**photo by TinneyPhoto.com
Mike Hackert is a Vancouver Island based fighter sporting a professional MMA record of 4-1 . He has big wins over Ryan Janes and Dan MacIver, as well as a close split decision loss against the very experienced Nick Hinchcliffe. Mike seemed poised to make a significant mark on the Canadian MMA scene until a botched weight cut when he was set to headline a BFL card sent him off track.
Forced to take an extended break from training for medical reasons Mike made the decision that he would not attempt to fight his body anymore and step up not one weight class but two. While he is a relatively small heavyweight he feels the advantage of having the ability to replenish to his hearts desire will give him an advantage in training that most are not lucky enough to have. Rather than getting a nice, simple warm up fight to ease his way into the new division Mike thought he would take an opportunity to move straight to number 1 and take on 5 x UFC vet Tim “The Thrashing Machine” Hague on May 18 at Prestige FC in Fort MacMurray, BC. This blog will chronicle his journey from relative unknown to a fighter with an opportunity to advance his career by going through a “name” fighter.
So this is what it is like to get back into the fight game? Bruises, velcro burns, fatigue, and little symphony for the pain that goes along with it. That’s not why we fighters do this to ourselves; it’s not for the credit, but for our undying love of the sport. After a long lay off from competing, my first week in camp couldn’t have gone better. Everything was sharp and crisp, and most weaknesses clearly stood out and will be easy to fix. Mentally I feel great. Being at a physical disadvantage, I find I have just that much more motivation to work harder. The most exciting part about it is that I don’t have to battle with my diet to make a weight class… yay! Dieting sucks. In the past I have cut from 220 to make 185 which is a gruelling process. It caught up to me, causing me to take some time off. Competing was out of the question for quite some time. Sure, I was bummed out but it gave me time to work on my technical game. This is a great opportunity I’m taking. The next eight weeks are going to be tough no doubt but in the end very rewarding. So much for the “tune up” fight I wished for. Haha. Off to eat some birthday cake now, don’t worry, doing some pad work later to make up for it.
Cheers,
Mike
I can’t tell if Mike only wrote the last paragraph, or has started referring to himself in the third person.