John AlessioB次元官网网址檚 fighting career started when he was pumping gas at a Cowichan Valley Esso station 18 years ago.
Jason Heit, a pro boxer living in Duncan at the time, pulled in for a fill up.
B次元官网网址淚 had some Gracie MMA stickers on my car and (Alessio) noticed them and started asking about them,B次元官网网址� recalled Heit from his Island MMA gym last week.
It was a chance meeting thatB次元官网网址檚 led Alessio through a 15-year career as one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 best mixed martial arts fighters.
B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 have a gym yet, me and a few guys trained in mixed martial arts out of my garage,B次元官网网址� Heit said. B次元官网网址�(Alessio) was only 15 when he came out but mentally he was tough - no matter what you did to him in practice he took it and came right back.B次元官网网址�
Alessio (36-14) is now based in Las Vegas but is returning to fight at Aggression Fighting Championship 13: Natural Selection, Nov. 3 at Bear Mountain Arena, against David Mazany (10-4), also of Las Vegas.
His first fight came soon after that chance meeting, one thatB次元官网网址檚 not on the books anywhere. Just 16 years old, Alessio fought a 29-year-old and won.
B次元官网网址淗e destroyed him,B次元官网网址� Heit said.
It was still the early days of the sport and some MMA events were running illegally, long before Heit and co-owner Darren Owen started the AFC.
B次元官网网址淏ack in the 90s, we were in the ring in Surrey when there was a raid; 30 RCMP officers came in. I guess it wasnB次元官网网址檛 licensed,B次元官网网址� Heit recalls. B次元官网网址淎lessio was fighting and I was in his corner. I threw a hat and a sweater on him and we made it out of there.B次元官网网址�
By 1999 the two went their separate ways.
Heit moved to Los Angeles in 1999 to pursue pro boxing but ended up doing much better as a bodyguard to movie stars such as Drew Barrymore, David Duchovny, Nicholas Cage and music star Robbie Williams.
Alessio moved to Victoria to pursue his training with kickboxer Stan Peterec B次元官网网址� who now shares his gym space with Island MMA B次元官网网址� and pursued pro fighting.
B次元官网网址淎fter day one training with Jason (in 1994), I knew there was something inside of me screaming for that,B次元官网网址� said Alessio from Las Vegas. B次元官网网址淔or some people itB次元官网网址檚 like touching that bad drug, something they keep chasing, and IB次元官网网址檝e kept chasing it.
B次元官网网址淎nd now IB次元官网网址檓 back for my first fight in Victoria in 14 years.B次元官网网址�
Starting in 1998, Peterec put together a few modified MMA tournaments which were deemed legal enough for those days, and they became AlessioB次元官网网址檚 jumping off point. He was 7-3 when he signed on to fight at UFC 26 in June of 2000.
At that time, Alessio began making regular stays in California to train at the LionB次元官网网址檚 Den with famed UFC veterans Ken and Frank Shamrock, though these days heB次元官网网址檚 permanently based out of Vegas where he trains with Xtreme Couture, owned by UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture.
B次元官网网址淎lessio is an MMA pioneer. He would say at 15-years-old, B次元官网网址業B次元官网网址檓 going to fight in the UFC,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Heit said.
Back then, UFC was still on its way to becoming the preeminent MMA organization that it is today. Alessio lost that fight but has stuck around the MMA scene, and has won at various levels.
In 2012, he returned to the UFC for the third time and, although he lost his July fight to Shane Roller at UFC 148, heB次元官网网址檚 a big draw for the AFC next month.
B次元官网网址淚 just love the sport and always saw the potential of it,B次元官网网址� Alessio said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 grown so much and the difference now is the average person has accepted it.
B次元官网网址淚t took a long time to happen, especially in the smaller parts of Canada, and thatB次元官网网址檚 part of the reason I struck a deal with AFC, to help it grow.B次元官网网址�
Alessio has never shied away from fighting in back-to-back dates and, should all go well on Nov. 3, heB次元官网网址檚 committed to AFC 14, Nov. 23, in Edmonton.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 how I like it. YouB次元官网网址檙e in shape, hopefully coming off a nice win, so you feel great and your adrenaline is going, so go make some more money,B次元官网网址� Alessio said.
AFC here and there
Darren Owen and Jason Heit merged the AFC with similar promotions from Edmonton and Calgary earlier this year. Each of the chapters runs its own events, but also pool their resources for B次元官网网址渆xpansionB次元官网网址� shows, like AFC 11: Takeover, which drew about 2,000 people to the Winnipeg Convention Centre last month.
AFC 13 will also debut Kendall Grove of Hawaii, winner of UFCB次元官网网址檚 reality television contest, the Ultimate Fighter 3, in 2006. Locals entering the cage on Nov. 3 include Triston Connelly and Dillon Brown of Island MMA in Victoria with Diego Wilson, Ryan Jane and Alexi Argyriou of Zuma in Vic West.
Tickets available through aggressionfc.com.
sports@vicnews.com
