be fighting Saturday, in preparation for the fight, and said his boxing "is coming along." Though he knows little about his opponent, McDonell said he prefers to concentrate on what he is going to do instead of what his opponent will do. And as his debut approaches, he's eagerly looking forward to go from sparring to the real thing. "Over the past month the training has been getting a lot more intense. It's opened my eyes to how close it's getting," McDonell said. "I'm a little nervous but I'm a lot more excited." Saturday's bout will be nationally televised on TSN on a later date. -- Herb Garbutt can be reached at sports@oakvillebeaver.com. BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER HITTING THE BIG TIME: Oakville native Rory McDonell will step into the ring for his first professional fight, an Apex Championship mixed martial arts bout, Saturday night in Quebec. 2007 REP / SELECT TRYOUTS OCTOBER 14 & 15, 2006 BOYS / GIRLS U11 (1996) ­ U18 (1989) CHECK WEBSITE FOR COMPLETE DETAILS GOALKEEPER TRAINING SESSIONS HOUSE LEAGUE / REP / SELECT OCTOBER 15, 2006 - APRIL 1, 2007 (22 WEEKS) THE OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB IS OFFERING SPECIALIZED GOALKEEPER TRAINING WITH OSC HEAD GK COACH JOHN MOREIRA 504 Iroquois Shore Rd., Unit #11, Oakville, ON L6H 3K4 Tel: 905-849-4436 Fax: 905-849-3677 Thanks to our Key Sponsors: The Oakville Beaver A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club