Mixed martial arts contender welterweight Michael Hill, who grew up in Powell River, defeated Josh Kitchen with a technical knockout at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary on Friday, March 15.
Coming off the reality television sports show The Ultimate Fighter 16, Hill faced intense pressure from up-coming Canadian welterweights who, he said, “had something to prove.
“It was pretty stressful,” he said. “Not one guy coming off that show had won a fight.”
Hill went back to his training regime of six hours a day and tried to put his past defeats behind him.
He signed a three-fight contract with Aggression Fighting Championship (AFC). His first fight was against Kitchen in Calgary.
When he stood in the ring facing Kitchen, everything fitted into place. “I have a lot of guys gunning for me right now,” he said. He also had some support in his corner with family and friends pulling for him.
“A big part of this is psychological. When you square up with another guy in a fight you can read his body language. It just didn’t seem like it was his day.”
In mixed martial arts, contenders go three five-minute rounds or until a fighter is knocked out or submits. Judges watch each fighter’s technique and award points for most strikes, being aggressive, takedowns and ground submission attempts.
“You can’t teach power or toughness,” said Hill. “The guy hit me hard, but that’s part of the game. I hit him twice and rocked him and the third time knocked him out.”
Hill is hoping to bring his next fight to Victoria. He has asked the AFC to headline a match in Victoria around his birthday, May 27, so his family and friends can come out and support him. Hill said he hopes that as he tightens up his skills and wins more fights he will earn a chance at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). His win in Calgary moves him up in the Canadian welterweight standings.
Hill is currently in Vancouver working on his wrestling and jiu-jitsu skills and he is finding the stress of working full-time and training is taking its toll. He is looking for sponsors to help him focus all his energy on training and working on his goal of fighting in the UFC. “It would be nice if people would reach out to me from my hometown,” he said.
For more information about setting up a sponsorship with Hill, readers can contact him by email at [email protected].
