Rise of the Warrior 8, May 9th, 2026

The first professional kickboxing show in Ontario. There was money floating in the air! Stacks of cash being exchanged over and under the table. Michael Fitzpatrick (the promoter) came in with five bodyguards carrying suitcases chained to their wrists. Godfather left with two of those! He took the bodyguards too. It was crazy!

Ok, let’s get serious now. It definitely was a crazy night. A lot of effort went into bringing professional kickboxing to our local community, so I had no choice but to interview Michael Fitzpatrick, the man who made it happen. So let’s talk about Michael:

Michael got my attention when he fought on his own fight card and won a title. It kind of looked like he got himself a flashy belt (after a flashy car) and found himself the biggest opponent he possibly could, so he had an excuse to go up 50 lbs! Michael said that his first choice for the opponent was Paul Martin, who is ranked #1 by the WBC, but Paul was injured, so he went up 50 lbs and matched with Chris Martin. I couldn’t find a WBC ranking for Chris Martin, so I asked ChatGPT. ChatGPT responded: “I can’t find a WBC ranking for Chris Martin. Should I search the rankings for the Biggest Loser?”

Michael said that from 2022 to 2024 he had contract offers from ONE Championship for an eight-man tournament and a Super World Tournament, but, suffering from multiple injuries, he gave the contracts to his students and decided to coach them to win instead. Michael said, “I gave up the contracts to do good for the community.”

I feel I need to pause for a second and be very upfront with you about something. If I get offered a contract from ONE Championship, I’m selling all of you!

Back to Michael… I asked him what enticed him to put on a professional kickboxing show. He said, “I’ve always loved fights and was fascinated by the big shows such as Lumpinee, which was around long before ONE Championship and Glory. I always wanted to see the platform grow. Locally, we have some of the best fighters in the world! If they’re not competing on a big show, it’s difficult to get them seen by the elite world platforms.” Michael said, “My ultimate mission is to make Ontario one of the biggest platforms in the world as a fight hub.” I asked Michael who is the brain behind the operation. He said, “I am.” I gave him a look, and he added, “I have three lawyers. I also got to work with Kieran Keddle, the founder and CEO of Muay Thai World Cup, and see the production and business side of things up close.”

Unfortunately, my interview with Michael was cut short, and I didn’t get a chance to ask him why he hasn’t lost the 50 lbs he gained. I’m worried he’s going for the 350 lb title as well, but my friend Hamed (Sokdat Mafia) kind of has his heart set on winning that title.

Jokes aside, this is the start of some great opportunities for our community, especially for you elite fighters who are ambitious and reaching for the stars. There is a good chance I’ll be banned from all future events, but I’ll keep watching you rise.

Now that I’ve offloaded all of my sarcasm on Michael Fitzpatrick, let’s get to those fights:

Ahmad Alatmah (Rami Elite, Philadelphia, US) vs. Tylor Nicholson (Titan Training Center, BC): Ahmad is 20 years old and started training in 2019 when he was new in his neighborhood, with not many Arabs around, and he saw a gym with his home flag. He had his first fight at WKA after three months of training, and since there was no one in his bracket in C class, he fought A class. Ahmad said that, for him, fighting is all about the mental game specially pushing through when you’re injured. At one of his fights, he went against someone with over 130 fights with a bruised rib, to the point he couldn’t even run, but he still won that fight. This fight was actually a rematch. Ahmad won their first fight at Muay Thai World Cup by TKO in the second round. Ahmad won the rematch by unanimous decision. His strikes were calculated from the first round all the way to the fifth, and he landed most of them. By the fifth round, Tylor was mainly defending and throwing overhands that missed.

Beshar Farhan (MAFA) vs. Damon Weekes (Fifth Round): Beshar has been training since he finished high school, when his mom signed him up at the gym because he had nothing better to do. He was only training in boxing at the beginning, but Kru Gerald at MAFA told him he should try Muay Thai. Beshar is an amazing fighter with an amateur record of 25 wins and only 5 losses, and he’s also a father at the age of 23. So right off the bat, you know this is a fighter who doesn’t pull out of a fight. Beshar had a slow start in the first round in his fight against Damon. By the second round, he had Damon’s combos figured out and was rolling and slipping, landing counters. There was an eight count for Damon, which made him angry, so he kneed Beshar when he was down. Beshar won the fight by unanimous decision. He has been training in BJJ at Santos Brothers and at ThiccBoy and plans on fighting in MMA soon.

Max Korvasky (Kalary Kickboxing & Muay Thai) vs. Abiel Delgado (Bazooka Kickboxing & MMA): Abiel started training at the age of four, following his older brother’s path, and had his first fight at 12. He has an amateur record of 13 wins and 2 losses. Abiel is one of the bubbliest fighters I’ve interviewed. The smile just doesn’t leave his face. His dream was to win a fight and run out of the ring and into the crowd to hug people, but Joe, his coach, told him he should stay professional after winning. At his last fight after he won, he ran out of the ring and hugged his dad, and that was the start of his professional career leading to his fight with Max. Abiel was much shorter than Max, and having seen Max’s previous fights, I was certain Max was going to win. But Abiel came in with high-low combos and low kicks, landing them and getting out before Max could counter. Max tried to stop him with the clinch, but he couldn’t. In the third round, Max tried going for a TKO, throwing a few knees to Abiel’s head, but couldn’t land those either. Abiel won by unanimous decision. I was standing in the crowd waiting for a hug, but Abiel was just too professional that night.

Saving the best for last, Aramiss Gadito (Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts, Ottawa, Ontario) vs. Eduardo Macias (Golden Tiger, Hanover, Ontario): I had been waiting to cover one of Aramiss’s fights for the longest time, so I was really looking forward to speaking with him. Aramiss started by saying that where he comes from, Djibouti in East Africa, martial arts is part of the culture. He started with Taekwondo as a kid, and when he started college, he had a lot of free time, so he began looking for a Taekwondo gym. But none of the gyms he tried really pushed his conditioning until he had a trial at Ottawa Academy of Martial Arts and decided it was a keeper. As I kept talking with Aramiss, his strong connection with our community really stood out to me. He mentioned how many coaches have played a role in his development; amazing coaches such as Kru Chris and Kru Stephen at MAS Academy of Martial Arts, Kru Amy and coaches at Double Dragon, as well as Kru Kruger and Lubert Nicholas, who are part of his everyday team. I asked Aramiss how he makes sure to improve from one fight to another. We all learn from our losses, but Aramiss has an amateur record of 20 wins and only 4 losses. He said, “I criticize my wins even harder. I make sure I win in the details and not just the match, looking back at every strike: did I lose balance throwing a certain kick, or was a strike not clean? I focus on those after my wins.” I then asked Aramiss about his recent fight at RWS. He said, “I took the fight on a week’s notice! The fight got confirmed the Monday before, and I flew out the same day. My opponent was a seven-time world champion, but he lost the title in his last fight, so I was his first fight after coming back. I had to cut 15 lbs! I lost 11 lbs in one day with sauna suits and runs. Kru Mark from Savage Muay Thai was with me and helped me with the cut. My opponent was stronger in understanding the points game, avoiding the big exchanges. Going in, I knew he had a strong left kick, and during the fight I kept watching for that, and I think that prevented me from fully executing my own game plan. He won on points, and even the Thais loved the fight.” Aramiss said that he wants to go back to train in Thailand and stay for six months or a year. I asked him what’s so special about training in Thailand, because we have good coaches here and he can plan his own conditioning. He said, “At the gym I plan on going to in Thailand, all the Thais are champions. Training is consistent. Everyone trains because it’s their life and how they support their family. They all have a common goal and don’t miss a day.”

Eduardo started Muay Thai about 10 years ago. He trained in Taekwondo as a kid and competed as well, but then he pursued soccer, playing in high-level leagues. He wanted to be a professional soccer player, but once he moved to Canada and saw how far behind Canada is in soccer, he started training in boxing and Muay Thai. Eduardo’s professional record is 5 wins and 2 losses. His first pro fight was three years ago when he went to train in Thailand at Sinbi Muay Thai. After two months of training, he was asked if he wanted to have a professional fight. Eduardo has been fighting with a torn ACL and meniscus for a while now after being injured while clinching a heavier opponent. Eduardo doesn’t believe in game plans made for specific fighters. He said, “In Muay Thai, opponents change at the last minute all the time, so my game plan is based on my own skills and what I learn from my opponent in the ring.”

Now their fight: Aramiss was in study mode in the first round, mainly evading Eduardo’s low kicks and jabs and not giving away any points. He started combos and attacks in the second round, but every strike was with purpose, and he carried a steady pace up to the fourth round, when he gave Eduardo an eight count. In the fifth round, Aramiss was fully in attack mode. Aramiss won in the fifth round by referee stoppage.

What an amazing start to professional kickboxing in Ontario. Pace yourself, as this is only the beginning. There were quite a few spectacular amateur fights that same evening too, which I didn’t talk about so I could give the pros all my attention, but I’ll be sure to catch them again soon.

I don’t know what the next event is that I’m going to cover. Eric Rocha has been dragging his feet giving me a media pass for Prestige Fight Series on July 5th. We’ll see…