Windsor mixed martial arts fighter is going to Japan

By Chris Mailloux

For one local mixed martial arts fighter his dedication and training is about pay off as he prepares to go to another country for a life changing experience.

T.J. Laramie is a 17 year old who has spent the last four years training to be the best possible fighter he could be. On March 1st he will be leaving Windsor to fly to Japan and participate in a reality television series.

The series Fight Xchange, will bring four Canadian fighters to Japan and have them train and live in the foreign territory. Laramie will then face against a top 10 ranked fighter in the mma promotion called Pancrase.

“I’m pretty excited, I finally get to make my pro debut at 17,” said Laramie. “I can’t really make a pro debut much younger than that.”

Laramie first started training at the age of 13 after his father introduced him to the sport. He started with kickboxing at Mady’s Martial Arts and eventually moved to Maximum Training Centre so he could work on his grappling.

When he first started training he was only a fan but quickly he became an athlete. Laramie said he has taken his training to an extreme which helped him reach this point so quickly. Looking back at his first fight Laramie said he broke down in tears and couldn’t believe it.

“After I got the feeling I was like, I really want to do this,” said Laramie. “This is the greatest feeling in my life, you never feel so big and you never feel so important until that first win.”

Laramie spends on average three hours a day, six days a week, training at MTC. He considers his training partners as friends and said everyone is there to help each other improve.

Kyle Prepolec is a fellow mixed martial arts fighter and a member of MTC. Prepolec said it’s amazing to see how much the young fighter has developed over the years.

“He thrives on hard work and he doesn’t quit,” said Prepolec. “He just goes and goes, he has a goal like me and just like the rest of us who are planning on getting to the UFC.”

For the future Laramie has his eyes set on the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Eventually he wants to get to the best of the best. He also said his dream fight would be against Frankie Edgar.

Toan Lam has been a grappling coach at MTC since the gym opened and has watched Laramie develop over the years.

“TJ came here when he was probably about 15 years old,” said Lam. “Right away we knew he had the natural aggression and raw talent.”

With Laramie’s talent, dedication and tenacity to win, Lam sees him reaching the UFC in the future. He also wasn’t surprised to see Laramie get picked for Fight Xchange. Also saying that Japan will be a great fit for Laramie since Japan is a smaller weight category.

Laramie will return to Windsor in the middle of March after he finishes filming Fight Xchange.

“I’m excited to show everybody what I can do at their level,” said Laramie. “This is just the beginning of my career, you can expect a lot more from this.”

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