Growing Maritime MMA scene could soon expand to P.E.I.

A Fight League Atlantic ring is pictured. (Source: Fight League Atlantic)

For more than 30 years, mixed martial arts (MMA) has expanded across North America, spilling into arenas and gyms. The octagon battles have crashed onto the shores of the Maritimes, fueled by federal legislature from a decade ago, a burgeoning roster of athletes and fans, and several homegrown talents who have reached international-level competition.

Jason Saggo is one of those Maritime stars who reached the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), an organization most commentators and fighters acknowledge as the biggest in the world of MMA. He locked horns with big-name fighters like Paul Felder and Gilbert Burns before returning to Prince Edward Island to start up his own MMA gym, which has seen an explosion of interest.

“Our membership is at an all-time high this month,” said Saggo, who opened the PEI Martial Arts Academy in 2019. “We have about 200 members. A lot of people don’t realize that most people who train don’t compete; they do it for health benefits.”

Saggo said the success of the gym allowed him to open locations in Summerside and Stratford, with a third spot in O’Leary expected to launch in January.

Despite the high demand on the Island, amateur and professional MMA competitive events are still not allowed in the province due to a lack of a fight commission. It’s a situation that could change next year with the possible introduction of new legislation, allowing for mixed martial arts competitions in P.E.I.

“The Department of Fisheries, Tourism, Sport and Culture is working through internal processes to establish a Combative Sports Commission in the province which would regulate

non-designated amateur and professional combative sports,” reads an emailed statement from the department. “This would require a new piece of legislation.

“The work is preliminary, but we anticipate we could be bringing forward legislation next spring at the earliest.”

Fight League Atlantic originally launched in 2020. (Source: Fight League Atlantic)

In 2013, the federal government passed Bill S-209, which updated the criminal code to put combat sports like MMA, karate and taekwondo under the banner of “prize fights.” It was the first update to that section of the code since 1934.

The changes to the prize fighting law allowed provinces to set up their own fight commissions to organize official MMA events. Some provinces like P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador have yet to establish such commissions.

Denis Léger, executive director of the New Brunswick Combat Sport Commission, said the organization had its first official MMA event in the province in 2015.

“We are the regulators of the sport,” Léger said. “We’re responsible for allowing or denying fighters’ and promoters’ licences. The night of (events), we’re responsible for weighing every fighter, and we assign the ring physicians, the referees, make sure the ambulance is present.”

Léger noted most New Brunswick MMA events are held in Moncton, and the only licenced promoter across that province and Nova Scotia is Fight League Atlantic (FLA).

Jon Foster has steeped himself in the world of mixed martial arts for nearly 20 years. He has experienced all sides of the ring as a fighter, a coach and a promoter. He and fellow entrepreneur Derek Clarke organized several jiu-jitsu tournaments in the Maritimes.

In early 2020, they launched FLA and held their first event in Truro. Then COVID-19 hit the Maritimes, restricting nearly all sports, particularly close-contact ones like mixed martial arts.

The organization hosted one event in 2021 before staging a comeback in 2022.

“We did some small grappling shows and that bridged the gap for us,” Foster said. “Last year was the first year we could do a full schedule. We worked super hard; we’re constantly improving our product.

“People grabbed onto the brand, which was a pleasant surprise. Our purpose is to develop East Coast talent.”

Some of the East Coast talent featured in FLA events includes former UFC fighter Chris Kelades from Nova Scotia and Saint John-based combatant Christien Savoie, who recently competed in Dana White’s Contender Series. Foster notes the growth of the sport has created a strong roster of homegrown talent in the Maritimes.

Fighter Christien Savoie, right, celebrates a victory. (Source: Fight League Atlantic)

“It’s so much more accessible now,” he said. “New Brunswick has caught up in terms of skill level. Nova Scotia and P.E.I. are top level.”

Foster said FLA, which runs five shows per year, would be looking to expand into P.E.I. once a fight commission is established in the province.

“We’ll be the promotion to go to P.E.I. when it happens,” he said. “We have fighters in P.E.I. If P.E.I. was able to move quick, that would probably be where we want to go, either next year or 2026.”

FLA’s last event of the year will be held at the Moncton Coliseum on Nov. 17. Foster said they plan to determine their next slate of shows for 2025 and continue their upward momentum.

“We’re in it to grow the East Coast scene,” he said. “We’ve become the East Coast scene as far as MMA goes. We plan to do it for a long time.”

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