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BEHCHOKO/RAE-EDZO
Darrel Ouellette has spent 37 years in the fighting business, so he knows how to take a body blow.

Donny "The Tlicho Warrior" Doig will be fighting Sept. 15 at the Yellowknife Arena on the Five Star Fight League ticket. - Jesse Winter/NNSL photo

When his plans for a mixed martial arts cage match fell through last spring, that's what it was.

"The thing is, everything wasn't copacetic at the time. There was a lot of things we were waiting on. We got to have a doctor on board as part of the boxing and wrestling commission rules. But when we could get the doctors, we couldn't get the fighters, and when we could get the fighters we couldn't get the doctors. It was just coming down to the wire and we had to make a decision pretty quick," Ouellette said.

But rather than stay down, the Yellowknife fight promoter came out swinging, setting his sights on a fall ticket through the Five Star Fight League that is now good to go.

"Everything's good, all the ducks are in a row. It's still pretty stressful, and there's lots of things we have to do. We have to get the cage up here and everything. We know this town. It's a last-minute town for buying stuff, but I'm confident," the promoter said

Ouellette has called in his stable of local fighters for the ticket, and one of his brightest stars is a self-described "scrapper" from Rae-Edzo.

Donny "The Tlicho Warrior" Doig will be squaring off in the cage against TJ Klassen, but the Rae fighter has spent his life preparing for this kind of thing.

He said he got started in MMA after seeing a small show in Fort Smith about four years ago and knew he wanted in.

"I've always been a scrapper, but I never really trained. I thought I'd jump in there and I knocked a guy out in 36 seconds and it just kind of went from there," Doig said.

Unlike a lot of fighters, Doig is forced to squeeze his training in when he can between shifts at the Diavik Diamond Mine, but recently there has been a small group of amateur fighters who set up a gym there.

"Mostly I train at Diavik, cause I work there. I do two and two shifts (two weeks on, two weeks back home). They have all the equipment now. We just ordered a bunch of mats and heavy bags. There are a bunch of guys getting into it," he said.

Doig said that MMA is also gaining popularity among Rae-Edzo's youth, and he hopes having a fight so close to home will help kick things into high gear.

"It's starting to come along in Rae. A lot of the little guys are getting pumped up," he said.

With his next fight just over two weeks away, Doig said he's starting to get a bit nervous.

"I'm nervous. It's nerve wracking, right? It's like any other sport. You get the nerves. You're scared and nervous, you don't know what's going to happen. Getting knocked out is a pretty big thing, but if you can control the nerves it's all good. Fighting in Yellowknife, there's going to be quite a few people from back home watching," he said.

But Ouellette is confident in his fighters, especially Doig.

"Donny, he's 'The Tlicho Warrior.' He's a pro," Ouellette said.

Yellowknife's Tang Thongpheng will also be fighting on the Sept. 15 card, along with undefeated Yellowknifer Adam MacDonald. MacDonald – with three wins under his belt – will be facing Jon Ganshorn, who comes to the ring with four wins and two losses.

Another Yellowknifer – Luke Huntus – will be making his pro debut at the Sept. 15 event.

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