Kaiten Mixed Martial Arts Academy fighters Noah Goerz and Tate Rawling are trying to qualify for the ultimate amateur mixed martial arts event.
The two Prince George athletes will be in Lethbridge, Alta., this week for three days of competition in the Canadian National Amateur Mixed Martial Arts tryouts, Wednesday through Friday.
The winners of each weight division will qualify to represent Canada at the International Mixed Martial Arts Federation world championships in Manama, Bahrain, Nov. 12-19.
Rawling, 22, a lifeguard who works at the city's public pools, currently has a 3-0 record in the MMA ring and annually competes in jiujitsu and kickboxing events. He trained at the renowned Tristar gym in Montreal, where three-time UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre trains and has trained and lived in Pennsylvania with Ryan Hall, the 2015 Ultimate Fighter reality series champion.
The 20-year-old Goerz is a student and helps coach Kaiten MMA's youth programs. He sports a 1-0 record as an MMA fighter. In October in Dawson Creek, Goerz fought amateur MMA welterweight national champion Alex Martinez of Grande Prairie, Alta., in a grappling match. He also competes in Brazilian jiujitsu and kickboxing events.
Kaiten fighter Curtis Blanchette also qualified for the national amateur event but suffered an arm injury at a fight camp which will force him out of the amateur tournament in Lethbridge.
Fighters in the national tournament are not allowed to cut weight to compete in a lighter weight class and are required to walk in at their respective fighting weights.
Each competitor could have as many as four fights in three days of competition. Preliminary fights are scheduled for Wednesday, with semifinals on Thursday.
The amateur finals on Friday will coincide with a pro card – Rumble in the Cage 54 at Servus Sports Centre in Lethbridge.
