Tyson "The Man of" Steele Interview

Tyson “The Man of” Steele is one of many up-and-coming Saskatchewan-based mixed martial artists that have a very bright future in the sport. Born in Carlyle, Saskatchewan, Steele moved to Saskatoon in 2007 to continue his education and train as a mixed martial artist and hasn’t looked back since.

As a professional mixed martial artist Steele won his first six professional bouts before being submitted by Canadian mixed martial arts veteran Curtis Demarce in his Maximum Fighting Championships debut at MFC 26.

Recently, the Canuck lightweight sat down to discuss all-things Canadian mixed martial arts.

Ed: Currently, Canada is represented well by many elite athletes in mixed martial arts, but in the early days of the sport Canadian competitors were few and far between. In the beginning stages of your career, did you look up to any Canadian fighters as inspiration?

Steele: Being very new to the sport myself, the first athlete I looked up to was (Georges) St. Pierre, but by the time I became involved in mixed martial arts, he had already made a huge name for himself within the UFC. Since then Georges has opened many doors for fighters from his gym as well as others across Canada and has had a major part in popularizing the sport throughout Canada, so that is what I like most about him.

Ed: Aside from the sports incredible surge in popularity over the course of the past few years, how different is it for young Canadian mixed martial artists trying to make a name for themselves today than it was for you when you began training years ago?

Tyson: What is nice about the sport today is that there are so many organizations that a fighter can compete in. It seems like there is an event almost every weekend in Alberta and that gives fighters a lot of opportunities to gain experience. This may be a result of the numerous MMA-specific gyms which are opening up all over the country. There are so many places where young people can learn and train in a safe environment, that it only makes sense that there are more places that one can compete.

Ed: With Georges St. Pierre currently ruling the UFC’s welterweight division, in conjunction with a number of other prominent fighters competing under the UFC banner, and countless other young competitors fighting both in North America and abroad, how do you feel about the current state of Canadian mixed martial arts?

Tyson: I’m very excited about the current state of Canadian mixed martial arts. It’s a great time to be involved with the sport because it has become so popular. I’ll never be searching for a place to fight and I’ll always have a solid team in Alliance Martial Arts in Saskatoon that I can train with.

Ed: From British Columbia to the Maritimes, there are more mixed martial arts gyms now than ever before that are churning out very talented fighters. What gym or team do you think is the best in Canada?

Tyson: Alliance Martial Arts Systems in Saskatoon is definitely becoming one of the best gyms in Canada. The head coach Graham Weenk takes guys with literally no experience and within several years they are building outstanding professional records. Many other gyms are built around fighters who go there already having a wealth of knowledge, but at AMS, most of them are built from the ground-up, and that says a lot about how great a coach Graham Weenk is. You’re going to begin to hear a lot more about AMS fighters in the near future.

Ed: Despite reports to the contrary, professionally-sanctioned mixed martial arts has proven to be one of the safest sports in the world while also consistently proving financially beneficial across every province that sanctions mixed martial arts professionally, do you think that it is just a matter of time until the sport is legalized across Canada?

Tyson: It will take a bit more time, but I think eventually every province will sanction professional mixed martial arts. As soon as the right people educate themselves on the sport, more commissions will be set up—like we have recently seen with Ontario.

Ed: Recently the British Columbia Medical Association declared their intention to pursue banning professional mixed martial arts across Canada, citing the occurrences of “broken limbs, lacerations and brain damage” as potential afflictions to participants of the sport. How do you feel about the intentions of the B.C. Medical Association?

Tyson: I think the (B. C. Medical Association) has good intentions for voting on this in that they are only trying to protect the athletes, but I do feel that mixed martial arts perhaps hasn’t been represented fairly by them. Many other athletes in sports like boxing, football, and hockey all suffer concussions, whereas the most common injury in mixed martial arts are facial lacerations which do not pose any long term or life-threatening problems.

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Ed: With new training facilities being opened on almost a weekly basis across Canada with a number of Canadian-based promotions achieving international recognition, there is no doubt that there are more opportunities for young mixed martial artists than ever before in our nation, but do you feel that there are enough opportunities for aspiring mixed martial artists in Canada?

Steele: I think young athletes are definitely given enough opportunities to get involved in mixed martial arts. The most important step is to first join a team that provides a fun, safe learning environment. Mixed martial arts isn’t a sport that you want to rush into unprepared. The best thing for anyone wishing to compete to do is to get more than enough training time in to ensure that they don’t have a bad first experience or get seriously injured. There are also many grappling and amateur kickboxing tournaments that one might want to take part in, so they can gain competition experience before trying mixed martial arts. Something like this will only make you more comfortable when the time comes to step into the cage!

Ed: There are a lot of young up-and-coming mixed martial artists in Canada, from Rory MacDonald to TJ Grant to any number of promising athletes competing in smaller organizations across the world. How do you feel about the future of mixed martial arts in Canada?

Tyson: The future of Canadian mixed martial arts is only going to get better. We are seeing this already with the many new organizations opening up, as well as new provinces sanctioning mixed martial arts. Ed: Given the incredible amount of enthusiastic fans across the country and the fact that the sport is only gaining in popularity, do you think in the future Canada could displace America, Brazil, and Japan as the top mixed martial arts country in the world? The UFC has gotten record attendance numbers when coming to Canada, so that says a lot about how committed the fans are to Canadian fighters.

Ed: Few would argue that there is a more prominent figure in Canadian mixed martial arts than Georges St. Pierre at this point in time, but who do you think is the next great Canadian mixed martial artist?

Tyson: As of now I would have to say that Rory MacDonald is going to be the next great Canadian mixed martial artist. He is so young and talented and is looking better each fight. If he continues to improve as he has been, he will be a top ten welterweight in the next two or three years.

Ed: Canada is blessed to be represented by not only a number of very talented fighters, but the majority of these athletes are also terrific sportsmen who serve as exquisite role-models for young people everywhere. Do you think it is important to represent your nation well when you perform at an international level?

Steele: Yes, absolutely. It’s not only important for our country, but for the sport in general. It’s a professional sport with professional athletes; therefore the athletes should carry themselves in a professional manner.

Thanks again

By Ed Kapp
ProFighting-fans.com MMA Staff Writer