THE CANADIAN PRESS
Shonie Carter fought last week in Chicago. And after his scheduled bout against Brad Zazulak this Friday in Edmonton at MFC 14: High Rollers, the man known as Mr. International has another fight booked for next week in the Windy City.
Keeping busy is the Carter way. His mixed martial arts record is variously listed as 40-17-7 (sherdog.com), 66-14-7 (ufc.com) and 73-16-7 (Full Contact Fighter).
Keeping that kind of pace makes it hard to stay in touch with opponents. Here’s Carter’s take on Zazulak, a 26-year-old iron worker from Fort McMurray, Alta., who has a record of 2-0 and who trained at Pat Miletich’s storied camp in Bettendorf, Iowa, for this bout.
"I know nothing of him. I took this fight to do a fight in Canada," Carter, a 35-year-old former U.S. marine, explained in an interview. "I don’t know what his record is, what his background is, but I’ve been around long enough to know that if someone’s willing to fight, I’m willing to do it."
Stay connected to Sportsnet.ca this week for features, video and results from Canada’s sports home for mixed martial arts.
Carter’s career has spanned more than 50 UFC events. He made his UFC debut back in March 2000 at UFC 24 in Lake Charles, La., and today the UFC is looking forward to UFC 79.
He won his first three bouts in the UFC, including a decision over Matt Serra at UFC 31 in May 2001. Carter then lost his next three UFC fights against Miletich, Nate Quarry and Marcus Davis. He’s currently on a three-bout winning streak.
The Davis fight, in December 2006, represented a comeback of sorts after Carter’s memorable turn on "The Ultimate Fighter" reality TV show. Whether wearing outlandish suits or the skimpiest of briefs — Carter makes Huggy Bear look like a banker — the veteran fighter was hard to miss on Season 4, which featured MMA veterans looking to make a comeback.
Carter continues to feel the effects of the show.
"Oh definitely. It hasn’t changed my life financially, but I have to carry Sharpies around now because people now know who I am. I sign autographs, take photos. Things like that. It’s a new breed of fan who wants to know who Shonie Carter is. They can’t believe that I’ve fought that much and why did they just now find out about me."
Carter hopes that kind of interest will lead to another invitation from the UFC.
"It’s not like they don’t want me, but they sure as hell don’t need me. They have over 280 fighters under contract."
In the meantime, it’s Have Fists, Will Travel. Carter is even moving up to middleweight (185 pounds) from welterweight for his MFC debut and is savvy enough to know the danger that comes with it.
"The danger in fighting up 15 pounds is that the opponents are coming down 15 to 20 pounds," said Carter, who was 187 pounds several days ahead of the bout.
For Carter, it’s another opponent and another organization with a different set of initials.
His resume includes EC, CC, CF, IMAC, SB, IC, UFC, RSF, KOTC, WEC, IFC, KSW, TKO, XFO and ISCF.
Carter says he took the MFC fight because he wanted to return to Canada. He has competed at TKO events in Quebec, defeating Jason (The Athlete) MacDonald and losing to Jonathan (The Road Warrior) Goulet in 2005.
"I love Canada," he said.
Getting here this time wasn’t a walk in the park. In applying for his passport, he discovered he owed the U.S. government money. "I paid off the outstanding debt," he explained.
Don’t expect Carter’s wandering ways to change any day soon. He says fighting helps pay the family bills and he still enjoys it.
"I love what I do. I get to travel the world and I get to fun stuff like get into fights and not get into trouble for it," he said.
