Timmins' mixed martial artist Terry 'Goodtime' Lemaire has put another impressive win on his professional resume after a bout this past weekend in Kentucky.
Lemaire was in the main event of Saturday's Hard Rock MMA 117 in Shepherdsville, where he defeated the heavily favoured local Isaiah Ferguson with a first-round submission, just over one minute into the match.
It was a whirlwind weekend for Lemaire and his coach Matthew Poulin from Total Martial Arts Centre. The two returned home late Sunday night and have had very little sleep since Saturday.
Even making the event on time proved to be quite the ordeal. The original plan was to make the approximately 16-hour drive. They set out for the border in Sault Ste. Marie last Wednesday.
“We were in contact with the border in the weeks leading up to it. Matt was emailing them. We wanted to make sure we were going to get across right? Because it's for work. They couldn't give us a straight answer,” said Lemaire.
“They said, they'll either deem you essential or not when you get to the border.”
Despite that ominous bit of information, they arrived in the Sault well organized and well prepared.
“We had our pandemic book all set up. We had my contract. We had a letter from the promoter and employer, stating that it was for work. We had all the stops and the hotel information, and they refused us.”
After being denied entry into the United States, they were left scrambling.
“We were in shock. Especially after all the preparations we did for it. We weren't just going in blind.”
They made the call to the promoter to inform them of the situation, and drove to Sudbury to spend the night.
“The promoter from Kentucky found us a testing facility in Toronto for Thursday morning. So we got our COVID tests so that we could fly. The promoter booked us flights, and we flew out Friday at 12 from Toronto. We got there on weigh-in day at 5 p.m., and weigh-ins were at 7,” said Lemaire.
“It was a close call. We almost didn't make it down, but I'm glad we did.”
Lemaire was up against the top bantamweight in the region. Nicknamed 'The Vanilla Gorilla', Ferguson came in the more experienced fighter with an 8-2 pro record. He also had the advantage of competing in his own backyard.
Lemaire had a full eight weeks to prepare for this match. Despite gyms being shuttered, Lemaire was able to train with Poulin because he is a professional fighter.
The match played out exactly how they thought it would.
“We knew he was going to shoot-in. We knew he was going to try and get the take-down, because my standup is superior than his, and he's a ground guy, a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, and that's his bread and butter. I wasn't expecting him to shoot in that quickly.”
There was urgency from Ferguson to take the match to the mat.
“I think I had only thrown a jab. Then we both threw kicks at the same time, and he latched onto my leg, and he tried to get the takedown. But I knew it was coming and I was prepared for it, so I got my underhook right away, and I locked over his shoulder and just pulled him off me and brought him to the ground. I ended up on top.”
Within seconds, Lemaire locked in his signature submission: the guillotine choke. Ferguson tapped quickly and the match was over.
“It couldn't have gone better. He caught me in a guillotine of his own, right at the start, but he didn't have the proper position to finish it. It was tight, but I did the proper technique just to loosen it up, and get the right angle so I could keep breathing.”
When Lemaire forced Ferguson to tap, particularly that quickly, there was a palpable stunned silence throughout the venue.
The fight commentators working the pay-per-view broadcast were shocked. Ferguson had never lost by submission or knockout, and is regarded as a legitimate UFC prospect.
“Wow. Wow. I did not see that coming,” said one.
“The only person talking in here is Terry Lemaire. You can hear a pin drop in here after that,” said another.
“I silenced all the doubters, that's for sure,” he said with a laugh.
Due to COVID-19 related restrictions, the attendance was maxed out at 200, however, they were not expecting to see their hometown hero lose.
“You could hear the crickets in the crowd. They were in shock.”
It remains to be seen what exactly the impact of the victory will do for Lemaire's ranking, but he is confident he will be ranked among top 10 bantamweights in Canada. He has now won his last five matches.
“Big things are coming, man. We're planning on taking maybe three months, just to keep building the body. But if something comes down the pipe shortly like the UFC or Dana White's Contender Series, which are very plausible now, we'll see.”
The local business community has embraced Lemaire as one of the top local athletes. For this event, he received sponsorship donations from Total Martial Arts Centre, Permanent and Proud Tattooos, Discover Fitness, Pine Dairy Bar, T&S Variety, Skoser Merch, Inspired Sudbury, Realty Networks, Sunset Construction, Bush Brothers, Northern Allied Supply, Nasco Propane, Epitron Electric, Wilson's Auto Detailing, MSS, Canadian Trade-Ex, MD Renovations, and Nick's Phone Repair.
Lemaire has his eyes set on competing in the UFC in the future, but for now, he's just soaking in the good vibes of the win, and serving his mandatory 14-day quarantine after returning from out of the country.
He now has an American-based manager who will be looking to secure bigger opportunities for him. Lemaire was approached after his last bout which took place in Alabama in November. There was a strong impression made that not only is Lemaire a very promising fighter, but also a positive influence on his local community.
“I pride myself on that. Being positive, and being an influence in the community here, and inspiring people. It's a big part of why I do what I do.”
