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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJOHN WOODS \/ THE CANADIAN PRESS FILES <\/p>\n
Roland Delorme knees Edwin Figueroa in the head during a bantamweight bout during UFC 161 in Winnipeg on June 15, 2013. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Delorme, who was 28 at the time, competed on the company\u2019s reality TV series called The Ultimate Fighter and made strong enough of an impression to earn a contract with Dana White\u2019s promotion. Just over a year later, Delorme was asked to open the preliminary card \u2014 which aired live on Sportsnet \u2014 on his hometown card in a bantamweight bought with Edwin Figueroa out of Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery walkout is always exciting for every fight. And every UFC walkout is always that much more exciting,\u201d said Curtis Brigham, the owner of the Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts, who was in Delorme\u2019s corner that night and coached him for a decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there was no other walkout that compared to that one with a sold-out, hometown crowd screaming Rolly\u2019s name.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was an experience that no MMA fighter from Winnipeg had experienced before, and one that may never happen again.<\/p>\n
It was announced last week that UFC Fight Night will be held at the Canada Life Centre on April 18, but no local fighters are expected to be on the card. Brad Katona, a 34-year-old Winnipegger and two-time Ultimate Fighter winner, was released in June.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Roland Delorme (right), with Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts owner, Curtis Brigham, who was his trainer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I got to the UFC, my actual goal was to never be a champion. I trained with world champions before, I know what it takes to get there, and I knew that likely probably wasn\u2019t going to happen,\u201d said Delorme, now 42.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I was hoping to just be the first UFC fighter from Winnipeg to fight in Winnipeg and that\u2019s something nobody can take away from me.\u201d<\/p>\n Most fights underdelivered that night \u2014 including the main event that saw Rashad Evans beat Dan Henderson via decision after 15 forgettable minutes. Thankfully, Delorme did his part earlier in the evening to make sure everyone went home happy. His arm was raised after an entertaining three-round battle to improve his career record to an impressive 9-1.<\/p>\n Not bad for a guy who was making a living by running a Niakwa Pizza in Niverville a few years prior. He sold the business to fully pursue mixed martial arts, and that night solidified that it was a wise decision.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t exactly recommend people do that. Don\u2019t just sell your whole life and then just hope and pray. But I would never tell somebody not to chase a dream\u2026 You don\u2019t want to be the guy sitting in the bar drinking a beer going \u2018I coulda been a contender!\u2019\u201d said Delorme, doing his best Marlon Brando impersonation.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t RUTH BONNEVILLE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Roland Delorme plans to be in attendance at UFC Fight Night at the Canada Life Centre on April 18.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n But unless you\u2019re a top star, it\u2019s not easy to make a living off punches, kicks and chokeholds.<\/p>\n Delorme was paid $20,000 for that fight, and that number would\u2019ve been slashed in half had he lost.<\/p>\n \u201cIt looks great because you\u2019re on TV and they put you up in a nice hotel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I paid for my training for three months, and I went out to Thailand to train for eight weeks before that fight and I paid for that. I had to pay my taxes, I had to pay my manager, so I\u2019m really only getting half of that $20K. And I pay for my food and accomodations, so I\u2019m basically breaking even.\u201d<\/p>\n Delorme went on to have a three-fight losing streak before being released by the UFC in January 2015 and he retired soon after.<\/p>\n \u201cI knew the writing was on the wall. And the fact I got that fight in Winnipeg and won, I was good with it,\u201d said Delorme, who is one of four Manitobans to fight in the UFC with Joe Doerksen, Krzysztof Soszynski and Katona being the others.<\/p>\n \u201cI did my dream. There\u2019s nothing else for me that I can accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI did my dream. There\u2019s nothing else for me that I can accomplish.\u201d<\/p>\n He got back into the world of pizza for a few years before transitioning into the car business and starting Roland Delorme Automotive Solutions. He has two kids \u2014 Tailya, 15, and Taze, nine \u2014 and a partner named Melissa who has five kids.<\/p>\n \u201cOur house feels like there\u2019s a kid\u2019s birthday party going on at all times,\u201d said Delorme with a laugh.<\/p>\n Although it will be in a much different capacity this time, Delorme plans to be in attendance in April when Michael Malott (13-2-1) of Burlington, Ont., and Brazil\u2019s Gilbert Burns (22-9-0) headline in a five-round welterweight bout. This will be the UFC\u2019s third visit, and first since Dec. 17, 2017, for UFC on FOX 26.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be weird going to a UFC event and not being on it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut my kids want to experience it, and it\u2019ll be my first time going a UFC event with my kids and my wife, so I think the experience will be worth the money.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t And for any up-and-comers around these parts that want to one day compete on that stage, Delorme has some free advice.<\/p>\n \u201cMy advice is easy, man. Hard work pays off, and hard work beats talent when talent doesn\u2019t work hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t believe in luck. I believe in putting yourself in a position to be lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/taylorallen<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Taylor Allen Taylor Allen is a sports reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. Taylor was the Vince Leah intern in the Free Press newsroom twice while earning his joint communications degree\/diploma at the University of Winnipeg and Red River College Polytechnic. He signed on full-time in 2019 and mainly covers the Blue Bombers, curling, and basketball. Read more about Taylor<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Taylor produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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