Ethan Boyd, Adriana Grano and Emily Verbeek to represent Canada at international mixed martial arts event in November

Forty-seven athletes,  26 clubs, representing eight provinces or territories. WAKO (World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) Canada has named the team that will represent our country at the upcoming World Championships in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and Sudbury athletes clearly are more than holding their own.

A trio of fighters from Sudbury MMA — Ethan Boyd, Adriana Grano, Emily Verbeek — will set off halfway around the globe next month for the competition, which runs from Nov. 21-30.

Where Boyd and Grano have donned the maple leaf in previous international meets, having competed at the Pan American Championships in 2024, this upcoming tournament marks the first such opportunity for Verbeek on this larger stage.

Interestingly enough, all three made their way to the MMA / kick-boxing circuit in completely different manners, with Ethan Boyd mirroring a large number of athletic teenage boys in this area with hockey dreams topping the charts early on.

“I started doing kick-boxing in Grade 9, using it more as dryland for hockey during the summer months,” the 23-year-old former hockey player said. “It eventually turned into a full-time thing. I actually love it more than I loved playing hockey.”

In these parts, that is saying something.

Truth be told, in this day and age of hockey, kickboxing is likely a far better fit.

“I enjoyed the fighting aspect of hockey,” said Boyd, who suited up with the Blind River Beavers of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League in the 2019-2020 campaign. “I was winning fights in junior hockey and I really liked it, but my style of hockey was not as accepted as I thought it was.”

Fair enough.

Combat sports made far more sense.

While he enjoys pretty much all aspects of the MMA spectrum, training in jiu-jitsu, wrestling and boxing, it is in kickboxing where the biggest opportunities lie – at least at the moment, in Canada, within the spectrum of amateur sports.

“I’m a competitor,” said Boyd. “I love competing. I love winning. I hate losing even more than I love winning. For me, a one on one combat sport, just me and the other guy and nothing in between us, that’s the purest form of competition that you can do.”

One need look no further than the crowd reaction to fisticuffs at any NHL outing to understand the rush of adrenaline that the combatants must feel.

“In my first fight, I dominated the guy,” Boyd said. “When you win that fight, even in that small group of people, you are ‘The Man’. I tasted that and it was so addictive.”

But where brawn and aggression might be a nice launching point for anyone interested in combat sports, those who excel will quickly point to the need for technical refinement in order to up their game.

Ethan Boyd was no different, quickly identifying where his pathway to success might lie.

“It’s my pace,” he said. “I put out a gruelling pace when I am fighting. I am going to be in your face all night. I want to be able to control the pace. When I turn up that pace, you have to turn it up too because I also have power. I have that explosiveness through hockey.

“Eventually, you are going to get tired,” Boyd added. “If I am starting to get tired and I pride myself on good cardio, then this guy must be tired – and then I can hit you with power bombs. Pace and power help separate me from other competitors.”

Still, when it comes to battling fighters from various parts of the world, it really isn’t nearly enough simply to have a thorough understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses. Knowing the opponent is equally as critical to success, as Ethan Boyd has learned.

“The level of competition is higher,” he said, alluding to his experience at the Pan American Championships. “I fought a guy from Ecuador and won, and (then) fought a guy from Chile and won. Then I fought an American and lost.

“He moved very well, very fluid. He made me feel like I was fighting in an ice rink; he made the ring feel that big. It was much different than anything I had seen before.”

“You have to be adaptable.”

It’s a lesson that the entire trio of Adriana Grano, Emily Verbeek and Ethan Boyd are sure to take to heart as they fight for the honour of their country next month.

Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.