April 19, 2008, will be a historical evening for mixed martial arts.
It will mark the UFC’s first foray into Canada with UFC 83. The venue at the Bell Centre in Montreal is one of the biggest — if not the biggest venue — the UFC has attempted to fill and it did so in record time.
This date will also mark Jason “Dooms” Day’s Octagon debut. The Canadian product is coming off a huge — albeit controversial — split decision win over David “The Crow” Loiseau at the Hardcore Championship Fighting event back in February. The UFC obviously saw what they needed because Jason was inked to a four fight contract immediately after the win.
Here’s a snip from Jason about the big call:
“I started shaking, I got all nervous -— it was a total adrenaline rush, it was awesome.”
His debut comes against a tough veteran in Alan Belcher who stopped fellow Canadian Kalib Starnes at UFC 77: “Hostile Territory” with one of the nastiest skull-revealing cuts ever. “The Talent” looked to be in fine form that night. And if he comes with the same fire at UFC 83, Jason is going to have his hands full.
When asked about his opponent Jason had this to say:
“I’ve always said he looks good, I mean I have respect for him. I think there’s a few holes in his game that I’ve kind of picked out … he’s fast, his hands are fast. He looked sharp out there, he’s quick and he’s aggressive. I think I’m going to have the fight with Alan Belcher that I thought I was going to have with Loiseau. I think Belcher is going to be my opportunity to get out there and reveal what I’ve been working on.”
Jason is a dedicated fighter as he works full time building homes up in Calgary during the day and trains well into the nights. He is looking forward, however, to leaving that behind.
Here’s another snip:
“Hopefully over the next six months I won’t be banging nails anymore, I could just be in the gym training full time.”
Confidence is not an issue with Jason –- he’s been preparing to walk through the gates of the Octagon in the UFC for a long time. With wins over notable opponents Loiseau, Ron Faircloth and Jonathan Goulet and his only recent loss coming at the heavy hands of Patrick Cote, Jason is poised to make the most of the opportunity put in front of him.
It’s now or never.
Take a minute and listen to the entire interview. Click here.
Sean McManus is the Director of Media Relations for MMACanada.net. For more information on the MMA scene up in Canada check out MMACanada.net.
14 Comments »
Awesome interview..
Jason Macdonald has always been a classy guy
This Jason I don’t know off.
I love watching Belcher fight. If this dude wants to stand and trade with Belcher it will be exciting
should be good
Is this the first ever ‘mystery thread’ of mmamania, or is there supposed to be a title and its just now showing up?
Maybe that’s what’s leading to the confusion of people that only like to read the headlines and then comment.
[quote comment=”376729″]Awesome interview..
Jason Macdonald has always been a classy guy[/quote]
Jason Day, not MacDonald.
I saw Day fight Cote and he got his ass handed to him. He did ok while on his feet but really not very much. Cote took him down and pounded him out and he had nothing once on his back. Looking to see Belcher blast through him.
belcher is gonna take this i belive. that was a bs decision day won against the crow
[quote comment=”377028″]belcher is gonna take this i belive. that was a bs decision day won against the crow[/quote]
I still wish they would have matched up Belcher vs. Bisping. That would have added to the over all quality of the event.
I mean, why match up Bisping vs. Tuppaware and Belcher vs. a Can?
They could have booked another quality fight, that is actually relevant to the middleweight division. What does a win do for Belcher or Bisping against these C-level opponents? Not a damn thing!
Great interview Sean. I really hope Jason Day does well!
I live in Calgary and I did not know Day was living here as well. I am really curious where he trains because I have been looking for a gym here to start training once I can actually create myself some spare time.
Sean would you happen to know what the gym is that he trains out of here? And please please do not say Fighters Nation which is ran out of one of the Gold’s Gyms here in town! There has got to be a better place!
Day is a quality opponent, but Belcher will TKO him nonetheless.
[quote post=”5410″]Sean would you happen to know what the gym is that he trains out of here? And please please do not say Fighters Nation which is ran out of one of the Gold’s Gyms here in town! There has got to be a better place! [/quote]
Steven, I thought he trained in Lethbridge. I could be wrong though. I think Russell has a GB out that way or is affiliated somehow…
Have you heard of Canuckles MMA by Chinook? I am thinking of going there myself…
Hey JB, I thought he trained in Lethbridge too but it says in the interview that Day works days building homes here and I could not see him driving all that way to train there. Maybe Sean made a mistake with the places but I would love to know.
Yeah I have heard of Canuckles and I have been debating if it would be better to go there or Fighters Nation (in North Gate Golds) as I already have a Gold’s Gym membership and its not much more to switch over to their MMA program and it seems they have some good coaches going.
[quote comment=”387489″]Hey JB, I thought he trained in Lethbridge too but it says in the interview that Day works days building homes here and I could not see him driving all that way to train there. Maybe Sean made a mistake with the places but I would love to know.
Yeah I have heard of Canuckles and I have been debating if it would be better to go there or Fighters Nation (in North Gate Golds) as I already have a Gold’s Gym membership and its not much more to switch over to their MMA program and it seems they have some good coaches going.[/quote]
Hey Steven, I did make a mistake - my journalism is a bit rough around the edges. He works and resides in Lethbridge, but he does travel to Calgary to train on some weekends. I’ll find out where in Calgary and post it up on here. Sorry for the mix up guys.
Thank you Sean, it would be greatly appricated, nice to hear back from a writer
Thought it was a great piece over all. Keep up the good work.