THE CANADIAN PRESS
Cody McKenzie, fighter and free spirit, grew up in Alaska and now calls Spokane, Wash., home. But the 22-year-old credits Canada for helping put him on the path to the UFC.
McKenzie, a member of the Season 12 cast of “The Ultimate Fighter,” cut his Muay Thai chops at the Pride Gym in Trail, B.C.
“A real amazing gym,” said McKenzie.
He grew up in Cordova, Alaska, a tiny commercial fishing area in the Prince William Sound where the Exxon oil spill happened in 1989. His parents are from the Spokane area, but spent 22 years in Alaska where his father was a commercial fisherman and his mother ran a beauty salon.
Cody McKenzie spent 15 years there, then moved to Metaline Falls in the northeast tip of Washington state, a stone’s thrown from the border and just 40 kilometres southeast of Trail, B.C.
He was actually at the Trail aquatics centre when he heard someone mention Muay Thai and the gym.
“I walked in and there was a couple of guys training for some MMA fights and I was like that’s exactly what I want to start doing,” he recalled.
“Right when I walked in I knew it was the place for me, because they kicked the crap out of me and I loved it,” he added. “So I drove up there like six days a week.”
He would leave after high school wrestling practice — he help form the program at his school — and cross the border to go train.
After graduating high school, he went to Portland where he worked with Team Quest for about six months. Unable to get any amateur fights, he left for Spokane.
“And I’m glad I did, because it’s made the world of difference. Now I train with Lyle (Fancy Pants) Beerbohm . . . We just kind of all got together in Spokane because there was nothing going on for mixed martial arts and we just started our own thing and brought all of our talents together.
“Me and my training partner Mike Hanks and Lyle Beerbohm, we all just kind of beat the piss out of each other until we got good.”
McKenzie (11-0) got good enough to impress the UFC and TUF producers at open tryouts in Charlotte, N.C.
With no shortage of confidence, an unbeaten record — and his own version of the guillotine choke submission dubbed the McKenzie-tine — McKenzie was confident he could leave his mark at the casting call.
“Right away I knew I was going to be in the show, because I knew my record was better than everyone else’s there. During my grappling round, I schooled the guy real bad, I choked him like six or seven times in like two minutes and just rag-dolled him around.”
In the debut episode that aired last week, McKenzie used his trademark guillotine to win his elimination fight — putting Amir Khillah to sleep in the first round — and move into the TUF house with the other 13 final cast members.
“I had a lot of good times,” he said, summing up his six weeks in the house, where fighters are denied access to the outside world other than to train and fight.
“A lot of times it was just boring, it didn’t necessarily suck. it was just boring, but overall it was definitely worth the experience. I learned from some of the best in the world. .. I’m a big believer in training with different people, so that was a real good experience for me. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Being cooped up is not natural for McKenzie, who grew up in the great outdoors.
“Yeah I grew up hunting and trapping but at the same time a lot of people think I’m a hippie because I’ve got long hair and I like to skateboard and snowboard and do all that stuff too,” he explained. “I like doing anything fun but definitely outdoors, I don’t like to waste my life just hanging out inside.”
Back home, McKenzie lives and teaches at the Spokane School of Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts. “I’m here 24-7, always working.”
His biggest paycheque to date was US$4,000 for a fight last December in Bahrain.
Of his 11 pro fights, 10 have finished in the first round — his pro debut extended 1:15 into the second round. Six of his fights have come north of the border, five in Trail and one in Castlegar.
“I love Canada, I’ve fought there quite a few times, I’ve lived up there for short periods of time,” he said. “I’ve always loved the Canadian culture. I love it up there, it’s a lot like the kind of places I grew up in. . . . Everything seems to be real laid back, people don’t get too upset about stupid stuff.”
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NOTES — Bellator Fighting Championships is holding an open tryout Oct. 2 in Philadelphia. For more information, visit www.Bellator.com.
