THE CANADIAN PRESS
Judo has been more than a sport for Misha Cirkunov. It helped him feel at home in a new country as a young teenager.
It also fuelled his passion for martial arts.
Today, the chiselled light-heavyweight MMA fighter trains and teaches Brazilian jiu-jitsu at Toronto’s Xtreme Couture. The 25-year-old also trains at Evolution MAFA in Mississauga, Ont., where he studies Muay Thai under Gerald Ching.
"I’m not making a fortune but I’m happy with what I do," he explained. "And I wake up, I’m happy every day."
Cirkunov (4-1) started fighting professionally some two years ago. He takes the next step down his MMA road Friday night when he meets American Ray Lopez (5-3) at an event at Hamilton’s Copps Coliseum.
Veteran Winnipeg middleweight Joe Doerksen meets American Brett Cooper in the main event.
Born in Riga, Latvia, Cirkunov came to Canada with his family when he was 13.
He started competing in swimming and basketball in Latvia before falling in love with judo at age 11, despite a rough introduction to the sport.
"When I tried it, I really liked it even though I got beaten up really really bad the first day," he recalled.
Judo helped the transition to life in Canada.
"When I came to Canada, I had no English and I had no friends really," he said. "As soon as I went to the judo gym and I smelled the sweat and the same smell that I smelled in Latvia, I was in love right away. I knew where I had to be. I was doing judo as soon as I came to Canada."
He achieved one of his lifelong goals at 16 when he earned his black belt. Cirkunov added a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu eight months ago.
He believes judo has helped his MMA game but he also counsels fledgling fighters to study wrestling. Unlike MMA, judo is contested wearing a gi and Cirkunov stresses the need to learn how to control an opponent without the gi.
"But having judo in your back pocket definitely gives you an advantage in a clinch," he added. "It’s hard for the guys to take you down and your footwork gets better from judo.
"I’m very happy that I did judo and I’m very happy that I understand balance in the clinch game."
Cirkunov admits to having been obsessed with judo and the pursuit of a black belt. But when he first trained jiu-jitsu, he knew immediately there was so much more to learn.
"I’m a grappler, I really like grappling arts. That (jiu-jitsu) was a challenge for me. And I love jiu-jitsu. … I have a passion for it. I love submissions and chokes and armbars and all that kind of stuff."
Still he recommends judo for parents looking to expose their kids to a martial art.
"At a young age, judo is a really beautiful sport. It teaches you discipline, it teaches you respect for your opponent. You start from there.
"It doesn’t teach you right away to go and hurt your opponent, it teaches you more technique, you bow to your opponent, you respect your opponent. It’s a really good system … a great sport, an Olympic sport."
In developing his striking game, Cirkunov acknowledges he initially relied on his athleticism rather than technique and paid for it, gassing out in fights.
"I do train a lot of Muay Thai now — I’m getting much more confident in my Muay Thai and standup skills."
He goes into Friday’s contest on a three-fight win streak.
Cirkunov was a winner at the first sanctioned event in Ontario on April 2, defeating Ion Cherdivara by unanimous decision at Knockout Entertainment’s MMA: The Reckoning at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ont.
Ex-paratrooper Romero savours career as cage-fighter
TORONTO — When you’ve thrown yourself out of a perfectly good plane, climbing into a cage to fight is nothing special.
Former paratrooper Will (Leon) Romero takes on Ottawa featherweight Stephane Bernadel (7-3) on Friday’s card in Hamilton.
Romero (6-3) says being a paratrooper helped prepare him for one-on-one cage combat.
"These sort of things do build you up for that moment," he said. "Going into a cage, your body and your mind will experience something that it’s never experienced before. It’s a moment of intense, intense feelings.
"When you’re in a plane getting ready to jump out of that door –like a cage, going into that door — you’re either going to go forward or you’re going to go back."
The five-foot-nine Romero sacrifices to fight as a 145-pounder. He normally walks around at 170 pounds "if I’m eating pretty clean."
He expects to enter the cage at 162 or 163 pounds Friday night.
Romero, 28, has the right attitude, saying "Nothing that great’s in life comes easy."
"It is a tough life," he added. "Really the easiest part is the fight. Everything leading up to the fight is what’s so difficult.
"Your life is not like anybody else’s. You can’t party when your friends party. You can’t eat what your friends eat. You’ve got to go to sleep at a certain time, you’ve got to wake up at a certain time. You’ve got to put your body through rigorous training. You’re constantly sore, tired. It’s exhausting but the feeling of success and feeling of victory makes it all worth it in the end."
Romero trains full time, although he has a part-time job selling solar panels and does some instructing.
A native of Brampton, Romero moved to Hamilton in February to be closer to his Iron Tiger Muay Thai gym in Ohsweken, Ont. Denis Puric, a training partner and roommate, faces Winnipeg featherweight Corey Houston on the card.
Romero joined the military at 17 — "with parental consent," he added with a laugh.
At the time, he wanted to become a police officer and thought military training would help. He served from 2000 to 2003, spending time in Bosnia and becoming a paratrooper.
He enjoyed his time in the military, saying he learned a lot and made some good friends.
"I really think that it did make me stronger as a person. It played a big role in why I do what I do today."
Romero grew up studying taekwondo and Kung Fu and idolizing Bruce Lee and Jean-Claude Van Damme.
He liked both martial arts but fell in love with MMA after watching Royce Gracie submit people twice his size in the UFC. So he started watching anything he could on the sport.
Romero started training under Alin Halmagean in June 2006, fighting in amateur Muay Thai before making his pro MMA debut in June 2008. He has fought for a variety of promotions since including The Score Fighting Series, Ringside MMA and Bellator.
"Will Romero always comes to entertain the fans," said Halmagean. "He’s never had a boring fight."
Romero’s MMA is all about honour and respect.
"To have guys that beat each other up and then be able to go out and hang out afterwards and have a drink and listen to music, like nothing ever happened, it’s just something that touches my heart," the fighter said.
His goal is to be successful in the cage and "spread love through fighting."
"Because I love people, I love life. And I think if I can be a successful fighter, one of the most vicious fighters, but show everybody that I can also be a very lovable person and love the world and love life, then it’s going to open people’s eyes. … You can be the toughest guy and the meanest guy in the world, but really if you’ve got a big heart that’s going to get you more respect than anything."
Of Ecuadorian descent, his nickname Leon means Lion.
"A very good young man," says Halmagean.
